TEHRAN – “Persimmon Garden” by Hadi Hakimian and “Enigma” by Sadeq Karamyar have won the readers’ choice awards at the Seyyed Ali Andarzgu Literary Awards.

“Persimmon Garden” was selected in the Novel for Children and Young Adults section and “Enigma” won the award in the Novel for Adults category. 

The Association of Islamic Revolution Publishers has launched the Seyyed Ali Andarzgu Literary Awards to honor books on the 1979 Islamic revolution.

“Persimmon Garden” is about Reza Shah’s life in exile after Iran was occupied by Britain and the Soviet Union on 25 August 1941.

The book had already shared the award in the Novel for Young Adults section with “Two Captions for One Picture” by Ebrahim Hassanbeigi in the main section of the competition.

“Enigma” centers on the life and family of Mehdi Zeineddin, the top Iranian commander who was martyred during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

“Literary Struggle against the Distortion of Contemporary History” and “Depiction of Realities and Enlightenment on the Pahlavi Regime” were the main topics of the first edition of the awards named after Seyyed Ali Andarzgu, a revolutionary who was killed by the SAVAK intelligence services on August 24, 1978. 

Winners of the first edition were awarded in Tehran in August.

“Romance in a Van Gogh Style” by Mohammadreza Sharafi-Khabushan and “The Story of Goharshad” by Saeid Tashakkori shared the award in the Novel for Adults category.

In the Oral History section, “Dairies of a Journalist” by Musa Haqqani was honored.

Photo: A poster for the Seyyed Ali Andarzgu Literary Awards.

RM/MMS/YAW