TEHRAN -- Winners of the 4th edition of the Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Awards received their prizes during a ceremony held on Wednesday at the Institute of Cultural and Art Studies that is affiliated with the Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research (ACECR).

Written by Mansur Anvari, the 5-volume novel “The War Road”, covering the events since Iran’s occupation by the Allies in 1941 until the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988, was announced as the top winner last week.

Each year, the top winner receives 110 Bahar Azadi gold coins, and each winner in the different sections receives 25 gold coins. However, the winners were handed checks instead, the Persian news agencies reported on Thursday.

The reason was a shortage of gold coins at the market, the executive secretary of the event Ali Shojaei Saiin claimed. Over the past months, the price of gold coins has shown a big jump at the market.

The ceremony took place in the presence of the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini, High Council of the Cultural Revolution Secretary Mohammadreza Mokhber Dezfuli, and Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance for Cultural Affairs Bahman Dorri.

Hosseini regarded the well-known Iranian novelist and short story writer Jalal Jalal Al-e Ahmad (1923–1969) as a writer who wrote with honesty.

He considered the event an honor for the culture ministry which helps develop literature in the country.

Hosseini expressed hope that literature makes progress in the country to help transfer the rich culture of Iran to the world. 

The jury picked “Signs of the Sea” by Hamidreza Tavakkoli as the best in the literary critic section.

At the historiography section, three books shared the prize. “Battle of Samirom” by Kaveh Bayat, “Iranian-Islamic Cultural and Civilization of Deccan in…” by Mohsen Masumi, and “Reasons for Changes in Commercial Centers in Persian Gulf” by Mohammad-Baqer Vosuqi were the winners.

No winner was honored in the documentary section this year.

RM/YAW

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