TEHRAN – Veteran children’s book writer Mahmud Barabadi has said that the publication of translated books is much easier and more economical for publishers in Iran compared to those authored by Iranian writers. 

He made the remarks Monday during Sobh-o-Goftegu, an Iranian radio program.

“The books translated in Iran have been selected from among the international award-winning books. The academic and educational books are much easier for the publishers to publish, and due to the lack of copyright legalities in Iran, the publication of translated books are easier for the publishers in Iran,” he said.

He also added that translated books enjoy a variety of topics, which attract more readers. 

“Iranian writers write books inspired by the local and cultural atmosphere and need to attract Iranian readers. Unfortunately, the great number of restrictions on Iranian writers in choosing topics, characters, and even the descriptions of events lead to failure in this field,” he asserted. 

He also mentioned that children and young adults mostly look for and follow science fiction and thrillers, and added, “Iranian writers are aware of children’s tastes but we have only a few writers who write in these genres.” 

In addition, Nader Qadyani, the director of Qadyani Publications joined the program and said that Iranian books had dominated the translation field at one time during the 1980s and 1990s, but that gradually became the opposite case.

“Topics for children’s books have not decreased but children’s book writers write less due to economic and financial issues. In addition, publishers prefer to publish translated educational books,” Qadyani said.

“Most translated books are written based on world famous animations and films, and these cause serious harm to children,” he said.

He added that there are many good female writers in Iran and asked the relevant organizations to help solve the problems of the publishers. 

Photo: Children’s book writer Mahmud Barabadi in an undated photo.

RM/MMS/YAW