Biography
About Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak (born 1971) is a Turkish-British novelist and one of the most widely read authors in Turkey, with her books translated into more than 50 languages. D. in political science and now lives in London.
Her novels — including *The Bastard of Istanbul* (2006), *The Forty Rules of Love* (2010), and *10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World* (2019) — weave together Sufi mysticism, Ottoman history, feminist politics, and contemporary Istanbul. In 2006 she was prosecuted under Turkey's Article 301 for "insulting Turkishness" after her novel addressed the Armenian genocide. She was acquitted.
She is a vocal defender of LGBTQ rights, press freedom, and multicultural democracy, and has given widely watched TED talks on storytelling and the politics of identity.
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- Born
- 1971
- Status
- Living
- Age
- 55 yrs
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Elif Shafak (born 1971) is a Turkish-British novelist and one of the most widely read authors in Turkey, with her books translated into more than 50 languages. Born in Strasbourg to Turkish parents and raised between Ankara and Madrid, she holds a Ph.D. in political science and now lives in London. Her novels — including *The Bastard of Istanbul* (2006), *The Forty Rules of Love* (2010), and *10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World* (2019) — weave together Sufi mysticism, Ottoman history, feminist politics, and contemporary Istanbul. In 2006 she was prosecuted under Turkey's Article 301 for "insulting Turkishness" after her novel addressed the Armenian genocide. She was acquitted. She is a vocal defender of LGBTQ rights, press freedom, and multicultural democracy, and has given widely watched TED talks on storytelling and the politics of identity. Elif Shafak lived b. 1971.
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