Parisa Akhbari

Parisa Akhbari is a mental health therapist and writer from Seattle, Washington. She draws from the legacy of poetry and storytelling in Iranian culture to craft novels for young readers who experience life on the margins. Her debut novel, Just Another Epic Love Poem (Penguin Teen, 2024), weaves together poetry, prose, text messages, and other found documents. This tapestry tells the story of two best friends who have been writing a never-ending poem together for five years, and illuminates how the poem—and their friendship—changes as the girls fall in love with one another. The novel was a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Bestseller and received starred reviews from Booklist and the Center for Children’s Books. Her writing has also been featured in Teen Vogue, Writer’s Digest, and Zibby Magazine. She is a Spring 2024 alumna of Hedgebrook’s Writer-in-Residence program. When not writing or therapizing, she can be found trying to replicate her grandmother’s drool-worthy Persian recipes, riding ferries around the Puget Sound, and dancing around the kitchen with her wife and dogs.