TEHRAN – Iranian writer Qobad Azaraiin announced on Saturday that he has reinstated his book “Eruption” as one of the nominees for the Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Awards just three days after withdrawing it from the contest.

“Following calls from the organizers, I changed my mind and decided to remain among the nominees,” Azaraiin told the Persian service of ISNA.

“However, I still believe that awarding young writers makes them generate better works,” the 61-year-old writer noted.

Early last week, “Eruption” was among six novels nominated for the 12th Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Awards, Iran’s most lucrative literary prize. 

A few days later, Azaraiin announced that for personal reasons he wanted his book “Eruption” withdrawn from among the nominations.

In an interview published by the Persian service of MNA, he said, “I am too old to think about receiving awards.” 

“If I know something I presented it in my writings and if I know nothing, there is nothing left to say, but I should I say that the organizers of the awards are also a factor in my decision to withdraw from the literary awards,” he added.

Published in autumn 2018, “Eruption” is about the oil eruption in Iran’s oil-rich region of Masjed Soleiman in 1908 when William Knox D’Arcy drilled an oil well in the Middle East for the first time. The story recounts how oil affected the lives of three generations in the region.

Other nominees are “Endlessness” by Mehdi Ebrahimi, “Turning on the One-Way Street” by Mohammadreza Marzuqi, “The Shamelessness Situation” by Hamed Jalali, “Days and Dreams” by Payam Yazdanju and “They’ve Written Us by Snow” by Nasim Tavassoli.   

The winners of the 12th Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Awards will be announced during a ceremony in Tehran around the second week of December.

Photo: Iranian writer Qobad Azaraiin in an undated photo.

MMS/YAW