Ilgar Fahmi was born on 18 August 1975 in Baku. He is from the village of Zira, near Baku. From 1992 to 1996 he studied at the Faculty of Law of Baku State University, later also graduating from the Belarusian State University of Economics. He has been engaged in literary creativity since 1995. For many years he took part in aruz poetry gatherings in Baku and Absheron. He has published eighteen books of various literary works. In 2002 his play "The Last Train" ("Dogs") was staged by Jannat Salimova; his other screenplays — "Turn to Die" (2009, director Fikrat Aliyev), "The Actress" (2010, director Rovshan Isakh), "Notes of a Dervish" (2011-2012, director Eldar Guliyev) and "The Last Stop" (2013-2014, director Fikrat Aliyev) — were adapted for the screen on state commission by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In 2003 he received the Azerbaijani Ministry of Youth, Sport and Tourism''s "Best Young Poet of the Year" award; in 2007 the "Rasul Rza" literary prize; in 2008 a diploma at a poetry competition among young poets from CIS countries held in Russia; and in 2011 the "Humay" award for his work "A Collage from the History of Baku". He was awarded the commemorative badge "880th Anniversary of Nizami Ganjavi (1141-2021)", established by the Ministry of Culture. The film "The Actress", based on his novel, was screened in 2011 at the opening of the Azerbaijani pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival for the first time. His works have been published in a number of foreign countries. For many years he worked at the Azerbaijan Writers'' Union''s magazine "Ulduz". For a time he taught "Creative Writing" at Khazar University. He currently works at the Department of Film Studies and Screen Dramaturgy of the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, teaching Television Series Screenwriting within the Creative Writing and Screen Dramaturgy (screenwriting) programme. He currently serves as secretary for creative affairs of the Azerbaijan Writers'' Union.
