Acclaimed author Azar Nafisi has been named the ninth recipient of the Pell Center Prize for Story in the Public Square.  Awarded since 2013, the prize honors storytellers whose work has a meaningful, positive impact on public understanding.

Nafisi will formally receive the Pell Center Prize at an event on the campus of Salve Regina University on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 7:00 PM.  Those interested in attending should register in advance at this link.

The Alan Cheuse International Writers Center is hosting its inaugural public lecture on April 4th, 2023 at 6:30pm.

Named after its sponsor, Busboys and Poets, this series of annual lectures will cover literature, culture, and global affairs.

This year's lecture will be delivered by Azar Nafisi, the New York Times best-selling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran. Reflecting on current events to support women's rights in Iran, Nafisi’s speech will touch on the two countries she calls home, and how totalitarianism in one country and totalitarian tendencies in another should be confronted through imagination and ideas. The evening will include a book signing and reception framed by the work of Mojdeh Rezaeipour, an Iranian-born Northern Virginia artist.

Nafisi, the author of six books, has long been hailed for her mix of cultural awareness, political reportage, human values, and literary insights. In her book, The Republic of Imagination, Nafisi challenges us to be truer to the words and spirit of America's founders, who understood that their democratic experiment would never thrive or survive unless they could foster a democratic imagination. Nafisi invites committed readers everywhere to join her as citizens of the “Republic of Imagination,” a country with no borders and few restrictions, where the only passport to entry is a free mind and a willingness to dream.

The event is free.

Free public parking is available on site and next door. Masks are requested, but optional.

Introductions by Andy Shallal, founder of Busboys and Poets. Following the lecture, longtime NPR correspondent Jacki Lyden will have a conversation with Nafisi. Afterward, there will be a reception, book signing, and pop-up art exhibition by Mojdeh Rezaeipour.

Register here.

American Purpose, in partnership with the DC Public Library-West End Neighborhood, will host a free, salon-style moderated discussion of James Baldwin's still-crucial voice in our modern world. Azar Nafisi will be joined by, Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin, Nolan Harris Jr, and Jazmyn Ja’net.

Please join us on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 from 6:30-7:30 PM in the West End Neighborhood Library's Large Meeting Room for an inspiring and collaborative discussion on James Baldwin's enduring significance. The primary text highlighted will be Baldwin's "A Letter to My Nephew".

This event is free, but seating is limited. Register here.

The Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs invites you to our 2023 International Women’s Day Event and Reception featuring Azar Nafisi, renowned Iranian American author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and Read Dangerously, amongst other books. Nafisi will discuss the women-led protests in Iran and her experiences as a feminist and an Iranian woman in exile. Her keynote address will be followed by a student-led Q&A. Refreshments will be provided.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Register here.

Join Azar Nafisi in 60-minute conversation with host Caroline Fourest, followed by a Q&A session and book signing. See details below:

Rencontre exceptionnelle avec Azar Nafisi. Ecrivaine et professeure de lettres, auteure du best-seller Lire Lolita à Téhéran, Azar Nafisi compte parmi les plus grandes figures intellectuelles engagées dans le combat pour les libertés des femmes iraniennes. Expulsée de l’université de Téhéran en 1981 pour avoir refusé de porter le voile islamique, contrainte à exercer clandestinement puis à s’exiler définitivement aux Etats-Unis en 1997, Azar Nafisi ne cesse de lutter contre toute forme d’autoritarisme, politique et religieux. Un entretien mené par l’essayiste et journaliste Caroline Fourest, suivi d’un échange avec le public et d’une signature de Lolita à Téhéran. Les bénéfices de cette rencontre seront entièrement reversés à l’association de défense des droits humains Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

You can purchase tickets here.

Location: NYU John Brademas Center | 1307 L St NW, Washington DC, 20005

Join WFPG for a moderated panel discussion on the protests following Mahsa Amini’s death in Iran, about the state of women’s human rights in Iran, and the importance of free press in supporting social and political change. The high-level panel will discuss the growing crisis facing women in Iran and whether this moment can be a catalyst for change. The event will be will be livestreamed and the link will be sent to our mailing list the day of the event.

A conversation with:
Azar Nafisi, Critically acclaimed Iranian author

Nazila Fathi, Author, journalist, and scholar at Middle East Institute

Robin Wright, Joint Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International Center

Elisabeth Bumiller, (Moderator) The New York Times Washington Bureau Chief and WFPG Board Member

Register here!

Once again, Iranian women are risking everything for their rights and leading the charge for change despite continued attacks. It is critical the world understands their bravery and the gravity of the moment.

Join us for an important conversation on the crisis in Iran and Iranian women's leadership of the protest movement. Leading advocates will reflect on the stakes for the future of peace and democracy in Iran, and how the world can act in solidarity with the Iranian people and Iranian women.

Featuring:

Dr. Azar Nafisi
Writer, Professor of English Literature, and Author of Reading Lolita in Tehran

Masih Alinejad
Author, Journalist, Women’s Rights Activist, and Founder of the "My Stealthy Freedom" Movement

Dr. Suzanne Maloney
Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy, The Brookings Institution
With voices of women leaders inside Iran
Moderated by:
Amb. Melanne Verveer
Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
Hosted by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security 

Register Here!

An unscripted conversation with Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran. Hosted by the Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah. The in-person talk will be hosted at, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT.

Register here!

The Hudson Library & Historical Society will host a live virtual streaming event with New York Times bestselling author Azar Nafisi, who will discuss her latest book, Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times. Structured as a series of letters to her father, who taught her as a child about how literature can rescue us in times of trauma, Nafisi explores the most probing questions of our time through the works of Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, James Baldwin, Margaret Atwood, and more. A Publishers Weekly starred review calls the book "[A] stunning look at the power of reading. ... Nafisi's prose is razor-sharp, and her analysis lands on a hopeful note. ... This excellent collection provokes and inspires at every turn." This program is generously supported by the Flood Family Endowment and the Friends of the Hudson Library.

What is the role of literature in an era when one political party wages continual war on writers and the press? What is the connection between political strife in our daily lives, and the way we meet our enemies on the page in fiction? How can literature, through its free exchange, affect politics? In this galvanizing guide to literature as resistance, Nafisi seeks to answer these questions. Drawing on her experiences as a woman and voracious reader living in the Islamic Republic of Iran, her life as an immigrant in the United States, and her role as literature professor in both countries, she crafts an argument for why, in a genuine democracy, we must engage with the enemy, and how literature can be a vehicle for doing so.

Nafisi is the author of the multi-award-winning New York Times bestseller Reading Lolita in Tehran, as well as Things I’ve Been Silent About, The Republic of Imagination, and That Other World. Formerly the director of The Dialogue Project and Cultural Conversations at Johns Hopkins University’s Foreign Policy Institute, she served as a Centennial Fellow at Georgetown University and has taught at Oxford and several universities in Tehran.

This is a one-time special streaming event that will not be recorded. Copies of Read Dangerously will be available for purchase courtesy of the Learned Owl Book Shop. Registration for this program is required and a valid email address is required at time of registration. Participants will receive an email invitation to attend the program, hosted on Zoom, a day before the program begins. If you have any questions, please email askus@hudson.lib.oh.us or call (330) 653-6658 x1010.

Register here!

As part of the 2022 Aspen Ideas Festival, Azar Nafisi will lead a discussion on “The Power of Sharing Our Stories,” on Thursday, June 30 at 12:30 (EST)/ 2:30 (MST).

Be it in their commanding, critically acclaimed written works or their masterfully insightful lectures, authors Kiese Laymon and Azar Nafisi have given so many others the space and language to reflect on their own — often unseen and unacknowledged — experiences, enlightening and inspiring us all.

You can view the event information here.

Join Azar Nafisi in conversation with Michael Schulder at 2:00 pm at the Methodist Church. This event is free and open to the public.

Click here for more information about the Festival.

What is the role of literature in an era when one political party wages continual war on writers and the press? What is the connection between political strife in our daily lives, and the way we meet our enemies on the page in fiction? How can literature, through its free exchange, affect politics?

In this galvanizing guide to literature as resistance, Nafisi seeks to answer these questions. Drawing on her experiences as a woman and voracious reader living in the Islamic Republic of Iran, her life as an immigrant in the United States, and her role as literature professor in both countries, she crafts an argument for why, in a genuine democracy, we must engage with the enemy, and how literature can be a vehicle for doing so. Structured as a series of letters to her father, who taught her as a child about how literature can rescue us in times of trauma, Nafisi explores the most probing questions of our time through the works of Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, James Baldwin, Margaret Atwood, and more. 

Azar Nafisi is the 2022 Cheryl Rosen Weston Memorial Lecturer. Copies of Read Dangerously will be distributed for free to all attendees. The event is free and open to the public.

Register and watch this virtual event here

Conversation with Azar Nafisi and Kate Tuttle, who writes about books for the Boston Globe and heads the paper’s books coverage.

What is the role of literature in an era when one political party wages continual war on writers and the press? What is the connection between political strife in our daily lives, and the way we meet our enemies on the page in fiction? How can literature, through its free exchange, affect politics? Author Azar Nafisi answers these and other questions in her book Read Dangerously. Join Nafisi and Boston Globe reporter Kate Tuttle in conversation about the power of literature throughout history and in today’s troubled times.

Register Here

Azar Nafisi in conversation with Mary Warnement. What is the role of literature in an era when one political party wages continual war on writers and the press? What is the connection between political strife in our daily lives, and the way we meet our enemies on the page in fiction? How can literature, through its free exchange, affect politics?

Register Here

Please Join KPFA on Thursday, April 14th at 6:00 pm, when we welcome Azar Nafisi in celebration of the release of her fantastic and timely new book, Read Dangerously. This very special virtual event will be hosted by Steve Wasserman, publisher and executive director of Heyday Books.

The New York Times bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran returns with a guide to the power of literature in turbulent times, arming readers with a resistance reading list, ranging from James Baldwin to Zora Neale Hurston to Margaret Atwood.

“[A] stunning look at the power of reading. … Provokes and inspires at every turn.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Remarkable. … Audacious.” —The Progressive

Get your tickets via Eventbrite here: Link

A conversation between Azar Nafisi and Susan Campbell on Nafisi’s new book, Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times.

A free, virtual event. Register Here.

Copies of Read Dangerously signed by the author are available for purchase through the Mark Twain Store; proceeds benefit The Mark Twain House & Museum. Books will be shipped after the event. We regret that we are not able to ship books outside the United States as it is cost-prohibitive to do so.

Join American Purpose as Jeffrey Gedmin discusses Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times with author Azar Nafisi.

Event takes place virtually at 12 p.m. EST. Register here. You can view the event on American Purpose’s website here.

EX LIBRIS is a series of virtual programs produced by the Providence Athenæum. Featuring an array of humanities scholars, authors, historians, and thought leaders, these conversations illuminate fascinating topics and inspire the intellectually curious. Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions to the speaker after the presentation. You will need access to a computer or other internet-connected device to join the program on Zoom. Register here.

What is the role of literature in an era when one political party wages continual war on writers and the press? What is the connection between political strife in our daily lives and the way we meet our enemies on the page in fiction? How can literature, through its free exchange, affect politics? Azar Nafisi, the New York Times bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, seeks to answer these questions in her new book Read Dangerously and arms readers with a resistance reading list, ranging from James Baldwin to Zora Neale Hurston to Margaret Atwood.

Drawing on her experiences as a woman and voracious reader living in the Islamic Republic of Iran, her life as an immigrant in the United States, and her role as literature professor in both countries, she crafts an argument for why, in a genuine democracy, we must engage with the enemy, and how literature can be a vehicle for doing so.

Azar Nafisi and Joanne Leedom-Ackerman discuss literature and the politics of oppression with Cheuse Center Director Matthew Davis.

This is a virtual event; please register here or in the Crowdcast video below. This event is produced in partnership with Solid State Books.

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is a novelist, short story writer, and journalist.

Listen to Azar Nafisi discuss her new book, Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times, with Maureen Corrigan.

Vaccination cards and I.D. will be checked at the event entrance and masks are to be worn for the duration of the event.

Read Dangerously asks what is the role of literature in an era when one political party wages continual war on writers and the press? What is the connection between political strife in our daily lives, and the way we meet our enemies on the page in fiction? How can literature, through its free exchange, affect politics?

Nafisi will be in conversation with Maureen Corrigan, author and book critic for NPR's Fresh Air, is The Nicky and Jamie Grant Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University. She is an associate editor of and contributor to Mystery and Suspense Writers and the winner of the 1999 Edgar Award for Criticism, presented by the Mystery Writers of America. In 2019, Corrigan was awarded the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing by the National Book Critics Circle.

Register here (registration tickets include a signed book)

Azar Nafisi, Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times, in conversation with Jeffrey Brown.

How can literature, through its free exchange, affect politics? Drawing on her experiences—from living in the Islamic Republic of Iran to immigrating to the United States—Nafisi seeks to answer this in her galvanizing guide to literature as resistance. Structured as a series of letters to her father, Nafisi explores the most probing questions of our time through the works of Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, James Baldwin, Margaret Atwood, and more. Read Dangerously crafts an argument for why, in a genuine democracy, we must engage with the enemy, and how literature can be a vehicle for doing so.

Copies of "Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times" will be shipped from The Library Store AFTER the event. Please be patient as we process your order as safely as possible.

Click here to Register

Dr. Nafisi will provide closing remarks at PEN America’s 2021 Commemoration of the Day of the Imprisoned Writer. Since 1981, the Day of the Imprisoned Writer has been an opportunity for the PEN network of 100+ Centers around the world to draw particular attention to a select number of cases illustrating threats to free expression globally. In the 2020 Freedom to Write Index, PEN America found that last year, authorities worldwide jailed at least 273 writers and public intellectuals for their free expression, a number that increased from 238 writers in 2019.

This year, PEN America is preparing a virtual event that will mark the 40th anniversary of the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, gathering attendees and speakers in support of the universal right to freedom of expression worldwide and in defense of imprisoned writers and public intellectuals, sharing the stories of imprisoned writers from countries most notorious for jailing writers and public intellectuals in recent years, and including a focus on Iran and a special tribute to our 2021 Freedom to Write awardees, Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi, currently detained in Evin Prison.

Registration is free and can be accessed here: Link

A virtual event hosted by George Mason University’s Alan Cheuse International Writers Center and Politics and Prose. The conversation between Michael Reynolds, editor of Europa Books and authors Azar Nafisi and Achy Obejas, will be moderated by Lisa Page.

Register for the virtual event here

A virtual conversation and Q&A section moderated by Gloria Estefan regarding literature’s role in international diplomacy. For more information, click here to view the event on Women Forward International.

A virtual panel hosted by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, that will feature Ms. Nazenin Ansari, Ms. Shéhérazade Semsar de Boisséson, Dr. Javaid Rehman, Ms. Fatemeh Sepheri, Dr. Nina Ansary, and  Ms. Asieh Amini. Dr. Nafisi will provide remarks prior to Q&A with the panel.

Register for the virtual event here

The Midwest Literary Virtual Walk is hosted by the Chelsea District Library. It is an annual literary event aimed a highlighting the power of literature and poetry in everyday life. Azar Nafisi, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Ross Gay will give author talks and Q&A sessions.

For more information access the website here.

Hosted by Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, the event will feature Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Azar Nafisi, Binalakshmi Nepram, Soraya Chemaly, Debra Adams Simmons, and Maggie Lemere. For more information, access the recording here.