Mohammadreza Bayrami
Posted on August 22, 2014 in Authors
Date of Birth: 1965
Place of Birth: Ardebil, Iran
Mohammadreza Bayrami was born in 1965 in northwestern Iran in a village at the foot of Sabalan Mountain, where the two stories in this collection, as well as many of his other stories, take place. He is the author of more than 30 novels and collections of short stories, which have won him many literary prizes.
Ahmadreza Ahmadi
Posted on August 22, 2014 in Authors
Date of Birth: 1940
Place of Birth: Kerman, Iran
Ahmadreza Ahmadi, a well-known poet and writer for children, was born in Kerman in south-eastern Iran in 1940. When he was seven years old, his family left Kerman to settle in Tehran. Ahmadi completed his high-school education at the celebrated Dar al-Funun Institute.
His first collection of poems was published in 1962, which immediately attracted the attention of both poets and critics. Characteristic of his poetry is the particular linguistic effect he creates in melding poetic and prose structures. His poems have been translated into many different languages such as Arabic, Armenian, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Korean.
He joined The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, referred to simply as the KANOON in Tehran and was active in it from 1970 to 1979 as the director of audio productions, doing pioneering work in producing superior quality multimedia versions of classical and modern Persian poetry, classical, modern, and folk music, and children’s stories.
Ahmadi published his first work for children entitled, I Have Something to Say That Only Children Can Believe, through Kanoon in 1969. As soon as the book appeared, it was strongly attacked by censors, its distribution prohibited, and tragically most of the copies destroyed by the government. Ahmadi, who strongly opposed the despotic and totalitarian rule of the monarchy, continued to write for children despite having no chance of seeing his works published.
His works started to be published again from 1985 and continue to be published to date. He is recognized as the pioneer of surrealism in children’s literature in Iran and has received awards and recognition for several of his works in Iran. In 2009 Ahmadi was awarded The Flying Pen, a prestigious national recognition for his contribution to children’s literature.
Ahmadreza Ahmadi has been nominated for two prestigious awards … the shortlist for the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Prize , and also for The 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
Seyed Mehdi Shojaee
Posted on August 22, 2014 in Authors
Date of Birth: 1960
Place of Birth: Tehran, Iran
Renowned author Seyed Mehdi Shojaee was born in 1960 in Tehran. He is famous for his outstanding books on religious themes.
After obtaining his high school diploma in mathematics, Shojaee entered Dramatic Arts Faculty where he was conferred a bachelor’s degree in dramatic literature. Simultaneously, he studied political sciences at Tehran University’s Faculty of Law and Political Sciences. Shojaee, however, left his studies unfinished.
Later, he began experiencing writing in different literary styles. At 20, his first works were published as books and in newspapers. He worked as the cultural editor of the Persian daily Jomhouri-e Eslami for about eight years and editor-in-chief of the monthly Sahifeh for eight years.
During 1986-96, Shojaee served as the juror at various festivals such as Fajr International Film Festival, Fajr International Theater Festival and International Children Film Festival.
Shojaee authored a number of plays and scripts. He has translated and written over 100 books for children and young adults.
During the years 1986 to 1996, he has been the Jury Member of Fajr Int’l Film Festival, Isfahan Int’l Festival of Film & Video for Children & Young Adults, Fajr Int’l Theatre Festival, and National Press Festival. He is also an Iranian cinema & theatre critic. He was member of the Board of Directors of Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults for some years.
He founded Neyestan Book Publishing House in 1987 aiming to publish the works of contemporary writers and poets.
He has written a play script on the life of Martyr Mostafa Chamran for a TV series as well as a play script about Hazrat-e Yousef (Joseph) for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Among other scripts authored by Shojaee are “Badouk,“ ,“Father,“ (directed by Majid Majidi) and “Bat’s Eye.“
Some of his religious writings include “Sun in Veil,“ “Father, Love and Son,“ and “The Berthed Ship,“ “Two Pigeons,“ “Two Windows.“
“Santamaria“ (Saint Mary) ,“Unpublishable“ & “Democracy or Demcrashing” are among his most acclaimed books.
http://www.amazon.com/Seyed-Mehdi-Shojaee/e/B00TPWPN4M
Seyed Ali Shojaei attends the 13th International Literature Festival Berlin (ILB)
Posted on August 22, 2014 in News
The ILB counts as one of the world’s most renowned literature festivals. Each year it presents around 100 events tp more than 10.000 young visitors between 5-20 years of age.
Seyed Ali Shodjaie will introduce his books to a broad public at this festival .His focus will be on his latest children picture book; What if the Snowman Wouldn’t Melt? which has been recently released as a bilingual Persian-German text published by Baobab Verlag 2013 in Switzerland and was selected as book of the month by the Academy of Children’s and Youth Literature in Germany in 2013. This book also received the Children’s Book Award (2011) in Iran.
This illustrated story tells the tale of a snowman built by the children in a village from the very first snow of the winter. It soon becomes apparent that the snowman is a dictator who orders the village inhabitants around and gets rid of the seasons. Quietly illustrated using matt tones, this story are an intelligent and critical examination of the relationship between power and powerlessness.
Almost 200 events of contemporary international literature will be presented in Berlin. A special feature of the ILB are the premiere readings by authors whose books will be presented in Germany for the first time.
Other authors, within the “International Children’s and Young Adult Literature” programme series, are: Milena Baisch, Azouz Begag, John Boyne, Chen Jianghong, Inés Garland, Yves Grevet, Finn-Ole Heinrich, Joke van Leeuwen, Raquel J. Palacio, Andreas Schulze, Ruta Sepetys, Bhajju Shyam, Janne Teller, and Józef Wilkoń.
One focus within the festival is a debate on the subject of “age”. 25 events as part of the “Welt- Weisheit” (“Wisdom of the World”) project will look at society’s understanding of growing-old, as well as at scientific research on the subject.
International Literature Festival Berlin
If Snowmen Don’t Melt will be soon published in German language in Switzerland
Posted on August 22, 2014 in News
If Snowmen Don’t Melt will be soon published in German language in Switzerland. This book which was first published by Neyestan Publishing House in 2011, has been written by Seyyed Ali Shojaei and llustrated by Elaheh Taherian.
Children are trying to build the biggest snowman that any one has ever seen in their town.
After they finally finish the job, they invite their families and friends to come and see the biggest snowman that they have built.
The next day when people wake up, they find out that they all should be at the service of this big creature and obey whatever he demands…
Then when it is Spring time and the Sun is about to shine, the snowman resists …
The author has written an introduction on the German edition of his book and has addressed the German speaking children;
“I’m happy and honored that the present book has become a window through which I can interact with my young friends in Switzerland and can greet every single one of them whose love and kindness is not encircled by boarders.”