Iranian-born writer Farnoosh Moshiri was a published playwright, translator, and fiction writer when she fled her country in 1983. This was after a massive arrest of secular intellectuals, feminists, and political activists who were all executed by the Islamic regime in 1988. Moshiri lived in refugee camps in Afghanistan and India for four years before emigrating to the U.S. in 1987. Her novels and collections include At the Wall of Almighty (Interlink 1999), The Bathhouse (Black Heron Press 2001, Beacon Press, 2002); The Crazy Dervish and the Pomegranate Tree (Black Heron Press 2004), and Against Gravity (Penguin, 2006). Among other awards and fellowships, she is the recipient of two Barbara Deming Awards (a grant to feminist writers whose work speaks of peace and social justice); two consecutive Black Heron Awards for Social Fiction, and a Valiente (courage) Award from Voices Breaking Boundaries for artists who have taken risks to speak out and act as advocates. She has taught literature, theater, and creative writing at the Universities of Tehran, Kabul, and Syracuse. Currently she teaches creative writing at the University of Houston-Downtown.