Scroll spotlights The Nights are Quiet in Tehran
- Scroll published a Sunday book pick on April 26 spotlighting Shida Bazyar’s The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran, translated by Ruth Martin, from the Booker shortlist. - The novel follows one Iranian family from 1979 to 2009, tracing revolution, exile in West Germany, return visits, and the 2009 Green movement. - The winner will be announced May 19, 2026, with £50,000 split between author and translator (thebookerprizes.com)
Scroll on April 26 singled out Shida Bazyar’s *The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran*, translated by Ruth Martin, as a 2026 International Booker shortlist title to watch. (scroll.in) (thebookerprizes.com) The piece centers on Bazyar’s question about what happens after a revolution, not during one. Scroll ties that question to the novel’s four-part structure and to current attention on Iran. (scroll.in) The book is set across four decades, from 1979 to 2009, and follows an Iranian family through revolt, exile, return, and renewed unrest. The Booker Prize site says the story moves from the Shah’s expulsion to the 2009 Green Revolution. (thebookerprizes.com) Its first section follows Behzad, a young communist revolutionary in 1979 Iran, who falls in love with fellow activist Nahid as Ayatollah-aligned forces gain power. Later sections shift to Nahid in West Germany, then to their children Laleh and Mo. (thebookerprizes.com) (scroll.in) That family design is part of why the novel stands out on this year’s shortlist. The judges said the pages “pulse with solidarities and betrayal, with heartache and humour,” and framed the book as a story of exile, migration, and hope. (thebookerprizes.com) The shortlist itself was announced on March 31, 2026, with six books translated from five original languages. Bazyar and Bulgarian writer Rene Karabash are the two debut novelists on the list, according to Publishers Weekly. (thebookerprizes.com) (publishersweekly.com) Eligibility for this year’s prize covered books translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland between May 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026. The winner is due to be announced at Tate Modern in London on May 19, 2026. (thebookerprizes.com) The prize carries £50,000, split equally between the winning author and translator, and each shortlisted title gets £5,000. For *The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran*, that keeps attention on both Bazyar’s novel and Martin’s English version as the final decision approaches. (thebookerprizes.com)
