Seyyed Mahdi Shojaee

Seyed Mehdi Shojaee was born on August 1960 in Tehran. He is famous for his outstanding books on spiritual themes. After obtaining his high school diploma in mathematics, Shojaee entered the Dramatic Arts Faculty where he was conferred a bachelor's degree in Dramatic Literature. Simultaneously, he studied Political Science at Tehran University's Faculty of Law and Political Science, but left his studies unfinished to pursue a career in writing.[1][2][3]

Seyed Mehdi Shojaee's early works were published as serial stories in newspapers when he was 20 years old. For the next eight years, he worked as Cultural Editor of the Persian daily Jomhouri-e Eslami Newspaper and for another eight years subsequent to that as Editor-in-Chief at the monthly Sahifeh. Seyed Mehdi Shojaee has authored a number of plays and scripts. He has translated and written over 100 books for children and young adults. During 1986-1996, he was a juror for the Fajr International Film Festival, the Esfahan International Festival of Film and Video for Children and Young Adults, the Fajr International Theater Festival and the National Press Festival. He is an Iranian cinema and theatre critic. He was on the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults for some years. He has written a play script on the life of the Martyr Mostafa Chamran for a TV series as well as a play script about Joseph for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Among other scripts authored by Seyed Mehdi Shojaee are "Badouk", "Father" (directed by Majid Majidi) and "Bat's Eye". Some of his religious works include "Sun in Veil", "Father, Love and Son", "The Berthed Ship", "Two Pigeons", and "Two Windows". He is the founder of Neyestan Book Publishing House which has been a reputable Iranian publisher of the works of contemporary writers and poets since 1987.[4][5][6][7][8] “Santamaria“ (Saint Mary), “Unpublishable“ & “Democracy or Democrashing” are among his most acclaimed books.[9]

In a survey was conducted by Iran TV in 19 December 2013, Seyed Mehdi Shojaee selected as the most popular Iranian writer.[10]

• Editorship of "Roshde Javan" magazine
• Establishment of Muslim Iranian artists society
• Establishment of "Neyestan" art and cultural magazine (1995)
• Establishment of Iran's Pen Association
• International deputy head of Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults
• The juror of the Fajr International Film Festival
• The juror of the Fajr International Theater Festival
• The juror of the Ghahere International Film Festival
• And...

Seyed Mehdi Shojaee has translated and written over 100 books. Some of his works are:

• "Democracy Ya Demo Qoraze" \ Translated to English under the title "Democracy or Demo Crazy"[13]
• "Dar Yek Chashm Be Ham Zadan" \ Translated to English under the title "In the Twinkling of an Eye: A Collection of Short Stories"[14]