TEHRAN – The Association of Islamic Revolution Publishers has launched the Seyyed Ali Andarzgu Literary Awards to honor books on the 1979 Islamic revolution.

“Literary Struggle against the Distortion of Contemporary History” and “Depiction of Realities and Enlightenment on the Pahlavi Regime” were the main topics of the first edition of the awards named after Seyyed Ali Andarzgu, a revolutionary who was killed by the SAVAK intelligence services on August 24, 1978. 

The organizers of the awards had previously said that they intend to struggle against a current trend of attempts to sanctify the Pahlavi regime.

Winners of the first edition were awarded during a special ceremony at the Sureh Hall of the Art Bureau in Tehran on Sunday.

“Romance in a Van Gogh Style” by Mohammadreza Sharafi-Khabushan and “The Story of Goharshad” by Saeid Tashakkori shared the award in the Novel for Adults category.

In the Oral History section, “Dairies of a Journalist” by Musa Haqqani was honored.

“The Andarzgu literary awards is valuable and will be helpful, because the blood and name of a martyr are against distortion,” Haqqani said in his short speech.

“Persimmon Garden” by Hadi Hakimian and “Two Captions for One Picture” by Ebrahim Hassanbeigi shared the award in the Novel for Young Adults section.
In his acceptance speech, Hassanbeigi said that these awards were born late. “If the noxious smell of the sanctification of the Pahlavi regime had not been detected, this award would never be organized,” he added. 

The jury did not find any of the short stories “satisfactory” therefore no winner was announced for this section.

A large number of literati and cultural officials, including Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Qomi, the director of the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization, attended the awards ceremony.

“The enemies are telling our people lies disguised as criticism and historical facts,” Qomi said during the ceremony.

“This is no longer a diversity of opinions, but is a distortion of the reality by them,” he added.

Photo: “Two Captions for One Picture” writer Ebrahim Hassanbeigi speaks after being honored for the novel during the 1st Seyyed Ali Andarzgu Literary Awards at Sureh Hall in Tehran on August 25, 2019. (Mehr/Hamid Vakili)

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