About this Event
Ten genocides. Five centuries. An award-winning writer, artist, and descendant of genocide survivors captures humanity's darkest horrors in an immersive, fully illustrated graphic history; the first of its kind.
The Book of Genocides is a haunting graphic narrative that compels readers to confront the most harrowing chapters of human history not as distant events but as visceral experiences. Dana Mashoian Walrath covers ten major atrocities across five centuries: the mass slaughter of the First Peoples of the Americas, the brutalization of Black Americans, the devastation of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the Cambodian killing fields, the Rwandan genocide, the Bosnian genocide, the deadly persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar, and the genocide in Gaza.
Walrath makes plain that the purpose of genocide is always a land grab, and its central apparatus is dehumanization: each chapter delves into how dehumanization operates, not just through violence but through the political and intellectual systems that enable it. The book's unique interactive design allows readers to reshape images of victims into grotesque forms mirroring the mental mechanisms of dehumanization. With each page turn, the victims' humanity is restored, making their suffering undeniable.
The Book of Genocides is an unsettling experience, shot through with the emotional gravity of horrific events--not just historical memories but ongoing realities, painful truths that shape our world and demand our action.
Dana Mashoian Walrath is joining us on the Busboys stage to share “what genocide has meant to millions” and unpack “why that knowledge has not protected those still at risk” (Deena Mohamed, author of Shubeik Lubeik). Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and Walrath will be signing following the program.
This event is free and open to all. Doors open to guests at 5:30pm. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of THE BOOK OF GENOCIDES will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is IN PERSON and will not be livestreamed.
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Dana Mashoian Walrath is a writer, artist, and anthropologist. Her award-winning works include Aliceheimer’s, a graphic memoir about her mother’s dementia journey, and Like Water on Stone, a verse novel about the Armenian genocide. Her comics, art, essays, and poetry have been featured by The Nation, The Lancet, Slate, and NPR. Dana Mashoian Walrath lives in Vermont.
BOOK DETAILS
The Book of Genocides
By Dana Mashoian Walrath
September 8, 2026 | Paperback, 424 pages, $24.95
Event venue & nearby stays
Busboys and Poets 450K, 450 K St NW, Washington, United States
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