Hazhar Pen Award Festival Celebrates Kurdish Literature, Honors Writers Across Kurdistan
The festival, organized by the Kurdistan University of Sanandaj, honored outstanding contributions to Kurdish literature, drawing participation from writers across all four parts of Kurdistan as well as the diaspora.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — The Hazhar Pen Award Festival, a major literary event celebrating Kurdish language and culture, concluded on Thursday evening in Sanandaj after two days of panels, readings, and award presentations.
The festival, organized by the Kurdistan University of Sanandaj, honored outstanding contributions to Kurdish literature, drawing participation from writers across all four parts of Kurdistan as well as the diaspora. Out of 38 shortlisted works, six writers from Bakur (southeastern Turkey), the Kurdistan Region, and Rojhilat (western Iran) received top awards, while 32 others were recognized for their distinguished literary efforts.
Jabar Jamal Ghareeb, a novelist and recipient of the Hazhar Pen Award, expressed his pride in winning, telling Kurdistan24, “I am proud to have won the Hazhar Pen Award for novels. This festival is a significant event for Hazhar Mukriyani and Sanandaj.”
The event featured works written in various Kurdish dialects and welcomed contributions from writers, linguists, literary critics, and scholars from the broader humanities. A panel of 80 prominent writers and academics from across the Kurdish regions served as judges to select the winners.
Sanandaj Governor Arash Lihony emphasized the importance of the festival, announcing plans to make it an annual tradition. “We plan to hold the Hazhar Pen Award Festival annually in Sanandaj,” he said, adding, “Kurdish language and culture are the cornerstones of Iranian literature.”
The festival is named in honor of Hazhar Mukriyani, a revered Kurdish poet and intellectual, and aims to promote cultural unity and literary excellence across Kurdistan and beyond.
