IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE The government has changed from a monarchy to a democracy by will of a king who had ascended to the throne by succession, and the people have attained the right to vote. But they are only permitted to elect from among the twenty-four sons of the late king, and entrust the affairs of the country to his care for terms lasting two years.

Renowned author Seyed Mehdi Shojaee was born in 1960 in Tehran. He is famous for his outstanding books on religious themes. After obtaining his high school diploma in mathematics, Shojaee entered Dramatic Arts Faculty where he was conferred a bachelor’s degree in dramatic literature. Simultaneously, he studied political sciences at Tehran University’s Faculty of Law and Political Sciences. Shojaee, however, left his studies unfinished. Later, he began experiencing writing in different literary styles. At 20, his first works were published as books and in newspa- pers. He worked as the cultural editor of the Persian daily Jomhouri-e Eslami for about eight years and editor-in-chief of the monthly Sahifeh for eight years. During 1986-96, Shojaee served as the juror at various festivals such as Fajr International Film Festival, Fajr International Theater Festival and International Children Film Festival. Shojaee authored a number of plays and scripts. He has translated and written over 100 books for children and young adults. During the years 1986 to 1996, he has been the Jury Member of Fajr Int’l Film Festival, Isfahan Int’l Festival of Film & Video for Children & Young Adults, Fajr Int’l Theatre Festival, and National Press Festival. He is also an Iranian cinema & theatre critic. He was member of the Board of Directors of Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults for some years. He founded Neyestan Book Publishing House in 1987 aiming to publish the works of contemporary writers and poets. He has written a play script on the life of Martyr Mostafa Chamran for a TV series as well as a play script about Hazrat-e Yousef (Joseph) for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Among other scripts authored by Shojaee are “Badouk,“ ,“Fa- ther,“ (directed by Majid Majidi) and “Bat’s Eye.“ Some of his religious writings include “Sun in Veil,“ “Father, Love and Son,“ and “The Berthed Ship,“ “Two Pigeons,“ “Two Windows.“