Cambridge University honors Iran author

The University of Cambridge in England has honored the celebrated Iran children’s author Houshang Moradi-Kermani for his lifetime achievements.

The honoring took place on the sidelines of the two-day International Conference of Research Initiative on Teaching Persian Language and Literature, opened at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies of the university on Friday.

The Iranian ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad gave him a plaque of honor for his 50 years of constant activity in writing and his great role in the promotion of Persian language and literature.

Moradi Kermani, whose works also appeal to adults, has been nominated for a number of global awards, including the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, a prestigious Swedish honor to promote children’s and youths’ literature in the world.

He has won many national and international awards, including the Hans Christian Andersen Honorary diploma in 1992 and the award for book of the year at the University of San Francisco in 2000.

Most of his works, ‘The Water Urn’, ‘Sweet Jam’ and ‘Believe It or Not’ to name a few, have been translated into English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, Armenian, Turkish and several other languages.

A large number of the stories by the 73-year old writer, including ‘The Tales of Majid’, ‘The Boot’ and ‘Mom’s Guest’ have been turned into cinematic works and series.

MG/MF