Azerbaijani writer's book published in Armenian

 The novel "Stone Dreams" by Akram Aylisli has been published in the Armenian language by "Nork" publishing house.  

The novel "Stone Dreams" was published in a Russian-language journal called Druzhba Narodov (Friendship of the Peoples) in December 2012. The novel tells the story of two Azerbaijani men and their efforts to protect their Armenian neighbors during the Sumgait and Baku Pogroms in the closing years of the Soviet Union. Earlier the writer pointed out that the extradition and pardoning of Ramil Safarov, who has been convicted for the murder of an Armenian officer in Hungary, made him write the novel.

Many in Azerbaijan took offense to Aylisli's sympathetic portrayal of Armenians. Protests were organized against the author in Nakhchivan and Baku, including one in front of his home, where signs reading "Why have you sold yourself out to the Armenians?" were displayed and his portrait was burned. Hafiz Haciyev, the leader of the pro-government political party Muasir Musavat (Modern Equality), said his party would pay $13,000 to anyone who would cut Aylisli's ear off. In this connection, The Washington Post said that this statement undermined Azerbaijan's efforts to present itself as a progressive state.