Winners of the eighth edition of the 2006 Year Book Award were announced by press critics in a ceremony on Thursday.
According to MNA, several cultural and press personalities, including Mahmoud Dolatabadi, Bahman Sholevar, Farzaneh Taheri and Mohammad Hassan Shahsavari attended the event.
The panel of jury of the award comprising of Younes Tarakemeh, Ahmad Gholami, Mehdi Yazdani-Khorram, named the winners in two sections namely: the best novel and the best collection of stories.
The novel ’Angels Smell of Orange’ written by Hassan Bani-Ameri was selected as the top work, while ’Wednesday Nights’ written by Azardokht Bahrami was awarded for the best collection of stories.
Speaking at the ceremony, Shahsavari said, “There has been a sharp decline in the publication of literary works in recent years.“
He added that out of 500 fictions published in 2003, some 300 were reviewed by the Book Award jury. However, less than 50 works were reviewed in this year’s event.
Tarakemeh also criticized the decline in the publication of novels and short stories in 2006 describing 2006 as ’a bad year for Iranian literature’.
Meanwhile, prominent novelist Ali Ashraf Darvishian as well as writer and translator Bahman Sholevar were honored on the sidelines of the event.
The event was held in cooperation with Cheshmeh and Qoqnous publishing houses as well as Shahrvand Magazine and Cinema and Literature Quarterly.

Veteran Iranian actor and director Atila Pesyani is staging his latest play ’A Discordant Symphony’ at Tehran’s Molavi Hall.
Speaking to ISNA, Pesyani said that the performance is full of signs but no symbols.
A combination of color and music is presented in the work to stimulate the audience’s sense of taste, he added.
Commenting on the theme of the performance which is critical of the status of theater in the country, he said, “The play elicits humor, however it should not be interpreted as criticism.“
Pesyani added that professional theater artists also sometimes face dissatisfactions and want to express themselves.
’A Discordant Symphony’ narrates the story of a theater director who realizes that his troupe has been banned from attending a theater festival for which they had been rehearsing.
The cast includes Setareh Pesyani, Sahar Dolatshahi, Mehdi Sadr and Nivid Jahanzadeh.

Foreign groups taking part in the international section of the 23rd Fajr International Music Festival will give a total of 15 performances.
Announcing this, the festival’s executive director, Ali Torabi said that the countries which will be represented at the event include Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan Republic, France, Holland, India and Turkey.
A duet from France and a music group from India’s Rajasthan will perform respectively in Niavaran Cultural Complex and Vahdat Hall on December 21 and
December 22, reports Fars news agency.
A traditional Turkish band will also perform in Cinema Teras at the Olympic Village and Niavaran Cultural Complex on December 24 and 25.
Marcel Beckman Group from Holland will give a concert in Vahdat Hall on December 26 while an Azerbaijani group will present programs on December 26-27.
The Albanian group will also perform in Rudaki Hall and Arikeh Iranian Hall on December 27 and 28 respectively. A music group ’Trio Concertanteh’ from Austria will also perform in Arts Cultural Complex and Arikeh Iranian Hall on December 27 and 28.
Torabi further said that Leili Afshar, an Iranian guitarist, will present programs in Arts Cultural Complex and Niavaran Cultural Complex on December 22 and 23 respectively.
The 23rd Fajr International Music Festival will be held in Tehran from December 21-29.
’Avay-e Fakhteh’ Group from Hamedan conducted by Reza Abbasi will take part in the national event for the first time. The group, which earlier participated in the provincial and local festivals, will perform in the competition section of blended traditional music.
Iranian music bands ’Hamnavazan-e Mehr’ conducted by Behrad Tavakkoli and ’Pop’ conducted by Ali Shams will also perform in the event.

Mehdi Mohaqqeq

A noted researcher in literature has said that the distortion of the nationality of Iranian elites by other countries has made the responsibilities of researchers greater.
Speaking to ISNA, Mehdi Mohaqqeq, who is also head of the Association of Iranian Cultural Works and Luminaries, asked, “When we do not appreciate our luminaries, how can we expect others to do so?“
Criticizing other countries for laying claims on Iranian cultural luminaries, he stated that when a state attributes a famous figure, for example Avicenna, to itself and wants to commemorate them, it should also be ready to publish the works and deal with them.
“When we neglect our culture, we can have no expectation from others,“ he said, adding that if the works of Iranian scientists are not published in Iran, other countries cannot be expected to print them.
Referring to the incorrect introduction of Iranian luminaries by some countries, Mohaqqeq said, “It is our duty to present them properly.“
Association of Iranian Cultural Works and Luminaries publishes works by Iranian luminaries and organizes ceremonies to commemorate them, he said.
“When nothing is done to introduce our cultural luminaries, others will present them in a way they wish,“ he concluded.

A scene from the play 'A Discordant Symphony', directed by Atila Pesyani, at Tehran's Molavi Hall.

Amazon.com Inc, the Web retailer known for selling books, said it had paid about $4 million to buy a handwritten, illustrated book of wizardry by “Harry Potter“ author J.K. Rowling.
Sotheby’s on Thursday held an auction for the book called “The Tales of Beedle the Bard,“ which was mentioned in the last Potter book as having been left to Harry’s friend Hermione by their teacher, Albus Dumbledore, London dealer Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox had the winning bid of 1.95 million pounds ($3.98 million) on behalf of Amazon.com.
All proceeds from the sale will go to the Children’s Voice, a charity Rowling co-founded in 2005 to help vulnerable children across Europe.
There are just seven copies of “The Tales,“ bound in brown Moroccan leather and decorated in silver and moonstones. Rowling gave six copies of the book to people closely connected to the Harry Potter books and auctioned off the seventh, reported Reuters.
“’The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ is really a distillation of the themes found in the Harry Potter books,“ Rowling wrote in the sale catalog.
Of the five stories in the 157-page book, only one, “The Tale of the Three Brothers“, is told in the Potter novels. It appears in the final Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.“
“Even before establishing her charity,“ Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in a statement late on Thursday, “J.K. Rowling had done the world a rare and immeasurably valuable service--enlarging forever our concept of the way books can touch people--and in particular children--in modern times.“

Iran’s cultural attachŽ in Berlin and deputy head of the Iranology Foundation, conferred with the head of Oriental Institute at Leipzig University. The two sides discussed cooperation in culture and Persian language teaching as well as Iranian studies.
According to MNA, Iran cultural attachŽ Homayoun Hemmati evaluated the level of collaboration between the entities as suitable and said the official from the foundation is visiting the country to study new chapters for cooperation.
Describing the foundation as an independent entity, he said that its mission is merely of cultural nature and Leipzig University can make plans on cooperating with Iran’s Cultural Office and the foundation.
Professor Schultz, head of the Oriental Institute of Leipzig University, also said that the university currently needs Persian language instructors. He called for exchange of instructors between the two sides.

A visitor at Iran's pavilion at the Paris International Tourism Exhibition

Permanent exhibitions featuring tourism attractions in Iran will be held in Persian Gulf littoral states to promote information dissemination and publicize the sites.
Announcing this, deputy head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization for tourism affairs, Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh said that decisions taken without proper planning will fail to produce the desired results, reported CHN.
“Unless difficulties in the field are overcome, we will face problems in the management of resources as well as improving agencies and hotels,“ he said.
Commending the implementation of Kish marine project, he further said, “Before undertaking the project, we should be informed about the companies interested in investing in it.“
If state bodies earmark subsidies in the initial phases of the project, the private sector can afford to implement it, he said.
Referring to the growing number of tourists visiting Iran, Malekzadeh said that an exhibition introducing Iranian tourist sites will be organized in the Persian Gulf littoral states both regularly and periodically.