Afag Masud Biography
Author, Playwright
Synopsis
Born on June 3, 1957, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Afag Masud published her first novel, The Curse, in 1979, and is one of the very few women in Azerbaijan who have succeeded in making a career out of writing.
Afag Masud is an outstanding playwright and novelist. She is also an Honoured Art Worker and a full member of the Peter's Academy of Sciences and Arts (PANI).
Background
Masud graduated in Journalism from Baku State University in 1979. She worked as an editor and editorial board member for Azerbaijanfilm Studio (1979 – 86), as director (1986 – 88), and she later served as Chair of the Centre of Translation for Art Works and Literary Relations (1989 – 14). She currently serves as Board Chair of the Azerbaijan Translation Centre.
Afag Masud is primarily known for her novels and short stories. She writes in Azerbaijani-Turkish, but her fiction is known throughout the world. It has attracted great attention from scholars and students, and has been translated into many languages, including Russian, English, German, French, Persian, Arabic, and Turkish.
She has translated into Azerbaijani a number of foreign works, such as the novelAutumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the novel The Web and the Rock by Thomas Wolfe, the Sufi manuscripts belonging to M. Nasifi - The Truth About Being, as well as Alchemy of Happiness, O' Beloved Son, Revival of Islamic Knowledgeby Al-Ghazali and Meccan Illuminations by Ibn Arabi.
She is also the author of several plays, including Near Death, He loves Me, Getting to Leave, Woman under a Train, and Kerbala. Two of her plays - Near Death and He loves Me have been staged at the Yuğ National Drama Theatre, while the playWoman under a Train at the Azerbaijan Academic National Drama Theatre (AzDrama). Five films have been made for television based on her scripts:Punishment (Cəza), The Sparrows (Sərçələr), Night (Gecə), The Party (Qonaqlıq), andThe Death of the Rabbit (Dovşanın ölümü).
In 2000, Sena Dogan from the University of Vienna defended her doctoral dissertation, titled “Female Writers in European Studies of the Orient”, on Afag Masud’s works.
Awarded with TURKSOY medal for her achievements in building literary and cultural ties across the Turkish-speaking countries, and her contribution to developing the performing arts.
A winner of the International Stage Play Contest held in 2015 by Turkey's Ministry of Culture, TÜRKSOY and the Writers Union of Eurasia.
Awarded with the Shohrat Order in 2017 for her contribution to developing translation industry in the country by the Order of the President of the Azerbaijan Republic.
Awarded with the title of “People's Writer”, under Decree by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in 2019, for her merits in the development of Azerbaijani culture.
Books
On the Third Floor. Bakı: Genjlik, 1971
Saturday Night. Bakı: Yazıçı, 1984
Saturday Night, Moscow, 1984
Reincarnation (short novels and stories). Bakı: Yazıçı, 1988
Alone. Bakı: Genjlik, 1992
Procession. Bakı: Azerbaijan Translation Centre.
Liberty (novel, essay, short story). Bakı: Azerbaijan Translation Centre, 1997
Novel, essay, short-story: Baku, Azerbaijan Translation Centre, 1999
Work. Bakı: Qanun, 2004
John Paul II (novella): Baku, Muterjim, 2009
Novel-short story: Baku, Evrazia Press, 2012
Selected Works (I) Bakı: Elm ve Tehsil, 2012
Selected Works (II) Bakı: Elm ve Tehsil, 2012
Procession, Ankara, Bengu, 2015
The Seal, Tehran, 2011, Pinar
Towards the Light. Tehran, Nohbegan, 2015
Procession, Tehran, 2016, Shurafarin
Procession, Tehran, 2016, Farsar.
Afag Masud. Selected Works, Moscow, “Khudojestvennaya literatura”, 2017
Afag Masud. Freedom, Kyiv, “Druqe dikhaniya”, 2017