Soheila Beski

Biography

Soheila Beski (1953–2015) was an Iranian writer, translator, publisher, and cultural figure who transformed Iran's architectural media landscape. Born in Gonbad-e Kavus, she studied at the Gilan Management School before earning a degree in economics from Michigan State University. After returning to Iran in 1977, she taught at Bu-Ali Sina University in Hamadan before moving to Tehran during the Cultural Revolution. She served as managing editor of Abadi, Iran's urban planning journal, from 1990 to 1997. In 1998, she co-founded Memar (Architect) magazine, Iran's premier bimonthly architecture publication, and in 1999 launched Shahr (City) magazine. In 2001, she established the Memar Award, Iran's most prestigious annual architecture prize, organizing fourteen editions of the ceremony. Over seventeen years, she published 91 issues of Memar and 28 issues of Shahr without interruption. Beyond publishing, Beski led humanitarian efforts including earthquake relief in Bam (2003) and environmental projects in the historic port of Laft on Qeshm Island. She founded the Iran Literature Prize to recognize outstanding contemporary fiction. A novelist and short story writer, her works were translated into Italian and published by Ponte33 in Rome. She died on May 27, 2015, in Istanbul after years of illness, and was buried in Gonbad-e Kavus beside her mother.