Zahid Khalil

Zahid Khalil (Zahid Khalilov) was born in Yevlakh.

He studied at the Journalism Department of the Philology Faculty of Azerbaijan State University (1959-1965).

He began his career as a technician at the Yevlakh Tobacco Fermentation Plant. He worked as the head of the Yevlakh city culture house (1965-1966), a literary worker in the editorial office of the inter-district newspaper "Galabeh", a responsible secretary in the Yevlakh district newspaper "Tashabbus", a literary worker and responsible secretary in the Goranboy district newspaper "Mubarize". In 1966, he was appointed editor of the "Young Teacher" newspaper published at the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical Institute. He worked as a senior lecturer in the Department of History of Literature (1970), an associate professor in the Department of Literature and Its Teaching (1980), and a dean in the Faculty of Pedagogy (1997). Candidate of Philological Sciences (1975), Doctor of Philological Sciences (1990), Professor (1991). Since 1997, he has been working as the head of the Department of Literature and Methods of Its Teaching at the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University. The book “Detskaya literatura Azerbaydzhana” (Azerbaijani Children's Literature) has been accepted as a textbook for students of the Philology Faculty of Moscow State University. He is a co-author of the textbooks “Children's Literature” for higher schools and “Azerbaijani Language” for grades II and III of primary school. His first poem “Vetanim” (My Homeland) was published in the newspaper “Yeni Yevlakh” (1958). He regularly appears in periodicals.

In 1982, he was awarded the editorial board’s “Zolotoy telyonok” prize for the stories “Kölələr” and “Limonad ichmeyim” published in “Literaturnaya Gazeta”. He was the winner of the USSR “Best Children's Book of the Year” competition (1987), the Republican competition “Best Children's Book of the Year” (1988). He is a member of the UNESCO MOUDL organization for the study of children's literature. “Selected Works” was published in 6 volumes (2010). He was the author and host of the programs “Your Favorite Writers”, “Chirag”, “Schoolboy's Library”, “Free Thought Studio” on Azerbaijan Television (1975-2006). He is the laureate of the “Golden Pen” award (2002). He was awarded the “Progress” medal (2006).