TEHRAN – Six novels are contending for the Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Awards during the 12th edition of Iran’s most lucrative literary prize, the organizers announced on Sunday.

“Endlessness” by Mehdi Ebrahimi is among the nominees. The novel is about two next-door neighbors in Tehran’s Shemiran district who decide to break off relations after years of peaceful coexistence.

Writer Mohammadreza Marzuqi’s “Turning on the One-Way Street” also received a nomination. It is about a hero who intends to solve a puzzle that even its designers cannot decipher.

“The Shamelessness Situation” by Hamed Jalali is competing in this category. The story of the book is set in southern Iran about a young man during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

“Days and Dreams” by Payam Yazdanju, “Eruption” by Qobad Azaraiin and “They’ve Written Us by Snow” by Nasim Tavassoli are other nominees.

“Days and Dreams” is a love story between ambitious singer Arash and his artist lover, Bita, whose relationship is ruined after some dark secrets are revealed.

The story of “Eruption” is about the oil eruption in Iran’s oil-rich region of Masjed Soleiman in 1908 when William Knox D’Arcy drilled an oil well in the Middle East for the first time. The story recounts how oil affected the lives of three generations in the region.

“They’ve Written Us by Snow” is a love story, which takes readers to Iranian history from the period when Nader Shah ruled to events in modern Iran.    

The nominees have been selected by Shahriar Abbasi, Hadi Khorshahian and Ehsan Rezai, and winners will be announced during a ceremony in Tehran on December 2, which is the birthday of writer Jalal Al-e Ahmad.

Photo: This combination photo shows the novel nominated for the Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Awards.

MMS/YAW