TEHRAN -- The Iranian young adult novel Call Me Ziba by Farhad Hassanzadeh is set to reach new readers in China and Japan, following the sale of its publication rights to publishers in both countries.
First published in 2015 by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, the novel has become one of Hassanzadeh’s best-known works. It has so far reached 11 editions in Iran, with a total print run of 49,500 copies. The forthcoming Chinese and Japanese editions join earlier translations into Armenian, English and Turkish.
The book’s Turkish edition was reprinted for a fifth time in 2025, underscoring the continuing international life of a story rooted in the emotional and social landscape of contemporary Iran.
At the center of Call Me Ziba is Ziba, a teenage girl living in a residential home for children without parental care. Her life changes when she unexpectedly encounters her ailing father. What follows is an eventful journey through Tehran, as father and daughter navigate the city while confronting the distance that has grown between them. The journey becomes, simultaneously, a passage towards self-discovery and an attempt to repair a fractured family bond.
The novel’s international recognition began soon after its publication. In 2016, Call Me Ziba was included in the White Ravens catalogue of the International Youth Library in Munich and was also selected for the IBBY Honour List. 
In Iran, it was nominated for the Book of the Year Award of the Islamic Republic of Iran and was later selected as a distinguished work at the 18th Children and Young Adults Book Festival of the Institute.
Its story subsequently moved from the page to the screen. In 2024, filmmaker Rasoul Sadramali adapted Call Me Ziba for cinema. The resulting film won the Crystal Simorgh for Best Film at the 43rd Fajr Film Festival.
For Hassanzadeh, whose career has made him a significant figure in Iranian children’s and young adult literature, international translation has been an important part of the reception of his work. He has been selected on several occasions as Iran’s nominee for both the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
The arrival of Call Me Ziba in China and Japan extends that trajectory beyond the Persian-language literary sphere. At its heart, however, the novel remains a distinctly intimate story: a young girl moving through Tehran in search of a relationship, a sense of belonging and a way to understand the family from which she has been separated.