Novelist and short story writer Moniro Ravanipour was born in Booshehr in 1952. She has had eight books published in Iran, and translations of some of her work have also appeared in the West. Her story, "Satan‘s Stones," was selected for the groundbreaking anthology of Iranian literature, Strange Times, My Dear (Arcade, 2005). Among her novels in Farsi are The Drowned, Heart of Steel, and Gypsy by Fire. Ravanipour is a member of the Association of Iranian Writers and has been invited to give readings in Austria, France (Iranian Artists Festival), Germany (Berlin Conference and the Goethe Institute), Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. From January to June 2007, she was a visiting fellow in the International Writers Program at Brown University's Watson Institute. Ravanipour's work, considered nonconformist and honest in its portrayal of Iranians, has elicited government scrutiny in recent years. In late 2006, all copies of her current work were stripped from bookstore shelves in Iran in a countrywide police swoop. Prior to this episode, "Satan‘s Stones" had been banned. Two other novels are currently under review by Iran‘s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.