Farhad Hasanzadeh (Persian: فرهاد حسنزاده; born 9 April 1962) is an Iranian author and poet known for his children's and adolescent literature.[1]
Biography
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.[2] His first book, Fox and Bee Adventure (Persian: ماجرای روباه و زنبور), was published in 1991 in Shiraz. He later moved to Tehran.
Writing career
Hasanzadeh has published more than 120 books for children and young adults, including novels, short stories, legends, fantasy, humour, biography and poetry.[2] 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[3] and a member of the directing board. He had been working for Docharkheh, one of the most-circulated children magazines in Iran while it had been published,[citation needed] accompanying the Hamshahri newspaper. He also delivered a speech at the United Nations office in Tehran on the topic of peace and literature for children and adolescents in 2019.
Translated works
Translations of many of his works are available in many languages,[2] including English, Swedish, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Malay and Chinese. Call Me Ziba has been translated into four languages, while Kooti Kooti translated into Chinese, English, Arabic, Turkish, Swedish and Malay languages.[4][5]This Weblog is being Turned Over found its audiences within anglophone.[6]Hasti which raised flag about Iranian female Identity,[7][8] was translated into English in 2013[9] and into Turkish in 2017.[10]
Teaching
Hasanzadeh’s online writing workshops are designed to help teens develop their writing skills and practice the craft of storytelling. The workshops culminate in a monthly virtual publication called Moon Children,[11] where participants can showcase their work and share it with an audience. The publication features short stories, poems, articles, reviews, and other creative pieces created by Hasanzadeh’s pupils.
Themes
The Routledge Companion to International Children's Literature describes his work as "inclined towards a classic style" as opposed to postmodern.[1] 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.[2]The Routledge Companion contrasts the feminist stance in his novel Hasti with typical Iranian children's literature.[1]
Awards
He has won many book awards,[2] including several Iran's Book of the Year Awards. He was the Iranian nomination for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2023.[12][13][14][15][16] Hasanzadeh was a runner-up in the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018 and finally received the diploma in the award ceremony in Athens, Greece.[17][18][19] His novel Hasti has won several awards: winner in the Festival that teens judged,[20] the Silver Sign award of the Flying Turtle Festival[21] and the best book of the year on behalf of Children's Book Council.[22] Hasanzadeh was among the top 6 writers selected for Hans Christian Andersen Award and brought its appreciation plate back to his home country of Iran.[23] In June 2022, he was nominated to receive the 2023 Astrid Lindgern Memorial Award,[24] partly due to paying attention to the issues of society, such as girls and modern femininity in today's world, addressing universal human values such as peace, friendship and children's rights, looking at war from different aspects and also the environment.[25]
Selected works
A Melody for Wednesdays, Tehran: Peydayesh publication, 1398/2019 (Persian: آهنگی برای چهارشنبهها)
Masho in Fog, Tehran: Nashr-e Sourehye Mehr, 1373/1994 (Persian: ماشو در مه)
The Scorpions on the Bambek Ship, Tehran: Nashr-e Ofoq, 1395/2016 (Persian: عقربهای کشتی بمبک)
The Moonlight Guest, Tehran: Nashr-e Ofoq, 1387/2008 (Persian: مهمان مهتاب)[26]
Ghane, Fateme; Nojoumian, Amir Ali (2021). "Modern Iranian Female Identity in Farhad Hassanzadeh's Hasti". International Research in Children's Literature. 14 (2): 213–225. doi:10.3366/ircl.2021.0398. S2CID236541272.
