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The story of Mehri Publications and the fight against censorship
The story of Mehri Publications and the fight against censorship
Hadi Khojianian founded Mehri Publications in 2012 to help share voices and stories that would otherwise have been censored. His mission, comes from his own experiences.
“I’ve been arrested multiple times in Iran, I’ve seen the inside of prisons. Those experiences forced me to look at life differently.”
“I’ve been arrested multiple times in Iran, I’ve seen the inside of prisons. Those experiences forced me to look at life differently.”
For over twenty years, Hadi has lived in the United Kingdom. Like many who make the difficult decision to leave Iran, he arrived with both wounds and ambitions: the desire to escape oppression, and the determination to build something new.
“When I came here, I realized what real democratic freedom means. Of course there is censorship in the West too — but for people like us, who come from oppression, this society becomes a platform of hope.”
“When I came here, I realized what real democratic freedom means. Of course there is censorship in the West too — but for people like us, who come from oppression, this society becomes a platform of hope.”
That platform eventually gave birth to Mehri Publications — a press dedicated to printing books without the heavy hand of censorship, and making sure those books could still find their way into the hands of Iranian readers.
Books in Iran have always been more than just literature. They have been battlegrounds of ideas, vessels of coded resistance, and, at times, dangerous possessions.
Censorship is not new.
“The Islamic Republic intensified it, but censorship existed long before. Writers always had to find ways to evade it — using metaphors, altering words, hiding meanings. But today, the censors are sharper, more aware. They can close the doors on entire narratives.”
“The Islamic Republic intensified it, but censorship existed long before. Writers always had to find ways to evade it — using metaphors, altering words, hiding meanings. But today, the censors are sharper, more aware. They can close the doors on entire narratives.”
Inside Iran, entire genres — especially critical fiction and political non-fiction — are thinned down until they barely whisper.
“What you see on shelves are books that don’t challenge you, that don’t awaken you. They’re neutralized.”
“What you see on shelves are books that don’t challenge you, that don’t awaken you. They’re neutralized.”
Mehri Publications began as a counterweight to this silence. Its mission was not only to publish works free from government red lines, but also to challenge the deeper, more invisible habit of self-censorship.
“So many writers say, if there was no censorship, I would write. We wanted to take away that excuse. If you have something to say, say it. We’ll publish it.”
“So many writers say, if there was no censorship, I would write. We wanted to take away that excuse. If you have something to say, say it. We’ll publish it.”
Often, manuscripts arrive already muted. Writers, used to anticipating rejection or punishment, silence themselves before the state even touches their work. Mehri’s editors push them to reimagine.
“We ask them: do you want this book to be shaped by fear, or do you want it to exist in its full voice? When they rewrite, when they let go, the story transforms. An uncensored story isn’t just different — it’s alive.”
“We ask them: do you want this book to be shaped by fear, or do you want it to exist in its full voice? When they rewrite, when they let go, the story transforms. An uncensored story isn’t just different — it’s alive.”
Since opening doors in 2012, Mehri has published nearly 900 titles. Some are literary. Some are political. Others are personal memoirs that would have never seen daylight inside Iran. Together, they form a counter-archive: a library of voices freed from the chains that once bound them.
Publishing abroad wouldn’t be enough. The mission was not complete unless the books reached Iranian readers.
“We work with underground printing houses inside Iran. We sell books at local prices — not as luxury imports, not as forbidden treasures, but as everyday books anyone can buy.”
“We work with underground printing houses inside Iran. We sell books at local prices — not as luxury imports, not as forbidden treasures, but as everyday books anyone can buy.”
It’s an act of civil disobedience. Doesn’t matter where a book is written, be it in London, Tehran, or in Khuzestan, but it reappears, quietly, on underground shelves, or passed from hand to hand. In this way, Mehri has helped keep alive a reading culture that officials would prefer to silence.
Censorship does more than restrict access to ideas; it reshapes society itself. Hadi refers to it as “infantilizing.”
“It keeps people from developing mature, critical thinking. It tells them: don’t think, don’t question, don’t imagine. But when you open a book without censorship, you open a door in the reader’s mind. And once that door is open, no power can fully close it again.”
“It keeps people from developing mature, critical thinking. It tells them: don’t think, don’t question, don’t imagine. But when you open a book without censorship, you open a door in the reader’s mind. And once that door is open, no power can fully close it again.”
He points to the history of literature worldwide — books once banned for obscenity or political danger that today are classics. James Joyce’s Ulysses, once barred from English bookstores, eventually forced courts to rule in favor of freedom of expression.
“Nothing catastrophic happened when it was published. Society grew because of it.”
“Nothing catastrophic happened when it was published. Society grew because of it.”
For Hadi, the fight for uncensored books is itself a revolutionary act.
“If one day the Iranian state allows uncensored books to be printed inside the country, that means a revolution has already happened. Revolutions aren’t only about blood and slogans. A revolution is when a society finally claims the right to think and to create freely. That’s the kind of change books can bring.”
“If one day the Iranian state allows uncensored books to be printed inside the country, that means a revolution has already happened. Revolutions aren’t only about blood and slogans. A revolution is when a society finally claims the right to think and to create freely. That’s the kind of change books can bring.”
The recent cancellation of a concert by musician Homayoun Shajarian, despite its controversies, is another reminder of the regime’s fear of culture.
“People are not naive anymore. They resist in the small ways — by reading, by listening, by refusing to be silenced. That’s power.”
“People are not naive anymore. They resist in the small ways — by reading, by listening, by refusing to be silenced. That’s power.”
Mehri operates not only for Iranians inside the country but also for the diaspora. Books are distributed across Europe, North America, and Australia. Readers can order through the press’s website, social media, or simply by messaging.
As for advice for aspiring writers, Hadi says:
“We make it simple. We don’t judge by whether an author is famous or not. If the story has something to say, we print it. That’s all.”
“We make it simple. We don’t judge by whether an author is famous or not. If the story has something to say, we print it. That’s all.”
Wealthier writers may contribute financially to print runs, allowing less wealthy and unknown writers to be published for free.
“It’s about fairness. No one should be silenced because they lack financial means.”
“It’s about fairness. No one should be silenced because they lack financial means.”
In the end, Mehri Publications is not just a publishing house. It is a rebellion — a slow, steady defiance against enforced silence. From its office in London to secret presses in Tehran, it carries words across borders, past checkpoints, into the hands of those who need them most.
“When you give people uncensored words, you give them back their own voice. And that’s the beginning of freedom.”
“When you give people uncensored words, you give them back their own voice. And that’s the beginning of freedom.”
Check out Mehri Publications library at: www.mehripublication.com
If you would like to get in touch, follow Mehri Publications on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mehripublication
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