Novel now available
My Name is Innocence
Shiva’s debut novel follows three sisters through Iran’s 1979 Revolution and its brutal aftermath. At once historical and deeply personal, it explores the making of modern Iran through radicalisation, loss, anger, and the helplessness of lives caught in political violence.
Shiva Rahbaran
"Freedom implies discoverable meaning in an act." – Frederick Turner
Shiva is a writer and researcher whose work explores the relationship between freedom and art. She has examined this theme across a range of cultural contexts, from the contemporary English novel to post-revolutionary Iranian cinema and literature. In addition to her academic work, she has written several works of fiction, including her latest historical novel set against the backdrop of modern Iran.
Latest Books
My Name is Innocence
An Iranian family in times of revolution
Iranian Cinema Uncensored
Contemporary film-makers since the Islamic revolution
Iranian Writers uncensored
Freedom, democracy, and the word in contemporary Iran
Latest News
Iran’s Future: Will Foreign Intervention Work? | Podcast Conversations Allowed
In this podcast Shiva Rahbaran explores the roots of the bloody January 2026 uprising and the history of Islamic...
The National Iranian Uprising and the Dilemma of the Left
In this article for the Greek Daily Ta Nea, Shiva Rahbaran explores the dilemma of the global Left in face of the...
In Harf Magazine, Al-Dustour
In this interview Shiva Rahbaran discusses the view of Iranian people on the U. S.-Israeli war with the Islamic...
Shiva Rahbaran does not just update our understanding of Iranian cinema since the 1979 Revolution. She actually occasions a complete reassessment of what we have known about Iranian cinema.
– Hamid Dabashi
Shiva Rahbaran’s study of Mosley’s fiction is distinguished by the intelligence of her appreciation and the sympathy of her approach.
– Allan Massie
Shiva Rahbaran’s fascinating collection of interviews illuminates a great deal about the realities of filmmaking in Iran and the myths that distort those realities in the West.