Date: Sunday, 7th of June

Location: Round Table Books CIC, 10-11 Granville Arcade, Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PR (next to Honest Burger)

Time: 18:30 - 21:00

The price of the ticket is redeemable against a copy of The Ayatollah’s Gaze on the night.

Join the author of The Ayatollah’s Gaze, Majid Parsa. Interviewing him will be our very own Meera Ghanshamdas

An unflinching memoir about growing up in Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death, and yet, underground, hidden from Sharia law, is a vibrant gay scene threatening to burst open.

In an unparalleled true story, Majid Parsa recounts how a childhood of war, prayer and obedience was upended by a teenage sexual awakening and, ultimately, pride. He lifts the heavy veil of persecution to reveal the fabulous and flamboyant gay scene right at the heart of the Islamic Republic of Iran, flourishing under the ever-present shadow of the grand Ayatollah and morality police. Eye-opening and at times laugh-out-loud funny, The Ayatollah's Gaze is a story of self-discovery in a country where Sharia is the law.

Majid Parsa (pseudonym) comes from a mixed Iranian-Turkish background and lived in Iran for 29 years. He started writing in 2018. His debut, The Ayatollah's Gaze, is his eye-opening life story of growing up as a gay man in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Majid pulls the covers off an underground world of fabulous characters and wild parties, all taking place among the rallies and chanting for the Ayatollah and his stifling regime.

Majid now lives in the UK, where he is a practising doctor, living with his partner and two cats.

Books and refreshments from Round Table’s Bar will be available for purchase on the night.