TEHRAN-At a special ceremony held at Tehran's Vahdat Hall on Tuesday, the leading publications in various categories of the 42nd Iran’s Book of the Year Awards and 32nd Iran’s World Book Awards were recognized.

In each category, two books were chosen as winners, and the authors were presented their awards by President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The awards are presented across several categories, including art, literature, religion, philosophy, psychology, applied sciences, and pure sciences.

Speaking at the ceremony, Masoud Pezeshkian stated that the vitality of the earth depends on humanity, the vitality of humanity on knowledge, the vitality of knowledge on action, and the vitality of action on sincerity. 

Pezeshkian expressed concern about the complaints from those in the book industry regarding the country's economic conditions, noting that for every problem, a solution exists as outlined by knowledge and books. 

He stressed the importance of sharing experiences and pathways through books, allowing those with knowledge to guide leaders and youth.

He underscored that the content and audience of publications matter greatly, as millions of articles and books are produced annually, making informed recommendations crucial. Pezeshkian emphasized the urgent need to instill correct attitudes toward knowledge and innovation among the new generation, highlighting that starting with education and improving interpersonal skills will ultimately enable us to overcome societal challenges. He called on the government to foster an environment conducive to learning and cooperation, as books and knowledge are our means of resolving current difficulties.

In the international section of the event, “Reclaiming Karbala: Nation, Islam and Literature of the Bengali Muslims” by Epsita Halder from India was selected as the best book in History of Islam section, while “Understanding Islam: Positions of Knowledge” by Bryan S. Turner from Australia was recognized at Sociology of Religion section. 

“Color And Meaning in The Art of Achamendi Persia” by Alexandder Nagel from Germany was named best book at Iranian Studies section and “Modern Spoken Persian in Contemporary Iranian Novels: An analysis of selected 21st century novels” by Katarzyna Wasala from Poland received the award at Persian Language category. 

In the National section, “Al-Hikmah al-Ishraqiyah: The Complete Works of Shahab al-Din Yahya al-Suhrawardi”, edited by Muhammad Maleki, in cooperation with Alireza Maleki, and “Avicenna: The Metaphysics of Avicenna in the West Middle Ages, authored by a group of writers, and translated and compiled by Ali Nikzad, were selected as best books in philosophy section. 

In the religion section, “The Holy Quran: An Ancient Translation of the Quran” by Ali Ravaqi and “The Book of Marriage” by Ayatollah Seyyed Mousa Shobeiri Zanjani won the award.

“Engineering Geology and Tunneling: Performance Evaluation of TBM in Rock Tunnels” by Jafar Hassanpour won the award in the pure science category.

“Family Health: Emphasizing Maternal, Child, and Reproductive Health” by Mojgan Mirghafourvand and members of the faculty of medical sciences in the country was awarded in the applied science section.

In art category, “Foundations of Understanding Architectural History” by Mehrdad Qayyumi Bidhandi was honored.

In literature section, "Stone of Destiny” by Majid Qeisari received best novel award and “The Green-Clad Fairy” by Samad Taheri named best book in short story category. 

Dozens of books were also honored in several other categories.

SAB/