Author Talk: Jina Khayyer - A Voice from Iran

Author Talk with Jina Khayyer: Tuesday 17 November 2026, 19:00–21:00, Roskilde Bibliotek, Roskilde. Tickets cost 25 kr.

It is night in southern France, and Iranian-German author Jina sits at her desk with her phone in hand as her Instagram feed scrolls endlessly. She reads that Jina Mahsa Amini has been beaten by the morality police in Tehran and lies in a coma - and moments later, that the young woman who shares her own name is dead. On Instagram, the images continue: protest marches with thousands of people, girls and women walking with uncovered hair in solidarity with the murdered woman, among them Jina's sister Roya and niece Nika.

What begins as an attempt to understand the present becomes a journey into the past. The events awaken Jina's memories of earlier stays in Iran - the hospitality, her aunts' lavish tables, conversations in shared taxis, a road trip to Zarathustra's fire temple in Yazd, and a secret love story. But also memories of the Green Movement protests in 2009, in which she herself participated, and which left deep marks.

This is the heart of Jina Khayyer's book about love for Iran, now published in Danish by Batzer & CO. The book won the German literary prize Mara-Cassens, awarded in Hamburg, and is her first in Danish - translated by commentator Nazila Kivi, who also moderates the conversation. Note that the conversation takes place in English.

Reviewers have praised the book: Politiken gave it 4 hearts and called it "deeply relevant" in light of Iranians' protests against clerical rule and the war in Iran. Kristeligt Dagblad gave 4 stars and described it as "a powerful and violent story" about the uprising that began in Iran in 2022.

Jina Khayyer (b. 1975) is an author, poet, painter, and journalist. She was born in Germany to Iranian parents and has lived in Paris and Provence since 2006. She writes in German, French, and English for magazines such as The Gentlewoman, Fantastic Man, and Apartamento.

Moderator Nazila Kivi is a cultural critic, commentator, translator, and PhD student at Roskilde University. She has translated Iranian author Shahrnush Parsipur and moderated conversations with various cultural figures.