This week, I spoke to the incredibly warm and super inspiring author, Marjan Kamali. Marian's latest novel, The Stationery Shop of Tehran has been adored by readers all over the world, and praised for its epic and beautiful love story. The book is set amidst massive political upheaval in Iran in 1953. We follow two young lovers, Roya and Bahman, who become estranged for decades, until they are reunited 60 years later in the United States. The Stationery Shop of Tehran is a really stunning novel, exploring what happens when we lose our homes and our country, finding and rebuilding ourselves, love, the importance of closure, and how amid hardship and loss, there is also much to gain. 

Marjan Kamali is the award-winning author of The Stationery Shop, a bestseller, and Together Tea, a Massachusetts Book Award finalist. She is a 2022 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship.

Marjan’s novels are published in translation in more than 20 languages (19 languages for The Stationery Shop and 8 languages for Together Tea). Her essays have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Literary Hub, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of California, Berkeley, a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University, and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from New York University. Born in Turkey to Iranian parents, Kamali spent her childhood in Turkey, Iran, Germany, Kenya, and the U.S.  She currently teaches creative writing at GrubStreet and lives in the Boston area with her family.

I loved every second of speaking with Marjan, and hope you do too. If you enjoyed the podcast, please follow the Diverse Bookshelf on your podcast platform of choice and connect with me on social media. I would really appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review, as it helps more people find the podcast. 

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