Maria Karametou

The Amalgam is a stunning novel, lush with detail and rich with history. It intertwines the personal, cultural, and political. It unspools the concept of home into a stretched thread, traversing space and time. Most of all, the novel is an insightful and touching exploration of how memory, across generations, merges the past with the present. —-Zach Powers, author of The Migraine Diaries

…I devoured Maria Karametou's, The Amalgam. Highly recommended. — Yvette Manessis Corporon, Internationally Bestselling Author, Daughter of Ruins

The Amalgam is a tenderly told story of a complex inheritance, displacement, and secrets. Young Meta, buoyed by her ancestors and driven by her own fiery spirit, looks back to move forward and her journey is an invitation for readers to indulge in the same. —Nadia Hashimi, internationally bestselling author of “The Pearl That Broke Its Shell.”

“THE AMALGAM”
Publisher: Vine Leaves Press
Publication Date: March 24, 2026

Available to order from the publisher and everywhere books are sold. Find it at the Wonderland Bookstore, Bethesda, MD and Cousins’ Books, New Castle, PA

Relating to the mass population shifts that impact our world today, set against the parallel events of WWI, The Amalgam is a story of uprooting and the search for a new home and sense of belonging. Through the immigrant and refugee experiences of two strong women—a grandmother and her granddaughter—who defy the odds to forge their own path in the world, and through the mysterious relic that binds them, the book explores cultural identity, displacement, family relationships, and love in its various manifestations.
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If lives are vibrant tapestries, war can turn them into remnants, as is the case with “The Amalgam.” Rich with history, the story’s transporting prose allows the plot to sing even in difficult times so that even a hidden jar of syrupy cherries is special and sumptuous. “The Amalgam” is a triumph. —Frances Park, award-winning author of BLUE RICE, and AHN LOVE
****
A captivating book. The title captures it. This is a novel about identity and family connection amid great change. The change comes from personal decisions, particularly about emigration, and the larger history of the time. But change is managed by unexpected personal flexibility, which gives the book, and the main protagonist, a welcome complexity. I enjoyed the nuance throughout. — Dr. Peter N. Stearns, Distinguished Historian, Author, and Professor Emeritus.
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Maria Karametou’s The Amalgam is an ambitious historical novel and a poignant story told from the perspective of Meta, a Greek woman. With echoes of Téa Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife, we are drawn into a world of intergenerational tenderness where love and loss are mysteries worthy of attention.  -Leeya Mehta, author of Extinction, a novel (Simon and Schuster, 2026)

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EVENTS, PRESS, ETC.

March 28, 2-4 pm The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, Maryland -BOOK LAUNCH

 February 16, 2026 The National Herald, “Maria Karametou’s Debut Novel, ‘The Amalgam”, by Eleni Sakellis,
https://www.thenationalherald.com/maria-karametous-debut-novel-the-amalgam/
March 6, 11:00 am: Association of Writers and Poets Book Fair
April 14, 2026 Washington Unbound literary journal, Book Review by Norah Vawter,
https://www.washington-unbound.com/bookreviews/amalgam
April 14, 2-4 pm:  George Mason University, Gillespie Gallery, Fairfax, VA.
April 23,  12:30 – 2 pm:  Frosene Center, St. Sophia, Wash. DC. Sponsored by the Philoptohos Society / Kali Parea (Private Event)
April 24, 7:30 pm:  The Hellenic Center, Bethesda, Maryland. Sponsored by the Hellenic Society Prometheas / Kyklos and the Hellenic American Women’s Council (HAWC)
April 25, 10 am-1:30 pm: University of Maryland, Samuel Riggs IV Center, College Park, MD
May 10, The National Herald, “Maria Karametou Presents Her First Novel, The Amalgam, at the Hellenic Center”, https://www.thenationalherald.com/maria-karametou-presents-her-first-novel-the-amalgam-at-the-hellenic-center/
May 16, 12 noon EST: “The Amalgam - A Mosaic of Mystery and Memory” Sponsored by The Hellenic Writers International Group
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f-3S2lYMLI
May 2026, Book of the Month selection, U.S. DOP Foundation Book Club, The DOP is a 10,000-member affiliate of the Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) with its own program initiatives.
Spring 2026 Issue, The Fulbright Association Türkiye, “A Novel from Prof. Maria Karametou”
May-June, 2026 Bethesda Magazine, Banter Newsmakers: “Defying the Odds; A new novel highlights immigrant struggles across the generations” by Caralee Adams,  https://bethesdamagazine.com/2026/05/12/educators-expertise-books/
June 21, Ethnikos Kyrikas by Eleni Sakellis,“New Books to Add to Your Summer Reading List,” https://www.thenationalherald.com/books-to-add-to-your-summer-reading-list-2/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSmb1FleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETEzRVg2Sk9Vd1RvVlRyMHFIc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmS5LBiWp-qyHePtzTm_UW-nJvXA6yaGDxPeHCEda5kVbJy72wQ_HvxLu6cp_aem_AmBzZcJI4GV3Dde68hk3lg
June 23, @ 7 pm: The Inner Loop Book Reading Invitational, Shaw’s Tavern, 520 Florida Ave., Washington, DC
Spring - Summer, 2026 Washington Sculptor Magazine, Author Interview: “From Sculpture to Story: Maria Karametou’s Artful Life and New Work”, Lynda Andrews-Barry.
21 July, @ 7pm CosmosFM 91.5 New York, N.Y. “Hellenic Voices” Radio Interview, by Anna Eliopoulos,
https://soundcloud.com/cosmos-fm-new-york/hellenic-voices-with-327449758

Join me for upcoming events at The McLean Project for the Arts (VA), The Maliotis Cultural Center, Boston (MA), The Philoptohos / Kali Parea of St George (MD), and several others.