Akhtar Naraghi is an Iranian-born writer who has long resided in Canada. She holds a Ph.D. in English literature from McGill University and works in English. Naraghi has published three novels, The Big Green House (1994), Blue Curtains (1999) and With Mara That Summer (2004). In these, the narrator-protagonist recounts episodes from her life, beginning in early childhood and ending with her declining years.

Akhtar Naraghi's writing is characterized by a language that produces its effect through clarity and simplicity, as her heroine struggles to shape her identity in the face of a wide array of obstacles. Her novels are all written in the first person, and revolve around the narrator's efforts to make a home in new surroundings, in different cultures. There is a poetic, almost folktale-like quality to much of her writing.

Speaking of poetry, Naraghi is also the author of two collections of verse, Legacy (1992) and Solitude (1996), in addition to having contributed forewords, articles and short stories to numerous journals.

Akhtar Naraghi is as celebrated for her efforts on behalf of women as for her writing. In 1987 she founded the International Organization of the Helen Prize for Women, named for Dr. Helen Caldicott, the creator of Physicians for Social Responsibility. The Helen Prize annually honors the achievements of women of the world, whatever their backgrounds and whatever their fields of endeavor.