Isajon Sulton

Isajon Sulton was born April 6, 1967, in the village of Avazboy of Rishton district in the Ferghana Valley of Uzbekistan. His father Abduraim Sultonov worked in radio broadcasting in the area, while his mother Buhajal Sultonova was a homemaker. Isajon was the first of their seven children. In 1983 he finished secondary school No. 32 with a gold medal. He matriculated into the journalism faculty of Tashkent State University (now the Uzbekistan National University) in 1985 and finished his bachelor’s degree with honors in 1990. His first publication as a writer of fiction was the novella Prayer in 1990. This story reflects the teachings and influence of Isajon’s grandfather, Sulton-ota, who worked as baker in Avazboy for many years. Just as the prophet Adam taught his sons, Sulton-ota passed down a knowledge of the language of nature and the names and peculiarities of history’s personages and events. This “language” made its way into his novels The Eternal Wanderer (Boqiy darbadar) and Ozod (the eponymous character’s name, meaning “free”). “All beings other than humans speak one language,” the caravan leader of The Eternal Wanderer tells his grandson before the storm. Likewise, the wind that guides Ozod speaks sometimes with the voice of his grandfather and sometimes with the voice of his father. His book publications include: Prayer, novella, 1990. Oydinbuloq (the name of a spring in the story), novella and stories, 1995. The Eternal Wanderer, novel and stories, 2011. Ozod, novel and stories, 2013. The Garden of Eram, novella and stories, 2014. Selected Works, in 2 volumes, 2017. His pieces have been published in Russia, Moldova, the United States, and Turkey in literary journals. In 2015 a collection of works entitled The Garden of Eram was published in Turkey as a separate book. The Writers’ Union of Uzbekistan recognized The Eternal Wanderer as the best prose work in Uzbekistan in 2011 and in 2013 the Writers’ Union recognized Ozod with an award for an annual literary contest. Sulton has been recognized in several international literary competitions. His short story “Fate” was published in the Chicago journal Leksikon in 2011 after winning its annual contest, while the short story “The Garden of Eram” won a contest organized by the literary journal Güncel Sanat (Antalya) in 2015. The story “In Search of al-Khidr” was a laureate in London’s “Open-Eurasian 2017” contest. Sulton is married with two children and resides in Tashkent.