Lila Azam Zanganeh is a writer raised in Paris, France, by exiled Iranian parents. She lives and works in New York City. She is the author of ''The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness'' (

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.2017 Man Booker Prize The 2017 Booker Prize for Fiction was awarded at a ceremony on 17 October 2017. The Man Booker dozen of 13 books was announced on 27 July, narrowed down to a shortlist of six titles on 13 September. George Saunders was awarded the 2017 Booker Prize ...

for fiction. She has just published a long-form essay in ''Lolita in the Afterlife'' (

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Hous ...

, 2021). Her new novel, ''Of Lovers and Other Madmen'', is forthcoming in 2022.

Life and work

Azam Zanganeh was born to Iranian exile parents, and the family escaped to Paris when Zanganeh was two years old, following the revolution of 1979. After studying literature and philosophy at the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, she moved to the United States to become a teaching fellow in literature, cinema, and Romance languages at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. In 2002, she began contributing literary articles, interviews, and essays to a host of American and European publications, among which ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...

'', ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', and ''

la Repubblica ''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnoldo ...

''. Her first book, ''The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness'', has been published by W. W. Norton & Company in the United States,

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Éditions de l'Olivier The Éditions de l'Olivier are a French publishing house created by Olivier Cohen and located 96 Boulevard du Montparnasse, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. Established in 1991, this company specializes in French and foreign literature. Ext ...

in France, Contact in Holland, L'Ancora del Mediterraneo in Italy, Duomo Ediciones in Spain, Azbooka in Russia, Büchergilde Gutenberg in Germany, Everest in Turkey, Shang Shu in China, Al-Kamel in Lebanon, Mehri Publications in Iran, and Alfaguara Objetiva in Brazil, where it reached No. 10 on the national Brazilian bestseller list. She is fluent in seven languages (English, French, Persian, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and Portuguese). She writes and lives in New York City. Her new novel, ''Of Lovers and Other Madmen'', is forthcoming in 2022.

Social initiatives

* Azam Zanganeh served on the Board of Overseers of the

International Rescue Committee The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization. Founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association, at the request of Albert Einstein, and changing its name in 19 ...

for 12 years. * Azam Zanganeh was a member of the advisory board of The Lunchbox Fund, a non-profit organization that delivers a daily meal to pupils in township schools in Soweto, South Africa, until the end of 2011. * She is a global ambassador for Libraries Without Borders as well as a board member of Narrative4, an international story-exchange organization that promotes radical empathy.

Works and Publications

* ''The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness'' (2011). O encantador: Nabokov e a felicidade (Portuguese Brazilian Edition) * ''My Sister, Guard Your Veil, My Brother, Guard Your Eyes: Uncensored Iranian Voices'' (2006) (edited by Lila Azam Zanganeh). * ''Modern Classics Paris'' by Julien Green, Lila Azam Zanganeh (co-author) * ''Where You Are: A Collection of Maps That Will Leave You Feeling Completely Lost'' Lila Azam Zanganeh (contributing author) * ''L'estate la sentivo arrivare dal viale'', Lila Azam Zanganeh (interviewer)

Awards and recognition

* ''The Enchanter'' is the recipient of the Roger Shattuck Prize for Criticism, awarded each year by the

Center for Fiction The Center for Fiction, originally called the New York Mercantile Library, is a not-for-profit organization in New York City, with offices at 15 Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Prior to their move in early 2018, The Center for Fiction ...

, 2011. * Recognized by The Man

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...

which named her as a judge for the 2017 ''PEN/NABOKOV AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE'' section. She served on a panel of five judges, chaired by Baroness

Lola Young Margaret Omolola Young, Baroness Young of Hornsey (born 1 June 1951) is a British actress, author, crossbench peer, and Chancellor of the University of Nottingham. Education and career Born in Kensington, Lola Young was educated at the Parliam ...

References

External links

"Ecstasy on 3 x 5 Cards: Lila Azam Zanganeh's Nabokov"
interview on Radio Open Source with

Christopher Lydon Christopher Lydon (born 1940 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American media personality and author. He was the original host of '' The Connection'', produced by WBUR and syndicated to other NPR stations, and created ''Open Source'', a weekly rad ...

, June 1, 2011.
Lila Azam Zanganeh on the portal RAI Letteratura

Lila Azam Zanganeh
at the Berlin International Literature Festival 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Azam Zanganeh, Lila ENS Fontenay-Saint-Cloud-Lyon alumni Living people Iranian writers French women writers French people of Iranian descent French emigrants to the United States Writers from Paris The New York Times people Year of birth missing (living people)