About the Press

Lion & Sun Press is the scholarly and literary publishing arm of Lion & Sun Corporation. We publish research and creative work concerned with Iran and the Iranian world, across history, anthropology, political thought, literature, religion, art, language, and the social sciences. Our aim is to advance the study of Iran through careful, original work.

The Press is founded on the conviction that the Iranian world merits sustained scholarly attention in its own right, in the full breadth of its history and culture. We publish essays and articles that contribute to their fields, alongside literary and artistic work that reflects the depth of Iranian cultural life. We are independent, and we hold our contributors to a scholarly standard: clarity of argument, respect for evidence, and openness to inquiry.

The program in Iranian Studies

Our Iranian Studies program spans the disciplines through which Iran and the Iranian world can be studied: history, from the ancient to the modern; anthropology and ethnography; political and social thought; religion; the history of art and architecture; language and philology; and the social sciences. We welcome work on any subject connected to Iran and Iranians, wherever they are and in whatever period.

We are particularly interested in scholarship that examines Iranian identity, nationhood, and civilization with conceptual care, attentive to the specific traditions and history of the Iranian world rather than assuming that categories developed elsewhere apply without qualification. These are open and generative questions, and we intend the Press to be a place where they are pursued with rigor. We publish work that stands on sound scholarly footing, and we support our strongest contributors in developing their research toward conferences, peer-reviewed journals, and edited volumes.

The program in Arts & Literature

The Arts and Literature program publishes original creative work, translation that brings Iranian voices to wider readerships, and criticism engaging Iranian art and letters.

We consider the work of Iranian writers, poets, translators, and artists as part of a living cultural tradition worthy of careful presentation. Through original writing, translation, and criticism, the program seeks to sustain and extend the literary and artistic life of the Iranian world and to introduce it to new audiences.