Fariba Kalhor
Writer
Fariba Kalhor was born in September 1961 in Tehran. She continued her education in this same city and got a bachelor’s in Persian language and literature, as well as a master’s in educational management. Kalhor began working for the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanoon) as a cultural coach, a job that introduced her to the world of children’s and young adult literature and she began her collaboration with Roshd publications that were published by the Ministry of Education. She has been among the founders, managers, and editorial members of some of the children’s and young adult publications in Iran. Her stories for children and young adults have been published in different magazines.
This writer’s books are about different matters and are for different age groups. Besides writing stories, she has also been active in translation, rewriting, recreating, and writing educational materials. However, what distinguishes Kalhor from many children’s and young adult writers is that she was one of the first in Iran who took novel writing for young adults seriously. Most of her young adult novels can be classified into science fiction and fantasy genres. Some of her works are translated into other languages.
Since 2011, Kalhor has begun writing novels for adults as well, which were well received by the readers.
Selected Works:
Today, My Swallow (1991), Kavir
The Smart Ones on Planet Urak (two volumes/ 1992-1999), Ghadyani (Banafsheh Books)
Sons of Flower (1994), Zolal Publishing Co.
Governor’s Whistle (1994), Mehrab Ghalam
The 6000-year-old Green Man (1998), Mehrab Ghalam
Salomé and Her Rabbit (2001), Soroush Publishing Co.
Long and Short Stories for Children (2009), Ghadyani (Banafsheh Books)
The Return of Hardad (2011), Kanoon
Escape Again and Again (2014), Elmi-Farhangi Publishing House
The Motorcyclist Tiny Stories (2014), Soureh Mehr
Selected Awards and Recognitions:
Children’s Book Council’s Special Book Award, Islamic Republic of Iran’s Book of the Year Award, Best Book Award from Hello Children Festival, and the Golden Moon Award of the Iranian Association of Writers for Children and Youth recognizing the best Iranian writers in two decades