Fereydoun Amoozadeh Khalili Information

Fereydoon Amoozadeh Khalili (born February 19, 1960, in Semnan) is a prominent Iranian writer, translator, journalist, researcher of children’s and young adult literature, and cultural activist. Widely regarded as one of the leading figures in post-revolutionary Iranian literature and journalism, he was awarded the Book of the Year of the Islamic Republic of Iran (8th edition) for his novel Journey to the City of Solomon. In 2021, he was nominated by the Iranian Children’s Book Council as Iran’s candidate for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA).

 Life

Fereydoon Amoozadeh Khalili was born on February 19, 1960, in Semnan. He completed his primary and secondary education in his hometown and earned his high school diploma in mathematics and physics in 1978. That same year, he was admitted to the University of Tehran in mathematics and computer science, completing his studies up to the master’s level.

While living in Tehran and during his university years, he began his writing career. In 1981, alongside friends Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Hassan Hosseini, and Qaisar Aminpour, he was among the founding members of the Howzeh Honari (Artistic Domain) of the Islamic Propagation Organization. Due to disagreements with the management team led by Hojatoleslam Zamm, they later left the institution.

 Literary and Cultural Activities

Amoozadeh Khalili’s first book was published in 1982. Between 1983 and 1987, he held various positions at Howzeh Honari, including secretary of the Literature Council, head of the Story Unit, head of the Children and Youth Unit, and editor of the Soreh literary magazine. In 1986, he was a founder and secretary of the Management Council of the Office of Children’s and Youth Literature and Art.

In 1988, together with Qaisar Aminpour and Beyuk Maleki, he launched the monthly magazine Soroush-e Nojavan (Soroush for Youth) and served on its editorial board for ten years. He was among the core founders of the newspaper Hamshahri and established Aftabgardan, Iran’s first newspaper dedicated to teenagers. During the Reform era, he served on the editorial boards of several reformist newspapers that were later banned, including Aftab-e Emrouz (as publisher and editor-in-chief), Sobh-e Emrouz, Yas-e No, and Neshat.

In 2002, he founded the weekly magazine Chelcheragh, which became one of Iran’s most progressive and widely circulated youth publications in terms of language, style, and content. He was a founding member of the Iranian Children’s Writers Association and was elected to its board of directors for two consecutive terms, serving three times as chairman. For a brief period, he was responsible for the youth section at the International Center for Dialogue Among Civilizations and served as secretary of the international conference “Hello Children of the World.”

In the 2000s, he represented the Public Culture Council on the Supervisory Board for Children’s and Young Adult Books. He has judged numerous literary, film, theater, and press festivals and has received awards for his works at both national and international levels.

 Selected Works

 Fiction

– Cry of the Mountain (1982)

– Three-Month Vacation (1983)

– Journey of the Little Spring (1984)

– Exam Days (1984)

– Firewood (1984)

– Old Sword (1985)

– Aqa Jan’s Bicycle (1987)

– Journey to the City of Solomon (1989) – Book of the Year of Iran

– Beyond the Poplars (1991)

– That Night Bibi Was Our Guest (1992)

– Two Unripe Dates (1995)

– God of Rainy Days (1999)

– Crows of the Clock Boulevard (4 volumes, 2007)

– General Piskoluski and Professor Skolski (2007)

– Yellow Black (2009)

– The Naughty Dragon Whose Eyes Were (Not) Astigmatic! (2018)

 Non-Fiction / Theoretical

– The Realm of Children’s Literature for Children (1987)

– Little Book of Story Writing (2015)

– Descriptive Dictionary of Teenage Fiction Characters (2 volumes, 2002)

 Awards

– Book of the Year of the Islamic Republic of Iran (8th edition) for Journey to the City of Solomon

– Iran’s nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) 2021

– Selected Book Award from the Munich International Youth Library and UNICEF for several works