Reza Amirkhani, born in 1973 in Tehran, is a prominent Iranian author and literary critic. He spent his childhood in the 25th Shahrivar neighborhood of Tehran and completed his early education at Behrastegan Elementary and Allameh Helli High School, part of Iran’s prestigious NODET (SAMPAD) school system.
He entered Sharif University of Technology in 1991 and earned a degree in mechanical engineering. By 1992, before turning twenty, he had obtained a pilot’s license, becoming Iran’s youngest licensed pilot at the time. He worked on a two-seater aircraft project and joined the board of a private aerospace firm. However, after his project was sidelined in favor of a foreign competitor during a government bidding process, he fell into depression and redirected his focus toward cultural activities in high school.
Amirkhani’s literary interest was sparked during poetry nights held at his high school in the wake of the Islamic Revolution. He began writing in his late teens, and his debut novel, Ermia, was published in 1995. Though it lacked technical polish and was written without a formal outline, the book gained attention for its critical look at Iran’s post-war reconstruction era and went on to win recognition at the Sacred Defense literary festival.
His second major work, Man-e-Ou (He, My Beloved), was released in 1999 and took nearly two years of research, including studies on old Tehran. It became one of the most widely read Iranian novels of the 2000s. In 2002, he began editing the website Lohe, a platform for writers aligned with resistance literature. He resigned in 2005 but continued contributing to Iran’s literary scene. Between 2005 and 2007, he served as chairman of the Iranian Pen Association. His essay collection Sarlohe-ha, compiled from his writings during the Lohe years, was published in 2009.
According to his personal website, over 600,000 copies of Amirkhani’s books have been sold. In 2000, he traveled to the United States for a few years. His 2008 novel Biutan initially faced censorship from Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, but was eventually approved without changes after direct intervention from the culture minister. This incident highlighted both the popularity and sensitivity surrounding his works.
Amirkhani has close relations with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and has accompanied him on cultural trips, notably publishing Daestan-e Sistan, a travelogue detailing a 10-day journey with Khamenei to Sistan and Baluchestan. He has been present at several cultural events attended by the Supreme Leader and often expresses support for the Islamic Republic’s foundational ideals. He married at 32 and has two children.
Amirkhani considers himself a revolutionary writer loyal to the Islamic Republic, though he has been known to criticize both conservative and reformist governments, as well as war-time and reconstruction-era policies. He has traveled twice to North Korea and documented his experiences in Half of Pyongyang. In interviews, he has called for reforms to Iran’s leadership system, suggesting limits to lifelong authority and advocating for transparency in the Assembly of Experts. He has also proposed that Iran join the Berne Convention on copyright.
Amirkhani supports cultural censorship as a necessity, akin to food safety regulation, but opposes government-funded publishing, advocating for organic literary development. His works have earned numerous awards, including the Jalal Al-Ahmad Literary Prize and the Islamic Republic’s Book of the Year Award for Rahesh in 2018. His bibliography includes novels (Ermia, Man-e-Ou, Qeydar, Rahesh), essays (Naft’s Aroma), and travelogues (Story of Sistan, Janestan-e Kabulestan, Half of Pyongyang), showcasing a wide-ranging literary contribution rooted in Iranian society and politics.