Mahdi Hejvani
writer-scholar-editor-in-chief
Mahdi Hejvani, born in 1960, is a writer, scholar, editor-in-chief, and a tenured professor. He has a PhD in arts research. Hejvani has worked extensively on children’s and young adult literary criticism and has been very active in founding cultural and civil organizations.
Mahdi Hejvani has played an important role in founding and launching Ofogh Publishing Company, Research Quarterly for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, Flying Turtle NGO (the organization for evaluating children’s and young adult books), the monthly magazine called Book of the Month in Children’s and Young Adult Literature, the Association of Writers for Children and Youth, and the Association of Illustrators for Children and Youth. Hejvani was the chairman of the Association of Writers for Children and Youth for a while.
Honoring Mahdi Hejvani as an influential figure in Iranian children’s and young adult literature was held by the Association of Writers for Children and Youth at Iranian Artists Forum in Tehran in March 2016.
Selected Works:
Those Palaces (1995), Be’sat Foundation
Alif, Dal, Mim (1996), Ofogh Publishing Company
Mr. Ahmad (2005), Ofogh Publishing Company
Children’s Literature Aesthetics (2010), Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies
On Being a Chief-Editor (2013), Kanoon
Awards and Recognitions:
The Golden Moon Award of the Iranian Association of Writers for Children and Youth recognizing the best Iranian scholars in two decades, several awards from the Children’s Book Council of Iran, Tarbiat Modares University, Soroosh Nojavan Magazine, the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanoon), and for his written works.