Houshang Golshiri was a novelist, the editor-in-chief of Karnameh magazine and a member of the Iranian Writers’ Association.

Golshiri began studying Persian literature at the University of Isfahan in 1958. Becoming a member of the Saeb Literary Association was an important event in Golshiri’s life, as it led him to meet a number of writers, political activists and members of the Tudeh Party. [The Tudeh Party of Iran was founded in 1942 on the basis of Marxist-Leninist ideological beliefs and the party followed the policies of the Soviet Union throughout this period.]

In 1961, Houshang Golshiri was arrested for his membership in the Tudeh Party and subsequently spent eight months in prison. Golshiri was arrested once again shortly after he was released from prison and he was imprisoned for another eight months. This arrest led to him being barred from teaching at the University of Isfahan, but he carried on teaching Persian literature and prose privately.

In 1965, Golshiri and some of his friends began publishing the Jong-e Isfahan/Isfahan Collection magazine in Isfahan.

Golshiri rose to prominence in 1969 after he wrote a short story called “Shazdeh Ehtejab/Prince Ehtejab”. The book was subsequently translated into English and French and a few years later Bahman Farmanara, an Iranian director, adapted the novel into a film of the same name.

After the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, one after another, all of Houshang Golshiri’s books and literary works had their publishing licences revoked and new applications for publishing licenses were rejected by the Iranian government.

Even Golshiri’s most famous book, Prince Ehtejab, was censored and the publication of the book was suspended in 1991. Two of Golshiri’s other books, Christine and Kid and Barreh-ye Gomshodeh-ye Ra'i/Ra'i's Lost Lamb, which Golshiri wrote in 1971 and 1977 respectively, were never granted a publishing license after the Islamic Revolution.

Likewise, a collection of short stories by Golshiri, called Namazkhaneh-ye Kuchek-e Man/My Little Prayer Room, had its publishing licence revoked after its third edition in 1985 and it has not been published in Iran since. Another collection of Golshiri’s short stories, called Panj Ganj/Five Treasures, which he wrote in 1989, was also censored.

Two other novels by Golshiri, Massoum-e Panjom/The Fifth Innocent and Jen Nameh/The Book of Genies, both faced the same fate as his previously censored works. As such, Golshiri decided to publish his literary works and books abroad in Sweden.

Throughout his lifetime, Houshang Golshiri was repeatedly summoned and interrogated in Iran.

Faraj Sarkohi, a journalist and contemporary of Golshiri, wrote: “On numerous occasions he [Golshiri] was summoned, interrogated and threatened and each time he said, ‘I am still alive, so I’ll still write’ and so he kept on writing. Houshang wanted to travel to Germany but early in the morning he called from his house and said, ‘Come [over to my house]’. So I went. He told me that a few intelligence officers had arrested him at the police checkpoint in Mehrabad Airport. They took Houshang into a room and someone called ‘Hashemi’ tried to humiliate and intimidate Houshang. Houshang said that he [Hashemi] shouted insults, curses and threats at him. Hashemi also tried to trick him with mental games. He made vulgar sexual jokes, which Houshang despised and was ashamed of. I had never seen him so angry and offended. Not at the repeated summons and interrogations, not even on the night when they planted opium in Houshang’s pocket and they arrested him in an attempt to humiliate him and fabricate a legal case against him.” 

In 1998, Golshiri became the editor-in-chief of Karnameh, a monthly literary magazine. On June 5, 2000, at the age of 61, Houshang Golshiri passed away at the Iran Mehr Hospital in Tehran after suffering from meningitis.

Since his death, Golshiri’s family have repeatedly gone to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to request that they grant a publishing license for his works. However, their efforts have so far been fruitless.

In the summer of 2020, Barid Golshiri, Houshang Golshiri’s son, said: “I wrote my last letter to the president of the Books Department and the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance more than a year ago. In the letter, I asked him to publish Houshang Golshiri’s unlicensed works without any form of censorship. However, they have not yet responded to my letter.”

During his lifetime, Houshang Golshiri was known as “delete and censor” by officials in the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance because his books were censored by the ministry so many times.

In June 2000, shortly after Houshang Golshiri’s death, The Golshiri Foundation was founded thanks to the efforts of his wife, his friends and dedicated fans of his work. The cultural foundation runs the prestigious Houshang Golshiri Literary Awards, which it assigns every year to the best Iranian literary works in a variety of different fields of Iranian prose and literature. However, the process of awarding the prize, which has become one of the most prestigious and important independent literary awards in Iran, was suspended in 2014 due to pressure from Iranian security agencies.