Iranian novelist Shahryar Mandanipour was named in winter, 2005, as Brown’s third International Writing Fellow. Regarded as one of the most successful writers in contemporary Iran, Mandanipour is the author of five collections of stories, including The Eighth Day of the Earth, Violet Orient, Midday Moon, Mummy and Honey and Shadow of the Cave, as well as of a two-volume novel, The Courage of Love. As a result of his literary and political activities, he was subjected to harassment, threats, censorship, and intimidation by Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. For a long period, from 1992 until 1998, he was unable to publish his work, including another novel and a collection of short stories.

Brown’s International Writing Fellowship allowed Mandanipour and his family to relocate to Providence, where he will be a resident fellow at Brown through Spring, 2007.