Farhad Hasanzadeh
Writer
Hasanzadeh was born in Abadan, one of the southern cities of Iran, in 1962. The Iran–Iraq War (1980–88) displaced him from his birthplace, which was in the warzone. He worked a variety of jobs before becoming a writer. His first book, Fox and Bee Adventure (Persian: ماجرای روباه و زنبور), was published in 1991 in Shiraz. He later moved to Tehran.
Writing
Hasanzadeh has published more than 80 books for children and young adults, including novels, short stories, legends, fantasy, humour, biography and poetry. He has also contributed to children’s and young adults’ press, including “Soroosh Nojavan”, “Soroosh Koodak”, “Aftabgardan”, “Keihan Bacheha”. He has been a member of “Children Writers Association” and a member of the directing board. He is now working for “Docharkheh”, one of the most-circulated children magazines in Iran. accompanying the Hamshahri newspaper. Some of Hasanzadeh’s books have been translated into other languages, including English, Turkish, Malay and Chinese.
The Routledge Companion to International Children’s Literature describes his work as “inclined towards a classic style” as opposed to postmodern. His writing often deals with the subject of war, and particularly its effect on civilians; it takes a pacifist, humanist stance. Other topics include migration, homelessness and life in shanty towns. His characters are sometimes marginalised, and he often addresses social taboos such as rape and sexual abuse, subjects rarely covered in other Persian novels. The Routledge Companion contrasts the feminist stance in his novel Hasti with typical Iranian children’s literature.
Awards
He has won many book awards, including several Iran’s Book of the Year Awards. He was the Iranian nomination for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2017 and 2018. He was a runner-up in the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018 and finally received the diploma in the award ceremony in Athens, Greece. His novel Hasti has won several awards: winner in the Festival that teens judged, the Silver Sign award of the Flying Turtle Festival and the best book of the year on behalf of Children’s Book Council.
