TEHRAN – Top publications in different categories of the 39th Iran’s Book of the Year Awards were honored during a special ceremony at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on Tuesday.

In each category, two books were selected as winners and authors received their awards from President Ebrahim Raisi.

“The Persian Mirror: Reflections of the Safavid Empire in Early Modern France”, published by Oxford University Press, was one of the winners.

Written by Susan Mokhberi, the book is an interdisciplinary study that makes use of visual, diplomatic and literary sources.

“101 Middle Eastern Tales and Their Impact on Western Oral” by Ulrich Marzolph, “The Ka’ba Orientations: Readings in Islam’s Ancient House” by Simon O’Meara, “Baharestan of Jami” by Shen Yi-Ming and “Poet and Poetry of Modern Iran” by Muhammad Abdus Sabur Khan also received awards. 

“Feast in Exile”, a collection by Alireza Rajabalizadeh, and “Animah” by Aalieh Mehrabi were selected as the best classic poetry in the literature category.

“Azarbaijan and Shahnameh”, a study by Sajjad Aidanlu about the lofty status of Ferdowsi’s Persian epic masterpiece among people in the Azarbaijan region, was chosen as one of the best books in the literary research section.

“Pronunciation in the Classic Persian Poetry” written by Vahid Eidgah Torqabei was another book honored in this section.

“Fascinating Grief” by Meisam Amiri and “A Man Named Reza Who Was Then Called Reza Khan” by Hedayatollah Behbudi were picked as top books of the year in the documentation category. These books were honored at the Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Awards in February.

“Fascinating Grief” gives a comprehensive account of what happened during Lieutenant-General Qassem Soleimani’s funeral procession across Iran in 2020.

“A Man Named Reza Who Was Then Called Reza Khan” is a biography of Reza Shah. It recounts the life story of Reza Shah, the first monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty from his birth in 1878 until 1921 when he was selected as the commander of the Iranian Army in the new government after the 1921 coup.

Earlier last December, this book was honored in the History Narration category at the 2nd edition of the Seyyed Ali Andarzgu Literary Awards, which are given to books on the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Several books were awarded honorable mentions in the art category.

A translation of Norman Bryson’s “Vision and Painting: The Logic of the Gaze” by Mehdi Habibzadeh received an honorable mention in the theory of art category.

“Hidden Line: History and Stylistics of Eastern Kufi Calligraphy” written by Mehdi Sahragard and a Persian translation of Shirin Suresrafil’s “Kashan Carpet in the Bright Shade of History” by Sara Sefati were honored in the visual arts section. 

Mary Warner Marien’s “Photography: A Cultural History” translated into Persian by Hadi Azari Azghandi won an honorable mention in the photography section.

In the dramatic arts category, Tom Stern’s “Philosophy and Theatre: An Introduction” translated by Ali Mansuri, Ted Nannicelli’s “A Philosophy of the Screenplay” translated by Ehsan Shahqasemi and András Bálint Kovács’s “Screening Modernism: European Art Cinema, 1950-1980” translated by Mohammadreza Sohrabi won honorable mentions.

Books in various categories of science were also honored.

Photo: Susan Mokhberi (R) accepts an award from President Ebrahim Raisi for her book “The Persian Mirror” at the 39th Iran’s Book of the Year Awards at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on March 15, 2022. (ISNA/Majid Khahi)

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