Shahrnush Parsipur was born in Tehran in 1946.

After holding a variety of office jobs, she began a literary career in 1974 with the publication of the novel The Dog and the Long Winter. She has since published seven more works of fiction, including the acclaimed novels Tuba and the Meaning of Night and Women Without Men. She was jailed three times in Iran, and all of her works are still banned in that country.

She now lives in the United States.