Shida Bazyar studied writing in Hildesheim, northern Germany, and worked in youth education for many years
Born in 1988, she is the author of the novels The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran and Sisters in Arms. The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran has won the Blogger Literary Award, Ulla Hahn Prize, and Uwe Johnson Prize, and has been translated into Dutch, Farsi, French, and Turkish. The English translation, by Ruth Martin, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026.
Author photo supplied by Scribe UK
The pages of The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran pulse with solidarities and betrayal, with heartache and humour. And for all exiles, migrants, once-and-future revolutionaries, Bazyar captures what it means to always live in hope
— The International Booker Prize 2026 judges on The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran
