Firoozeh Dumas was born in Abadan, Iran and moved to Whittier, California at the age of seven. After a two-year stay, she and her family moved back to Iran and lived in Ahvaz and Tehran. Two years later, they moved back to Whittier, then to Newport Beach. Firoozeh then attended UC Berkeley where she met and married a Frenchman.

 

Firoozeh grew up listening to her father, a former Fulbright Scholar, recount the many colorful stories of his life. In 2001, with no prior writing experience, Firoozeh decided to write her stories as a gift for her children. Random House published these stories in 2003. Funny in Farsi was on the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists and was a finalist for the PEN/USA award in 2004 and a finalist in 2005 for an Audie Award for best audio book. She lost to Bob Dylan. She was also a finalist for the prestigious Thurber Prize for American Humor, the first Middle Eastern woman ever to receive this honor. Unfortunately, she lost that one to Jon Stewart. According to Firoozeh’s father, Firoozeh should have won.

 

In 2008, Firoozeh published a second set of stories, LAUGHING WITHOUT AN ACCENT, which became a national bestseller. In 2016, she will publish her first book of middle grade fiction, It Ain’t so Awful, Falafel. Her novel has so far received high praise from early reviewers, including a starred review from Kirkus.

 

Firoozeh has also written for the New York Times, Gourmet Magazine, Los Angeles Times and many other outlets. You may have heard her commentaries on National Public Radio. When not writing, Firoozeh is active on the lecture circuit. She has spoken at hundreds of schools, conferences and festivals. She believes that everyone has a story to tell and that everyone’s story counts.

Firoozeh Dumas

• Author Website: firoozehdumas.com/