TEHRAN – Thirteen books have been nominated for the 1st Azar-Yazdi Awards, which were established to honor top modern rewrites of Persian classic literature for children and young adults.

Among the books are “Cistern” by Hushang Moradi Kermani, “Arash” by Marjan Fuladvand and “Ash-vaz-dang-heh” by Arman Arian.

Other nominees include “Rustam and Esfandiar” by Marjan Fuladvand, “Gordafarid’s Dream” by Minoo Karimzadeh, “Zal and Simorgh” by Mostafa Rahmandust and “Razaneh, the Daughter of Wheat” by Mohammadreza Yusefi.

“Siavash” by Atusa Salehi, “Listening and Opinion” by Farideh Khalatbari and “Half a Kilogram of Horn” by Seyyed Ali Shojaei will also be among the final competitors of the festival.

The list of nominees concludes with “The King in the Panther’s Skin”, “Fereidun and His Sons” and “The Collapsed Palace”. Authored by Ali-Asghar Seydabadi, the three books are based on stories from Ferdowsi’s magnum opus Shahnameh, which has remained one of the most popular works in the Persian-speaking world for nearly 1000 years.

The awards were established by the Children’s Book Council of Iran and the Mirza Mohammad Kazemeini Cultural Studies Office to commemorate writer Mehdi Azar Yazdi’s contributions to children’s literature in Iran.

Winners will be announced during a ceremony in Azar Yazdi’s scheduled hometown in Yazd on July 9, which is the death anniversary of the author.

Photo: Azar Yazdi Award

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