Shokoofeh Azar (; born 1972) is an Iranian-Australian author and journalist. Her novel, '' The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree,'' was nominated for the

Stella Prize The Stella Prize is an Australian annual literary award established in 2013 for writing by Australian women in all genres, worth $50,000. It was originally proposed by Australian women writers and publishers in 2011, modelled on the UK's Bailey ...

and the

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

Life

Azar was born in Iran in 1972. Her father was an author and a poet, and she studied literature in university before becoming a writer and journalist. She began her career as an editor and wrote as well for a literary encyclopedia in Iran. She later worked as an editor in a newspaper, before taking up writing as a journalist. As a journalist, she covered issues relating to human rights, and particularly, women's rights. She was arrested thrice in connection with her work, which was often critical of the Iranian government, and had been placed in solitary confinement for a period of three months during one such arrest. On advice from her family, she fled Iran to Turkey, and from there to Indonesia, from where she traveled by boat, arriving at an Australian refugee detention center on

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

in 2011. She was granted political asylum in Australia in 2011. She did not speak English upon her arrival in Australia, and learned the language as an adult. She currently lives in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. She graduated with a Bachelor of Communications with Honours via

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

’s Cloud Campus.

Writing

Azar's 2020 novel, ''The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree'' is set in Iran, deploying

magic realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical re ...

to narrate the incidents surrounding the life of a family in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

during the

1979 Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

. The novel was originally written in

Farsi Persian ( ), also known by its endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoke ...

, and was first published in English translation by the Wild Dingo Press in Australia in 2017. The translator has chosen to remain anonymous. It was nominated for the Stella Prize for Fiction in Australia in 2018. It was also on the shortlist for the

in 2020, and Azar is the first Iranian author to have been nominated for the prize. The book was republished for audiences outside Australia by

Europa Editions Europa Editions is an independent trade publisher based in New York. The company was founded in 2005 by the owners of the Italian press and specializes in literary fiction, mysteries, and narrative non-fiction. Europa has published books by aut ...

Publications

* ''Companion in Writing and Editing Essays'' * * * ''The woman who went to stand there.'', Westerly; Jun2014, Vol. 59 Issue 1, p18-24, 7p * ''That's what its name is: Forget-me-not.'' Westerly; Jun2013, Vol. 58 Issue 1, p232-236, 5p * The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree * *

Awards

* (1997) Best Book Award (Iran): for ''Companion in Writing and Editing Essays'' (in Farsi) * (2018) Stella Prize for Fiction: nominated for ''The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree'' * ''The River Woman.'' Westerly; Jun2013, Vol. 58 Issue 1, p237-243, 7p * (2020) International Booker Prize for Fiction: nominated for ''The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree''

References

External links

Shokoofeh Azar - Deakin University

Shokoofeh - National Book Foundation

Stella Prize

Shokoofeh Azar
The

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

Shokoofeh Azar's Publications

World Literature Today ''World Literature Today'' (''WLT'') is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The magazine's stated goal is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azar, Shokoofeh 1972 births Living people 21st-century Iranian women writers Iranian women novelists Australian women novelists 21st-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian novelists