The Ministry of Guidanceaf Golnoosh Nour

Set mostly in Iran, but making forays to London, Germany, and the transit area of a Ukrainian airport, the stories are brilliantly deft in summoning up the dilemmas of their protagonists, be they characters who are kicking against the confines of the society into which they are born, or characters wanting to embrace those confines.

Nour is a brave and acute observer of how the human spirit fights free of social repression in all its guises. These are stories that argue for nuance in a world that wants to make things black and white.

''Golnoosh Nour’s unflinching writing explores sex and religion, love and cruelty, and rebellion and identity, with energy, precision and poise’'- Nell Stevens.
Golnoosh Nour was born in Tehran and studied English Literature at Shahid Beheshti University, after which she moved to London to do an MA in Creative Writing. Her debut poetry collection Sorrows of the Sun was published to acclaim in 2017. Golnoosh has just completed a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing. She now teaches at Birkbeck and works as a translator