Elif Shafak

Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist and the most widely read female author in Turkey. She writes in both Turkish and English and has published seventeen books, eleven of which are novels. Her work has been translated into 50 languages. Her most recent novel is The Island of Missing Trees. Her previous novel, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and RSL Ondaatje Prize; and chosen Blackwell’s Book of the Year. Shafak holds a Ph.D. in political science and she has taught at various universities in Turkey, the US, and the UK, including St Anne’s College, Oxford University, where she is an honorary fellow.

She is a member of Weforum Global Agenda Council on Creative Economy and a founding member of ECFR (European Council on Foreign Relations). An advocate for women’s rights, LGBT rights, and freedom of speech, Shafak is an inspiring public speaker and twice TED Global speaker, each time receiving a standing ovation. Shafak contributes to major publications around the world and she was awarded the medal of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2017 she was chosen by Politico as one of the twelve people “who will give you a much-needed lift of the heart”. Shafak has judged numerous literary prizes, chaired the Wellcome Prize, and is presently judging the Orwell Prize.