Jalal Ale Ahmad Literary Awards Announced

The 10th Jalal Ale Ahmad Literary Award winners were announced in a ceremony at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on Saturday.

Created to promote Persian language and literature, the prize is named after the prominent writer and thinker Jalal Ale Ahmad (1923-1969) and is presented in four categories.

The award for the best novel of the year went jointly to ‘This Street Has No Speed Bumps’ written by Maryam Jahani and ‘Booklessness’ by Mohammadreza Sharafi-Khoboushan, Honaronline reported.

Printed by Markaz Publication, the story of Jahani’s book revolves around a divorced woman named Shohreh. A driving enthusiast since early childhood, Shohreh is a taxi driver in the western province of Kermanshah.

With a feminist approach, the story gives the reader the opportunity to get to know the different social strata in the Kurdish-majority region.

Released by Shahrestan Adab Institute in 260 pages, ‘Booklessness’ is a historical novel set in Tehran during the Qajar era.  Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, the fifth Qajar king (reigning from 1896 until his death in 1907) appoints Lesan od-Doleh in charge of the royal library. Under the watch of the royal librarian some 5,000 books are stolen and sold to foreign book dealers.

For the other three sections of the award, including short story, documentary and literary criticism, the jury did not come to the conclusion that the nominations deserved awards.

Established in 2007, the annual event is considered Iran’s most lucrative literary award. A total of 30 gold coins (each worth 15 million rial or $345) are presented to the winners.

Books published a year before the award event are considered by the presiding judges.