Daylight Forever enters Cinematic Book Competition

Daylight Forever, the true story of a young Baha’i girl who escapes the terror of daily bombing raids in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War and religious persecution following the Islamic Revolution, has been selected a quarterfinalist for the 2022 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition.

“I am very excited that my memoir was selected as a quarterfinalist in the first round of the competition,” said Dr. Mahvash Khajavi-Harvey, author of the hopeful memoir about her daring and dangerous solo journey to freedom in the United States.

The ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition is designed to foster the careers of emerging writers by connecting talent with working industry professionals in Hollywood, which has a history of creating successful films and television programs from books.  

ScreenCraft has a proven track record for getting writers signed with literary managers and agents and is offering the grand-prize winner entry into its Writer Development Program, which builds personalized strategies for writers to be introduced to one or more top Hollywood literary managers. The organization promises to sign at least one entrant with Gravity Squared Entertainment and mentorship with Gravity Square’s founder, John W. Beach.

In this debut memoir, Daylight Forever illuminates the effects of revolution, war, religious persecution, women’s oppression and the denial of education and basic human rights — and the lengths to which refugees will go to find a new life. Her heroic journey at the tender age of 15 is the only possible option for a frightened teenager who seeks safety, hope, freedom, education and a place to call home.

Dr. Khajavi-Harvey, a Seattle dentist for nearly 25 years, found that freedom in the United States. She is now an American citizen with a physician husband and three beautiful children who support her hope of instilling empathy about the plight of today's immigrants who are fleeing extreme danger in their home countries.

Daylight Forever has received praise for lifting the narrative of immigration in the United States and bringing attention to the unbearable pain of a childhood lost to war and religious intolerance.

“Now when I think of war, I picture a little girl praying for a spaceship that saves her from the night bombings, by taking her to a place of light and peace,” says KUOW-FM host Bill Radke who interviewed the author in 2021. “I feel her religious faith in that peace, and in diversity and unity. I feel our cruelty to each other, and the love that’s larger.”

Reuven Carlyle, a state senator from Seattle, WA, said he was inspired by Dr. Khajavi-Harvey’s debut memoir and engrossed in the “raw, moving story until 3 a.m. where I was trapped for a time not in a global pandemic but in the stifling dark rooms of the Iranian Revolution and war with Iraq that I knew essentially from grainy TV news stories.”

Added Carlyle, “I was deeply touched by the same authentic spirit of religious freedom that has defined the journey of religious minorities worldwide for generations.”

Semifinalists for the ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition will be announced Feb. 16. Finalists will be announced on March 16, with the winner named on April 20.

Daylight Forever is for sale at Amazon, BookBaby and many other bookstores.

A podcast of Dr. Khajavi-Harvey’s 2021 interview with Bill Radke of KUOW 96.9-FM in Seattle is available at https://kuow.org/stories/a-seattle-refugee

For more information, go to DaylightForeverMemoir.com or follow Daylight Forever on social media:

• YouTube 
• Facebook
• Twitter

As the United States takes steps to emerge from the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, author Mahvash Khajavi-Harvey is once again available to discuss her courageous and hopeful memoir, Daylight Forever.

Daylight Forever: A Memoir is the true story of a young Baha’i girl who lives in daily terror of religious persecution and bombing raids in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. Taking destiny into her own hands, 15-year-old Mahvash escapes across the Iran-Pakistan border under cover of darkness with shady smugglers she does not know and will never know. “My childhood is over,” she writes.

Daylight Forever is a portrait of a childhood cut short, a family torn apart as it flees from Iranian oppression. The story follows one immigrant’s struggle for religious freedom, opportunity and belonging. Dr. Khajavi-Harvey’s daring and dangerous year-long journey to the United States illuminates the consequences of war, religious persecution, women’s oppression and the denial of education and basic human rights — and the lengths to which refugees of all ages will go to find safety, education and a place to call home.

The memoir is also one of hope, of the will to live, survive, and thrive as a refugee. Dr. Khajavi-Harvey, a Seattle dentist and outspoken advocate for human rights, began writing her story after the 2016 election when a classmate in her daughter’s Seattle middle-school declared all immigrants were no good and should be deported. She has also been greatly troubled by the suspicion aroused by her Tehran birthplace, marked on her US passport, since 9/11 as well as the ongoing immigration and refugee crisis at the US southern border. 

The fact that she is now a successful businesswoman in the United States is inspiring. 

Bill Radke of KUOW-FM in Seattle interviewed Dr. Khajavi-Harvey for his podcast in March 2021. "Now when I think of war, I picture a little girl praying for a spaceship that saves her from the night bombings, by taking her to a place of light and peace," Radke says. "I feel her religious faith in that peace, and in diversity and unity. I feel our cruelty to each other, and the love that’s larger. I appreciate the refugees who walk away from love, and everything they know, and become a part of the American story."

The author has been interviewed on other radio shows, podcasts, and via video streams during the COVID-19 pandemic and has made guest appearances at book groups, religious services, book fairs and other online and in-person events. With Washington and other states lifting their COVID-19 restrictions, Dr. Khajavi-Harvey is now working to reach more audiences who are interested in her encouraging message of compassion, tolerance and acceptance, particularly toward asylum seekers and other immigrants.

Dr. Khajavi-Harvey will be happy to do interviews and readings. Contact her at mahvash@daylightforevermemoir.com. 

About the Author: Dr. Mahvash Khajavi-Harvey lives in Seattle with her physician husband and three children and is a firm believer in the power of community, both far and wide. She volunteers dentistry services in Seattle at homeless clinics every year, is active with the Bahá’ícommunity in Washington, Oregon, California and elsewhere, and has earmarked a portion of the proceeds from the book to the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the Tahirih Justice Center and the Mona Foundation.

More information:

· Website: DaylightForeverMemoir.com 

· Blog: daylightforevermemoir.com/blog

· YouTube: https://bit.ly/3AeMq2b

· Twitter: @DLForeverMemoir

· Facebook: @DaylightForeverMemoir 

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A courageous and hopeful new memoir by human rights activist and Seattle dentist Mahvash Khajavi-Harvey is available as a Kindle e-book and in print for pre-ordering.  Daylight Forever: A Memoir is the true story of a young Baha’i girl growing up in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War who lives in daily terror of religious persecution and bombing raids. Taking destiny into her own hands, 15-year-old Mahvash escapes on a solo trek across the Iran-Pakistan border under cover of darkness with shady smugglers she does not know and will never know. “My childhood is over,” she writes.

Daylight Forever is a portrait of a childhood cut short, a family torn apart as it flees from Iranian oppression. The story follows one immigrant’s struggle for religious freedom, opportunity and belonging. Her daring and dangerous  journey to the United States illuminates the consequences of war, religious persecution, women’s oppression and the denial of education and basic human rights — and the lengths to which refugees of all ages will go to find safety, education and a place to call home.

The story is also one of hope, of the will to live, survive, and thrive as a refugee. Mahvash Khajavi-Harvey wrote Daylight Forever to encourage compassion, tolerance and acceptance in the debate over immigration in the United States.

“Daylight Forever is both stunning and heartbreaking,” says Megan Febuary, founder of For Women Who Roar. “Mahvash brilliantly invites the reader into her personal journey as a refugee and allows you to experience her life through the eyes of a young girl. This memoir was gripping, visceral, and sacred work. Not only does this book need to be a required reading, it deserves a prize for the bravery that it represents in honor of every refugee, both present and past.”

Dr. Harvey lives in Seattle, Wash., where she and her husband are raising three children. She began writing her story after her oldest daughter was stung by a middle school classmate who felt emboldened by the rhetoric of the country to declare to his classmates that there were too many immigrants in the US and they should all be deported. 

A dentist in private practice, Dr. Harvey is a firm believer in the power of community — both far and wide. She has volunteered dentistry services overseas in third-world communities and also provides free dental care in Seattle at local homeless clinics every year. She supports numerous nonprofits including the Mona Foundation, the Tahirih Justice Center and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, who will receive the net proceeds from the book. She has also served on the board of “Journey with an Afghan School,” a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO), which was founded post 9/11 to build schools for girls in Afghanistan.

Dr. Harvey is available for interviews and readings.