List of Iranian women writers explained

This is a list of women writers who were born in Iran or whose writings are closely associated with that country.

A

• Masoumeh Abad (born 1962), activist, politician, and non-fiction author
• Janet Afary (born 1960), feminist, historian, non-fiction writer
• Mahnaz Afkhami (born 1941), feminist, non-fiction writer, now in the United States
• Pegah Ahmadi (born 1974), poet, critic, translator
• Mahshid Amirshahi (born 1937), novelist, short story writer, critic, journalist, translator
• Jaleh Amouzgar (born 1939), linguist, anthropologist, academic
• Akram Monfared Arya (born 1946), pilot, poet, short story writer, artist, now living in Sweden, writes in Persian, Swedish and English
• Lady Amin (1886–1983), mystic, author of works on Islamic sciences
• Mahshid Amirshahi (born 1937), novelist, short story writer, critic, journalist, translator
• Noushafarin Ansari (born 1939), librarian, educator, journalist
• Mastoureh Ardalan (1805–1848), Kurdish poet, philosopher, historian
• Mina Assadi (born 1943), poet, journalist, living in Sweden
• Bibi Khanoom Astarabadi (c.1858–1921), feminist, literary historian
• Ghazaleh Alizadeh (born 1947), writer, poet

B

• Rakhshan Bani-E'temad (born 1954), film director, screenwriter
• Najmieh Batmanglij (born 1957), Iranian-American cookbook writer
• Simin Behbahani (1927–2014), acclaimed poet
• Niloofar Beyzaie (born 1967), playwright, theatre director, living in German
• Taraneh Boroumand playwright, writer, poet, translator
• Mona Borzouei, (born 1984), poet and songwriter

D

• Simin Daneshvar (1921–2012), acclaimed early female novelist, short story writer, translator, educator
• Soraya Darabi (born 1955), journalist, trade union activist
• Sahar Delijani (born 1983), widely translated novelist, author of Children of the Jacaranda Tree, living between the United States and Italy
• Sediqeh Dowlatabadi (1882–1961), feminist, journalist
• Firoozeh Dumas (born 1965), Iranian-American memoirist, humorous writer, author of Funny in Farsi

E

• Shirin Ebadi (born 1947), Nobel peace prize winner, human rights activist, non-fiction writer
• Amanda Enayati (born 1967), columnist, communication strategist
• Camelia Entekhabifard (born 1973), poet, journalist, and memoirist, living in the United States
• Parvin E'tesami (1907–1941), acclaimed classical poet, essayist
• Mansoureh Ettehadieh (graduated 1956), historian, educator, non-fiction writer, novelist
• Tahereh Eybod (born 1963), author, researcher, instructor, critic, and journalist.

F

• Forough Farrokhzad (1935–1967), influential poet, film director, poetry translated into several languages including English^[1]
• Pooran Farrokhzad, since the 1990s: poet, playwright, encyclopedist
• Nazila Fathi (born 1970), author and Iranian correspondent for The New York Times

G

• Zarah Ghahramani (born 1981), Iranian-born Australian memoirist, author of My Life as a Traitor
• Shusha Guppy (1935–2008), singer, memoirist, writer, critic, journal editor; she lived in London^[2]

H

• Fattaneh Haj Seyed Javadi (born 1945), best selling novelist^[3]
• Roya Hakakian (born 1966), Iranian-American poet, journalist, memoirist, essayist, television producer
• Maryam Heydarzadeh (born 1977), poet, lyricist
• Maryam Hooleh (born 1978), poet, novelist, filmmaker

J

• Rosa Jamali (born 1977), poet, playwright, translator
• Hamideh Jahangiri (born 1981), Author, translator, Academic,^{[4] [5] [6]}

K

• Sheema Kalbasi (born 1972), widely translated poet, human rights activist, living in the United States
• Mehrangiz Kar (born 1944), women's rights activist, essayist, author of Crossing the Red Line
• Persis Karim (born 1962), literature scholar, author, and professor; director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University; lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.^{[7] [8]}
• Leila Kasra (1939–1989), poet, lyricist
• Fatemeh Keshavarz (born 1952), poet, educator, literary historian, living in the United States
• Porochista Khakpour (born 1978), Iranian-American novelist, essayist

L

• Shahla Lahiji (born 1942), feminist, translator, publisher

M

• Mahsati (c.1089–c.1159), early Persian poet writing in quatrains
• Marsha Mehran (1977–2014), widely translated novelist, author of Pomegranate Soup; she lived in Argentina, the United States, Australia and Ireland.
• Mozhgan Babamarandi is an eminent Iranian writer best known for children and young adult fiction, since 1996
• Farzaneh Milani, Iranian-American educator, since early 1990s: non-fiction writer, poet
• Azadeh Moaveni (born 1976), Iranian-American journalist, memoirist, author of Lipstick Jihad, now living in London
• Roza Montazemi (c.1921–2009), popular cookbook writer
• Minoo Moshiri, essayist, translator and journalist
• Granaz Moussavi (born 1976), Iranian-Australian poet, screenwriter, film director

N

• Azar Nafisi (born 1955), feminist, memoirist, literary critic, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran
• Afsaneh Najmabadi (born 1946), Iranian-American historian, educator, literary historian, author of The Story of the Daughters of Quchan
• Marina Nemat (born 1965), memoirist

O

• Ghazal Omid, memoirist, author of A True Odyssey of a Woman's Struggle in Islamic Iran Against Personal and Political Forces (2005)

P

• Shahrnush Parsipur (born 1946), novelist, short story writer, children's writer, translator
• Zoya Pirzad (born 1952), Iranian-Armenian novelist, works translated into several languages

S

• Leila Sadeghi (born 1977), writer
• Sepideh Shamlou (born 1968), writer
• Shadi Sadr (born 1974), lawyer, journalist, women's rights activist
• Nazi Safavi (born 1967), novelist, author of Hallway to Paradise
• Tahereh Saffarzadeh (born 1936), poet, non-fiction writer, translator, educator
• Parinoush Saniee, since 2003, novelist, author of the widely translated The Book of Fate
• Homa Sarshar, Iranian-American author, activist, feminist and journalist
• Marjane Satrapi (born 1969), Iranian-born French novelist, illustrator, children's writer
• Louisa Shafia, Iranian-American chef and cookbook writer
• Mahasti Shahrokhi (born 1956), novelist, poet
• Siba Shakib, novelist, filmmaker, author of the widely translated Afghanistan, Where God Only Comes to Weep (2002)
• Shahla Sherkat (born 1956), journalist, feminist writer, journal publisher
• Zandokht Shirazi (1900–1953), feminist, poet, educator

T

• Táhirih, pseudonym of Fatimah Baraghani (c.1814–1852), poet, theologian
• Goli Taraghi (born 1939), novelist, short story writer
• Niloufar Talebi, memoirist, nonfiction writer, literary translator, multidisciplinary artist

V

• Fariba Vafi (born 1963), novelist
• Lobat Vala (born 1930), poet, feminist, now living in London

Y

• Chista Yasrebi (born 1968), writer, literary critic, translator, publisher
• Elham Yaghoubian, since the 1990s: novelist, living in the United States

See also

• List of women writers

Notes and References

1. Book: Mannani. Manijeh. Familiar and Foreign: Identity in Iranian Film and Literature. Thompson. Veronica. 2015-09-30. Athabasca University Press. 978-1-927356-86-9. en.
2. Web site: Scruton. Roger. 2008-03-24. Obituary: Shusha Guppy. 2021-12-08. the Guardian. en.
3. News: Fathi. Nazila. 2005-06-29. Women Writing Novels Emerge as Stars in Iran. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-12-08. 0362-4331.
4. Web site: Hamideh Jahangiri .
5. Web site: Hamideh Jahangiri .
6. Web site: Hamideh Jahangiri — Encyclopédie Wikimonde Plus .
7. Web site: Mojadad. Ida. 2019-03-21. We Are Here, We Have Always Been Here. 2021-12-08. SF Weekly. en-US.
8. Web site: Ravani. Sarah. March 25, 2019. How to celebrate the Persian New Year. 2021-12-08. Datebook San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide. en-US.