Nahid Tabatabaei (born 1958 in Tehran) is an Iranian writer, translator, and playwright. Known for her humorous and insightful portrayals of women’s lives, she has made significant contributions to contemporary Persian literature. A graduate of Dramatic Literature and Playwriting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, her works have been translated into multiple languages and adapted into successful films.

 Life

Nahid Tabatabaei was born in 1958 in Tehran and spent her childhood and adolescence in southern Iran. She began writing as a teenager, publishing her first story, Gomshodeh (The Lost), in Sokhan magazine. In 1992, she released her debut short story collection, Banu va Javani-ye Khish (The Lady and Her Youth). Since then, she has published numerous works and translated literature from English and French. Tabatabaei has collaborated with prominent publications such as Bukhara, Samarkand, Asr-e Panjshanbeh, Neshan, and Zanan. For a period, she wrote a column of narrative-style essays titled From Myself to Everyone in Etemad newspaper. She also manages Did Publishing, which focuses on books related to various artistic fields.

 Literary Activities

Tabatabaei’s stories and novels often explore women’s lives and social issues with a subtle, humorous tone. Her novel Forty Years Old was adapted into a screenplay by Mostafa Rastgarpour, resulting in the 2010 film Forty Years Old, directed by Alireza Raeesian, which received critical acclaim. Additionally, her short story Homayoun from the collection Jamehdaran was adapted into the 2014 film Jamehdaran, with a screenplay co-written by Tabatabaei and director Hamidreza Ghotbi. For this screenplay, she won the Diploma of Honor for Best Adapted Screenplay in the New Vision section at the 33rd Fajr Film Festival in 2015.

Her works have been translated into Italian, German, Danish, English, Turkish, Arabic, Bulgarian, and other languages, earning her invitations to literary conferences in Europe. Tabatabaei has also served as a judge for several literary awards, including four editions of the Sadegh Hedayat Literary Award, the Isfahan Literary Festival, the Golshiri Literary Award, the second National Hassanaat Short Film Festival (March 2013), the fourth Ten-Word Story Award (January 2013), and the second National Nasir Khosrow Travelogue Festival (February 2013).

 Bibliography

 Authored Works

– The Lady and Her Youth (Banu va Javani-ye Khish), short story collection, 3rd ed., Cheshmeh Publishing, 2010 (Winner of the Diploma of Honor for Twenty Years of Post-Revolution Literature)

– Mina’s Blue Presence (Hozur-e Abi-ye Mina), short story collection, 3rd ed., Cheshmeh Publishing, 2010

– Jamehdaran, short story collection, 3rd ed., Khejasteh Publishing, 2009 (translated into Italian by Anna Vanzan, Shir-e Sabz Publishing, 2004)

– Forty Years Old (Chehel Salegi), novella, 10th ed., Cheshmeh Publishing, 2011 (basis for the film Forty Years Old, translated into Italian by Ponte 33 Publishing)

– The Coolness of Dawn’s Journey (Khonkay-e Sepidehdam-e Safar), novella, 3rd ed., Khejasteh Publishing, 2009

– Blue and Pink (Abi o Suraati), novel, 2nd ed., Elm Publishing, 2009

– Snow and Narcissus (Barf o Narges), short story collection, 3rd ed., Cheshmeh Publishing, 2010

– Cinema Star (Setareh-ye Cinema), short story collection, 1st ed., Khejasteh Publishing, 2009

– I’m Not Roxana, Unless… (Roxana Nistam Agar…), short story collection, 2nd ed., Cheshmeh Publishing, 2010

– Nightly Feast (Sur-e Shabaneh), Zaush Publishing, 2013

 Translations

– Eight Stories by Women Writers of 19th-Century England

– Selected Sayings of Virginia Woolf

– The Zoo Story and The American Dream by Edward Albee

– The Ways of the World (travelogue by Nicolas Bouvier)

 Awards

– Diploma of Honor for Twenty Years of Post-Revolution Literature for The Lady and Her Youth

– Diploma of Honor for Best Adapted Screenplay in the New Vision section, 33rd Fajr Film Festival (2015) for Jamehdaran