The catalogue “Books from Turkey” consists of a collection of texts ...

The catalogue “Books
from Turkey” consists
of a collection of texts
introducing literary works
that were translated and
published from Turkish
into other languages
or works that are being
translated and published.
Alongside the texts
exploring the contents of
the books you will also find
the author biographies.
“Books from Turkey”
allows an insight into the
wealth and beauty
of Turkish Literature.

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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A D A L E T A Ğ A O Ğ L U
Adalet Ağaoğlu, author, playwright and human activist, became Turkey’s most
prized novelist. Considered to be one of the most important living authors in Turkey
and a revered intellectual, the subject matter of her tightly constructed prose is a
balance between a realistic description of the milieu of Turkey which she knows
firsthand and the broader, more human elements of social pressure and gender
prejudice. In an unfamiliar urban world, her characters as newcomers to modernity
struggle with age-old issues complicated by perplexing political, religious, economic
and social forces. She has been rewarded with numerous honours besides the literary
awards she won in the fields of novel, short story and drama. For her perception
of subtle and overt changes in modern Turkish society and her writing entitled
“Modernism and Social Change” Ağaoğlu received the “Turkish Presidency Culture
and Art Merit Award” in 1995. In 1998, Ağaoğlu received an Honorary Ph.D. from
Eskişehir Anadolu University followed by a Ph.D. of Human Letters from the Ohio
State University.
Some of Works: Novels: Ölmeye Yatmak (Lying Down to Die), Fikrimin İnce Gülü
(The Delicate Rose of My Throughts), Bir Düğün Gecesi (A Wedding Night),
Yazsonu (Summer’s End), Üç Beş Kişi(Curfew), Ruh Üşümesi (A Chill in the Soul),
Romantik Bir Viyana Yazı (A Romantic Vienna Summer) Short Story Collections:
Yüksek Gerilim (High Voltage), Sessizliğin İlk Sesi (The First Sound of Silence),
Hadi Gidelim (C’mon, Lets Go), Hayatı Savunma Birimleri (Life Defence Units)
Foreign Rights: Fikrimin İnce Gülü/The Delicate Rose of My Throughts
(Sehnsucht AraratVerlag, Germany), Bir Düğün Gecesi/A Wedding Night (Narodna
Kultura, Bulgaria), (Maj Bratislava, Slovakia), Yazsonu/Summer’s End (Talisman,
USA), (Sphinx Agency, Egypt), Üç Beş Kişi/Curfew (Texas University Pres, USA)
ÖLMEYE YATMAK - LYING DOWN TO DIE
Unionsverlag, Germany, 2008, 299 pages, Novel
Translated by Ingrid Iren
ISBN: 975 458 862 0
www.onkagency.com
The first novel of the trilogy “Narrow Times” (the other two are Bir
Düğün Gecesi and Hayır...) is 299 pages long and begins at 7:22 am
and ends at 8:49 am. Aysel, an Associate Professor at a university,
while lying down to die in a hotel room in Ankara, conducts an inner
dialogue with herself, asking what the use of so much reading and
writing had in her life. In the meantime, she recalls her whole life
from childhood on, in the framework of the political turmoil from
1938 until 1968. Aysel, after about an hour and a half, decides not to
die and leaves the hotel room on a misty April morning.

ÖLÜMÜN GÖLGESİ YOK
DEATH HAS NO SHADOWS
Dar El Shorouk, Egypt, 292 pages, Novel
Translated by Safsafy Ahmet Al-Qatory
ISBN: 978 975 07 0388 X
www.kalemagency.com
A D N A N B İ N Y A Z A R
Adnan Binyazar was born in Diyarbakır in 1934. He worked at the Institute of
Turkish History (Türk Tarih Kurumu) and in 1978 he was appointed as President of
the Publicity and Publications Department for the Ministry of Culture, where he was
the director responsible for the Turkish Culture and Translation periodicals. He was
also elected as the Director of the Publications Branch of the Institute of Turkish
Language. He travelled abroad and performed various studies in Germany, Sweden
and Switzerland about Turkish education, and, as well as taking part in different
projects, served on the Berlin Educational Senate.
WORKS: Şairin Kedisi (The Poet’s Cat), Duyguların Anakarası (The Continent of
Feelings), Halk Anlatıları (Folk Tales), Masalını Yitiren Dev (The Giant who Lost
his Tale), Ölümün Gölgesi Yok (Death has no Shadows - 2005 Orhan Kemal Novel
Award), Şah Mahmet (Mahmet The Shah).
The novel tells the love story between a young girl who is a
student, and a young teacher who is appointed to a small
province in Anatolia. The teacher falls in love with his
student at first sight, and they end up getting married. The
author happens to develop cancer while living in Berlin, and
the disease causes their love to be dragged into despair. The
author, who describes how his love becomes encompassed
by the acute feeling of a rancid ‘pain’, says that ‘the biggest
punishment given to a human being on this earthly stage
called life is the transformation of love into pity.’ The
events taking place in the background of the feelings they
experience expand and then become constricted between
‘love’ and ‘death’ through the association of ideas and
flashbacks. As the wife’s illness progresses, the author
goes through unbearable states of depression, driven
about between hope and despair. Death has no Shadows
causes the reader to experience how one can become
more exhausted by each and every passing day, as well as
enabling him to ponder upon the infinitude of existence and
nonexistence. The novel has attracted attention especially
due to the author’s sensitive language, poetic voice, and the
novel’s rhythmic exposition, resulting in three editions in
three years.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
KILIÇ YARASI GİBİ
LIKE A SWORD WOUND
A H M E T A L T A N
Ahmet Altan was born in 1950. Upon studying in various middle and high schools, he
attended Middle East Technical University, ultimately graduating from the Faculty
of Economics at Istanbul University. He took on journalism at the age of twentyfour,
assuming positions in nearly all echelons of the profession, from evening
correspondent to editor-in-chief. Altan became a columnist in 1987, suspending
his career in journalism in 1990 while still an editor-in-chief. He worked on several
television programmes. Reprimanded for much of his writing, in 1995 he was
sentenced to a year and a half in prison. He is presently the editor-in-chief of Taraf
newspaper. His first novel, Dört Mevsim Sonbahar (All Four Seasons Autumn),
was published in 1982. His second book, Sudaki İz (Trace in the Water, 1985) was
confiscated and burned via court order on charges of obscenity. Persevering as
a novelist with bestsellers such as Yalnızlığın Özel Tarihi (The Private History of
Loneliness,1991), Tehlikeli Masallar (Perilous Tales, 1996), Kılıç Yarası Gibi (Like
a Sword Wound, 2001), İsyan Günlerinde Aşk (Love in the Days of Mutiny, 2001),
Aldatmak (Cheating, 2002), and En Uzun Gece (The Longest Night, 2005). He also
has several essay collections.
Foreign Rights: İsyan Günlerinde Aşk/Love in the Days of Mutiny (L’amour au
temps revoltes, Actessud-France); Kılıç Yarası Gibi/Like a Sword Wound (Comme
une Bessure de Sabre, Actessud-France), (Der Duft Des Paradieses, Krüger Verlag,
Germany)
Krüger Verlag, Germany, 2002, 320 pages, Novel
Translated by Ute Birgi-Knellessen
ISBN: 9789759920791
alkim@alkim.com.tr
Kılıç Yarası Gibi is an intense novel, which deals with
the human relationships, emotions and love in depth.
The novel begins with the attack by Armenians on
the Ottoman Bank towards the end of the nineteenth
century and the wedding of Şeyh Efendi, one of the
novel’s main characters. The history of the Ottoman
period at the beginning of the twentieth century,
the historical characters as well as the political and
military developments of the time form the backdrop of
the novel which traces the colourful and mysteriously
interconnected lives of both Şeyh Efendi and the
family of one of the high officials of the palace, Reşit
Pasha, just like meticulously knitted lace throughout
the novel. What makes this novel unique is that it has
created its own language and has skillfully moulded
fiction with facts, while shedding light on many
incidents of recent Turkish history that remain in the
dark. (1999 Yunus Nadi Novel Award)

A H M E D A R İ F
Ahmed Arif (1927-1991) was born in Diyarbakır. He finished high school in Afyon.
While he was studying philosophy in Ankara University he was arrested on political
grounds in 1950 and 1952-53 so could not complete his education. He worked for
several Ankara newspapers. Between 1944-55 his poetry was published in various
literary journals. He has published only one collection of poetry: Hasretinden
Prangalar Eskittim (Fetters Worn Out by Longing,1968) which was widely read by
successive generations of poetry lovers and revolutionaries in Turkey. The book has
gone through a record number of printings and has achieved cult status.
HASRETİNDEN PRANGALAR ESKİTTİM
FETTERS WORN OUT BY LONGING
J&D Dagyeli Verlag, Germany, 2008
Translated by Helga Dağyeli, Bohne and
Yıldırım Dağyeli
184 pages, Poetry
ISBN: 9789753426527
rights@metisbooks.com
Fetters Worn Out by Longing was first
published in 1968 and made a record
number of printings. The poems in it
were in the hands, words and songs
of many generations of socialists and
revolutionaries. It had a special and
unforgettable place in the bittersweet
memories of many people. Ahmed
Arif’s poems symbolize the love of
land and people, the rebellious spirit
and ethics of revolt for his generation
and the following generations. This
special edition for its 40. anniversary
aims to remind the young readers of
the day his ideas and values which are
under constant attack.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A H M E T E M İ N A T A S O Y
Ahmet Emin Atasoy (Bulgaria, 1944) graduated from the Department of Turkish
Philology at Sofia University. He worked as a literature teacher, art reporter and
director of reading halls. He took refuge in Turkey in 1989. His poetry, articles and
translations were published in magazines such as Cumhuriyet Kitap, Çağdaş Türk
Dili, Düşlem, Kavram-Karmaşa, Sincan İstasyonu, and Yaba Edebiyat. His poems were
translated into Azerbaijan Turkish, Bulgarian, English, Macedonian and Romanian.
He translated poems by several Bulgarian and Russian poets into Turkish. In 2008, he
was awarded “The Great Poetry Award” in the Argeş 11th International Poetry Festival
(Romania) and “2008 Special Jury Award” of the European Culture Academy (Bulgaria)
for Orpheus’un Liri (Orpheus’ Lyre).
WORKS: Poetry: Sensizliğinle Beraber (Together with your absence), Yüreğimde Şirin
Tuna Aktıkça (As long as sweet Danube flows in my heart), Duygu Burgacı (Whirlpool
of Emotions), Rüzgârların Küstürdüğü Yapraklar (The Leavess that the wind
offended), Perdeledim Penceremi Geceye (I shut the curtains of my window to the
night) , Aşkın Yaşı Yok (Love is ageless), Damla Damla (Drop by drop), Sevgi Denizi-
Çocuklar İçin Şiirler (Sea of Love-Poems for Children), Küllerde Kor Ararken (Looking
for a glowing piece of coal in ashes), Dünya Vurdu Başıma (The world hit me on the
head), Çocuk Şiirleri (Children’s Poems), Kalabalık Yerinde Yalnızlığın (In the crowded
part of loneliness); Compilation and Anthology: 1967’nin Bıraktığı Şiirler (Poems Left
by 1967 in Bulgaria with Naci Ferhadov), XV Yüzyıldan Bugüne Rumeli Motifli Türk
Şiiri Antolojisi (The Anthology of Turkish Poetry with Rumelian Motifs since XV.
Century), Bursa Esintileri (Breezes of Bursa, Turkish Short Stories, Bulgarian, 2008)
Essay: Birikmiş Yansımalar Vitrini (The Showcase of Collected Reflections)
YANKILARIN YANKISI
THE ECHO OF ECHOES
Makavey Publishing, Macedonia, 2008
78 pages, Poetry
Translated by Fahri Ali and Branko Tsvetoski
ISBN:9789989164927
ahmeteminatasoy@yahoo.com
The 78-page book contains
approximately 60 poems chosen by the
poet himself from his last seven books.
The poems, which were translated into
Macedonian by the Macedonian-Turkish
poet and translator Fahri Ali, were edited
and published by the distinguished
Macedonian poet and publisher of our
day, Branko Tsvetoski.

A H M E T H A M D İ T A N P I N A R
Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar (1901-1962) was a poet, short story writer, novelist, literary
historian and professor of literature. He is arguably the most surprising writer of
20th century Turkish literature. Deeply influenced by Valéry and Bergson, Tanpınar
created an amazing cultural universe in his work, bringing together Western forms
of writing and the sensibilities of a diminishing Ottoman culture. For him the novel
was but a concrete manifestation of the dream form. In his creation of a symbolistmodernist
fiction, he was ahead of the established literary conventions of his time,
which blended romanticism with social realism to bring about social reform. After
completing his M.A. at the Faculty of Letters at Istanbul University, he taught
literature in various cities throughout Anatolia and in 1939 he became a full professor
at Istanbul University, where he has taught Aesthetics, Mythology and Literature.
Foreign Rights: Huzur/A Mind at Peace (Archipelago Books,USA), Seelenfrieden
(Unionsverlag AG, Germany), (Kelag-E Sefid, Iran), (CHIRP, China), (Fan Noli,
Albania), (Trud, Bulgaria), (ASP, Lebanon), (Athenaeum-Polak & Van Gennep, The
Netherlands), (Fujiwara, Japan); Yaz Yağmuru/Summer Rain (Actes Sud, France);
Beş Şehir/Five Cities (Publisud/UNESCO, France); Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü/The
Time Regulation Institute (Actes Sud, France), Das Uhrenstellinstitut (Carl Hanser
Verlag, Germany), (Kelag-E Sefid, Iran), (Fan Noli, Albania), (Trud, Bulgaria),
(Einaudi, Italy), (Potamos, Greece), (Athenaeum-Polak & Van Gennep,
The Netherlands), (La Campana, Catalan), (Schocken, Israel), (Yeuleumsa, Korea),
(ASP, Lebanon), (Vremea, Romania), (Dereta, Serbia), (El Aleph, Spain),
(Fujiwara, Japan)
HUZUR - A MIND AT PEACE
Archipelago Books, USA, 2006, 391 pages, Novel
Translated into English by Erdağ Göknar
ISBN: 9789750801754
www.kalemagency.com
Between our pasts, our identities, and
the broad cultures of East and West
– between two worlds – our attitude
of sometimes being ourselves and
sometimes not, our hesitations, how
we live a day or a moment, our habits,
our convictions, the pleasure we take
from “the music of silence”, the Istanbul
that produces its own culture and
consumes it as soon as it’s produced,
its flutes, its drums, the halo of the
music they produce that still draws us
in, wanderings of the soul, soft but deep
questions, the delicious restlessness
that all of this “synthesis” leaves us
with… A Mind at Peace is first a novel
of the love between Mümtaz and Nuran
and then the novel of our lives.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A H M E T H A Ş İ M
Ahmet Haşim (1887-1933) was one of the most influential poets, along with Yahya
Kemal Beyatlı, of 20th century Turkish literature. He attempted to create a pure
form of poetry during the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The men of letters of the
time were engaged in didactic literature and Ahmet Haşim’s efforts were somehow
seen as futile. But both he and Yahya Kemal channelled all their efforts into these
pure poems. His small books of poetry Göl Saatleri (The Hours of the Lake), and
Piyale (The Goblet) were subjected to much criticism when they were first published
and were mocked in satirical magazines. His response to these attacks attempted
to explain his conception of poetry. Ahmet Haşim was also famous for his prose. His
essays are still read and loved by many.
WORKS: Bütün Şiirleri: Piyale-Göl Saatleri-Diğer Şiirleri (Collected Poems: The
Goblet, The Hours of the Lake and Other Poems), Bütün Eserleri I: Bize Göre -
İkdam’daki Diğer Yazıları (Collected Works I: According to Us and Other Essays
Published in İkdam), Bütün Eserleri II: Gurabahâne-i Laklakan, Diğer Yazılar
(Collected Works II: A Hospital of Storks and Other Essays), Bütün Eserleri III
Frankfurt Seyahatnamesi - Mektuplar - Mülakâtlar (Collected Works III: The
Frankfurt Journey, Letters, Interviews)
FRANKFURT SEYEHATNAMESİ
THE FRANFURT JOURNEY
Literaturca Verlag, Germany, 2008
Translated by Beatrix Caner, 200 pages, Memoir
ISBN: 9789750808754
bilgi@dergahyayinlari.com
This small book is comprised of 20 short essays
which contain the view of a Turkish intellectual,
who went to Germany to receive medical care, of
Germany in the 1930s, as seen through the eyes
of Frankfurt. Haşim leaves by train from Sirkeci
Station, gloomily watching Üsküdar, and arrives in
Frankfurt, after crossing the Balkans and the plains
of Central Europe. He describes this old German
town before the Second World War from many
different perspectives.

A H M E T M İ T H A T E F E N D İ
Ahmet Mithat Efendi (Istanbul 1844-1912) completed his secondary education in
Tophane and Niş, and learned French in the meantime. He then joined the public
service in the province of Danube and went to Baghdad alongside the Danube governor,
Mithat Pasha. There, he worked in the publishing of Zevra newspaper. It was there
that he also published his first books Hace-i Evvel and Kıssadan Hisse (The Moral of
the Story, 1870) here for students. He established a small publishing house in 1871 and
continued with journalism. He published the journal Dağarcık (Repertoire). He was
exiled to Rhodes for an article he wrote about Darwin, but returned to Istanbul after
the declaration of the constitutional monarchy. He served as the director of Takvim-i
Vekayi newspaper and in the Matbaa-i Amire Directorate. He later facilitated the
publishing of the Tercüman-ı Hakikat (Interpreter of Truth) newspaper (1877-1912).
The writing career of Ahmet Mithat Efendi played an important role in instilling a love
of books and reading. His attempt to teach while entertaining is obvious in his works.
Ahmed Mithat Efendi has produced over 200 works including novels, short stories and
plays as well as many books on philosopy and research, textbooks, encyclopedic books
and translations.
Some of Works: Hasan Mellah, Hüseyin Fellah, Felâtun Bey ile Rakım Efendi (Felatun
Bey and Rakim Efendi), Dünyaya İkinci Geliş (The Second Incarnation), Karı Koca
Masalı (A Fairytale of Husband and Wife), Paris’te Bir Türk (A Turkish Man in Paris),
Süleyman Musli, Çengi (The Dancing Girl), Yeryüzünde Bir Melek (An Angel on Earth),
Henüz On Yedi Yaşında (Only Seventeen Years Old), Karnaval (Carnival), Vah (What a
Pity), Dürdane Hanım, Acaib-i Âlem (The Extraordinariness of the World), Cellat (The
Hangman), Esrar-ı Cinayat (The Mystery in Murders), Hayret (The Astonishment),
Haydut Montari (Montari, the Bandit), Arnavutlar-Solyatlar (Albanians and Soliots),
Demir Bey, Gürcü Kızı (The Georgian Girl), Müşahedat (Observations), Papazdaki Esrar
The Mystery of the Priest), Hayal ve Hakikat (Dream and Reality), Ahmed Metin ve
Şirzad (Ahmed Metin and Sirzad), Taaffüf (Chastity), Gönüllü (The Volunteer),
Eski Mektuplar (Old Letters), Jön Türk (Young Turk).
FELATUN BEY İLE RAKIM EFENDİ
FELATUN BEY AND RAKIM EFENDI
Inner Mongolian Cultural
Publishing House, China, 2009
Translated by Ye Jian Xin
172 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9789758994038
The novel Felatun Bey ile Rakım Efendi is
a fine example of Ahmet Mithat’s work,
who produced both his works and, in
Tanpınar’s words, his readers, for forty
years with amazing diligence, remaining
committed to the concept of “educating
the public while entertaining”. The subject
of this “lesson” from the head teacher
of Turkish literature is how the new
Westernization process should be perceived
and experienced. The entertaining story of
the smart and resourceful Rakım, who grew
up in poverty, and Felatun, who inherited
a big fortune and embraced a European
lifestyle, embraces the author’s answer to
this question aswell.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A H M E T R A S İ M
Ahmet Rasim was born in Istanbul in 1865 and completed his education in
Darüşşafaka. He went into journalism under the guidance of Ahmed Mithat. His
articles, travel writings, memoirs, conversations, poems and translations have been
published in various magazines and newspapers. He wrote for İleri, Vakit, Akşam
and Cumhuriyet newspapers. He worked briefly as a teacher and after the Second
Constitutional Monarchy, he published, together with Hüseyin Rahmi Gürpınar, a
humorous magazine entitled Boşboğaz (Blabbermouth). He worked as a reporter
in Syria, Sofia and Romania. He became a member of Istanbul parliament in 1927,
where he served until his death. Excluding his textbooks and translations, Ahmet
Rasim’s oeuvre contains approximately 140 works. He wrote in a pure Turkish that is
based on vivid, short sentences and current expressions, and he adopted a realistobservationist
approach. With his unique style, he was widely read; he also composed
nearly 60 songs, with his own lyrics. Ahmet Rasim, journalist, historian, and author,
died in his Heybeliada residence on 21st September, 1932.
WORKS: Afife, Ülfet, Kitabei Gam (Letters to a Lover), Şehir Mektupları (Letters
of the City), Falaka (Foot Whipping), İki Güzel Günahkâr (Two Beautiful Sinners),
Fuhşı Atik (The Old Days of Prostitution), Muharrir Şair Edip (Columnist and Poet
Edip), Ramazan Sohbetleri (Ramadan Conversations) , Menakıbı İslam (Stories
of Islam), Eşkali Zaman (The Shapes of Time), Ciddü Mizah (Biographies), Gülüp
Ağladıklarım (What Makes Me Laugh and Cry), Muharrir Bu Ya (The Reporter),
Osmanlı Tarihi (Ottoman History), İki Hatıra Üç Şahsiyet (Two Memories and Three
Personalities), İstibdattan Hakimiyeti Milliyeye (From Tyranny to the Rule of the
Nation), Romanya Mektupları (Letters from Romania).
FALAKA
FOOT WHIPPING
Inner Mongolian Cultural Publishing House, China 2010
128 pages, Novel
Translated by Zhang Shi Ming
ISBN: 9789756342114
In his novel entitled Falaka (Foot
Whipping) Ahmet Rasim collects his
memoirs about his childhood, especially
those of his school years. When you
read these stories which he penned
in a humorous style, you will see how
improperly and primitively children were
educated at that time and cannot help
but feel compassion for them.

A H M E T Ü M İ T
Ahmet Ümit (Gaziantep, 1960) graduated from the Public Management Department
at Marmara University in 1983, completing his studies at the Moscow Academy of
Social Sciences. His first book, Sokağın Zulası (The Street’s Secret Hiding Place), was
published in 1989. The book which reflects the political atmosphere of the period,
consists of the poems of a young person who is in despair because of the death
and darkness which surrounds him and his way of coping with it by sticking to his
utopia. Ümit’s first book of short stories, Çıplak Ayaklıydı Gece (Barefoot Night),
was published in 1992 and won the Ferit Oğuz Bayır Philosophy and Arts Award in
the same year. Almost all of his works are tinged with an air of suspense. Sis ve Gece
(Fog and Night), published in 1996, exemplifies this feeling throughout. Ahmet Ümit
is one of the most important writers of Turkish detective fiction and some of his works
have been made into films and TV series.
WORKS: Sokağın Zulası (The Street’s Secret Hiding Place), Çıplak Ayaklıydı Gece
(Barefoot Night), Bir Ses Böler Geceyi (A Noise in the Night ), Masal İçinde Masal
(Tale within a Tale), Sis ve Gece (Fog and Night ), Agatha’nın Anahtarı (Agatha’s
Key), Kar Kokusu (The Fragrance of Snow), Patasana (Patasana), Kukla (Puppet),
Beyoğlu Rapsodi (Beyoğlu Rhapsody), Aşk Köpekliktir (Love is Slavery), Başkomiser
Nevzat, (Chief Inspector Nevzat), Çiçekçinin Ölümü (Death of a Florist), Kavim (Tribe),
Ninatta’nın Bileziği, (Ninatta’s Bracelet), Insan Ruhunun Haritası (A Map of the Human
Spirit), Olmayan Ülke (The Land That Never Was), Bab-ı Esrar (The Gate of Mystery)
Foreign Rights: Sis ve Gece/The Fog and the Night (German, Greek);
Patasana, (Spanish), (German); Beyoğlu Rapsodisi/Rhapsody of Beyoglu (Greek); Şeytan
Ayrıntıda Gizlidir/The Devil is in the Details(German); Kukla/The Puppet (French);
Masal Masal İçinde/Fairy Tales (Korean)
BEYOĞLU RAPSODİSİ - BEYOGLU RHAPSODY
Kedros Publishers, Greece, 2006, 386 pages, Novel
Translated by Sofia Ipsilandi
ISBN: 9789759915599
dk.rights@dogankitap.com.tr
This novel, telling the stories of three friends, also
relates, in part, Beyoğlu’s own story. It is the story of
the mysteries concealed amongst the jostling, hustle
and bustle of Beyoğlu’s streets. Beyoğlu Rhapsody is the
tale of a continuing friendship, starting in childhood,
set against the background of today’s Beyoğlu. Three
contrasting personalities, three distinct lifestyles
are drawn together within this friendship. First, we
become acquainted withthem, and then we become
eyewitnesses in their lives. Thinking that everything
is going along nicely, quite naturally, their lives are
changed by a photography exhibition. Interrogations,
questions... then secrets are revealed, one after the
other. Ahmet Ümit, with this novel, takes the Detective
thriller form into a different dimension. In addition to
giving the reader the bonus of a twist in the ending, he
also makes us think about the notions of eternal life,
friendship, family and ownership.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A H M E T Y O R U L M A Z
Ahmet Yorulmaz was born in 1932, in Ayvalık, where he grew up. He started his
literary life by translating Modern Greek literature. First, he translated short stories
and poems, then children’s books and later on, novels. His translations have been
published in Varlık. His, Savaşın Çocukları - Girit’ten Sonra Ayvalık (Children of War
- After Crete, Ayvalık), which is about the compulsory population exchange between
Greece and Turkey and more precisely, about the tragedy of the Turkish people
on Crete, was recognized as the first and only novel written by a Turk about the
“Exchange”, at a conference held at Oxford University, in the United Kingdom.
WORKS: Ayvalık’ı Gezerken (Strolling Through Ayvalık), Ayvalık’ta İz Bırakanlar
(Those Who Left Their Traces in Ayvalık), Ayvalık’tan Cunda’dan (From Ayvalık and
Cunda), Girit’ten Cunda’ya (From Crete to Cunda), Kuşaklar ya da Ayvalık Yaşantısı
(Generations or Life in Ayvalık), Portreler (Portraits), Savaşın Çocukları - Girit’ten
Sonra Ayvalık (Children of War - After Crete, Ayvalık).
SAVAŞIN ÇOCUKLARI - GİRİT’TEN SONRA AYVALIK
CHILDREN OF WAR - AFTER CRETE, AYVALIK
Omega Publishing, Greece, 2005
148 pages, Novel
Translated by Stylianos Roidis
ISBN:9751408474
omer@remzi.com
This is the first book of a trilogy. The book, which
is based on the compulsory population exchange
between Greece and Turkey, has achieved great
success in international literary circles. Children
of War, by tracing the story of Aynakis Hasan,
expresses the painful realities, sufferings and
longings experienced during the Exchange years.
The trilogy was subsequently completed by
Kuşaklar (Generations) and Girit’ten Cunda’ya
(From Crete to Cunda).

A L E V A L A T L I
Alev Alatlı was born in Izmir in 1944. She earned a degree from the Economics-
Statistics Department of Middle East Technical University. She went to the USA
for her graduate education, returning with a PhD in Philosophy. While working in
the State Planning Organization, she also engaged in research on theology and
the history of thought, focusing solely on her writing after the year 1984. Alatlı’s
published novels are the following: Yaseminler Tüter mi Hâlâ? (Do the Jasmines
Still Fume?, 1985), İşkenceci (Torture,1 986), Orda Kimse Var mı? (Anybody There,
1992), Valla Kurda Yedirdin Beni (Honestly, You Fed Me to a Wolf,1993), Nuke
Türkiye (Nuke Turkey,1993), OK Musti Türkiye Tamamdır (O.K. Musti Turkey is Done,
1994), Kadere Karşı Koy A.Ş. (Defy Fate, Inc.,1995), Schrödinger’in Kedisi - Kâbus
(Schrödinger’s Cat - Nightmare,1999), Schrödinger’in Kedisi (Rüya/Schrödinger’s
Cat - Dream,2001), Aydınlanma Değil Merhamet (Grace over Enlightment, 2004),
Dünya Nöbeti (World Vigil, 2005), Uhnem, Eyy Uhnem (My Grudge, O My Grudge,
2008). The author has also penned translations and essays.
Foreign Rights: Gogol’un İzinde I: Aydınlanma Değil Merhamet (On the Footsteps
of Gogol: Grace over Enlightenment – published in Ukraine), Gogol’un İzinde II:
Dünya Nöbeti (On the Footsteps of Gogol II- World Sentry- published in Ukraine)
GOGOL’ÜN İZİNDE-
AYDINLANMA DEĞİL MERHAMET
ON THE FOOTSTEPS OF GOGOL-
GRACE OVER ENLIGHTMENT
Çetverta Hviliana, Ukraine, 501 pages, Novel
Translated by Iryna M. Dryga
ISBN:9752891543
everest@alfakitap.com
Grace over Enlightenment is the first volume of
Alev Alatli’s four-volume novel which became
known as “Viva la Muerte” of Russia. For the
first two volumes of the quartet, the writer was
awarded the Mihail Aleksandrovič Šolohov
100th Anniversary Literary Award in 2006 on
the merits of her success in keeping an equal
distance to the nations and the extraordinary
insight with which she penetrates into a foreign
culture’s journey through time. Alatli deals
with the problems of our era through a global
perspective and tackles the quest for survival
of the Russian people from history to this day
combining multiple aspects in the form of a
novel, depicting it in an artistic language.
“One morning you wake up and you don’t
exist anymore. You look in the mirror, your
face is the same face, and your hands are the
same hands... You touch your body and it’s still
there. But you’ve been invalidated, you don’t
exist anymore. Including the book of God you
worship, everything and everyone has changed,
you no longer recognise anything...This is what
happened to me and Russia.”
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A L İ A K B A Ş
Ali Akbaş was born in Kahramanmaraş in 1942. He completed his primary and
secondary education in Kahramanmaraş and his university education in the
Department of Turkish Language and Literature in the Faculty of Letters at Istanbul
University. He worked as a teacher and an administrator in various high schools
and colleges under the Ministry of Education; he also worked as a script writer in the
Film, Radio and Television Educational Department. A contemporary poet, Akbaş
has collaborated in the publication of Divan, Doğuş, Edebiyat and Kanat magazines.
He was one of the founding members of the Eurasia Writer’s Association in 2006
and has worked as an editor-in-chief for Kardeş Kalemler Magazine. Continuing in
this vein, Akbaş was chosen as the best writer of children’s literature in 1991 by the
Turkish Writers Association for his book entitled Kuş Sofrası (The Dinner Table of
Birds).
WORKS: Poetry: Şairin Masal Çağı (The Fairytale Epoch of the Poet), Kuş Sofrası
(The Dinner Table of Birds); Fable: Gökte Ay Portakaldır (The Moon in the Sky is an
Orange).
KUŞ SOFRASI
THE DINNER TABLE OF BIRDS
TONET, Macedonia, 2008, Poetry
Translated by Mariya Leontic
ISBN: 9786082080079
bilgi@ayb.org.tr
This book of poetry, which contains
poems dedicated to children, begins with
the poem “Armağan” (The Gift). The
book is comprised of lyrical poems that
could be read by both children and adults
alike. The poems discuss the good and
bad aspects of life. As the poet advises us
to always be hopeful in life, he draws us
into the world of fairy tales. Kuş Sofrası,
which was reprinted during the last few
years and has reached a total circulation
of 35 thousand copies, is a significant
work in children’s literature.

A L İ N A R
Ali Nar was born in Sarıkamış in 1941. His family moved to Yozgat-Sarıkaya in 1950;
he entered Istanbul Higher Institute of Islam and graduated in 1964. He taught
in Diyarbakır, Erzincan, Izmit and Istanbul Imam Hatip high schools and retired
in 1990. He is a member, and the Turkish representative of, the World Islamic
Literature Association. His first poem “Su” (Water) was published in 1961 and his
first book Fetih (The Conquest) in 1975.His articles were published in periodicals such
as Milli Gazete, Yeni Devir, and Vahdet Magazine. Nar translated from Classical and
Modern Arabic and he is also the writer of Uzay Çiftçileri (The Space Farmers), the
first science-fiction novel of the Turkish and Islamic world. Ali Nar has penned over
50 religious, scientific and literary works, including his copyright and translated
works. His novels have been translated into Arabic, his books have been analysed in
international literary magazines published in English, and some of his plays have
been staged hundreds of times.
WORKS: Fetih (The Conquest), Koro (The Choir), Muhtar Kafası (The Mind of
a Village Headman), Ezan Donanması, İki Sonsuza Gidelim (Let’s Go to Two
Eternities), Anadolu Günlüğü (The Diary of Anatolia), Arılar Ülkesi (The Land of
Bees), Uzay Çiftçileri (The Space Farmers).
Foreign Rights: Arılar Ülkesi/ The Land of Bees (Arabia, 2003), (Egypt, 2005)
ARILAR ÜLKESİ
THE LAND OF BEES
Mektebu’l-Bilâd El- Arabiyye, Arabia, 2003
166 pages, Novel
Translated by Dr. Macide Mahluf
ISBN: 9756469013
sulekitap@yahoo.com
Arılar Ülkesi (The Land of Bees) is a utopian
novel with a social-political theme.
A nation’s struggle for existence is depicted
in a gripping style as a novel. In terms of
thought and reflection, Arılar Ülkesi is
similar to Gulliver’s Travels, Utopia and
The Land of Sun.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A . A L İ U R A L
A. Ali Ural was born in Ladik, Samsun in 1959. He received his elementary school
education in Ankara and then studied Literature and Theology in Riyadh. A. Ali
Ural’s first poem was published in the journal Mavera (1982). He founded Şule
Publishing and his poems, stories and articles were published in Merdiven Sanat
and Kitaphaber magazines. A. Ali Ural is currently the vice-president of the Turkish
Writers Association. He has a weekly column in Zaman newspaper. He has been
teaching creative writing at different institutions in Istanbul for fifteen years.
WORKS: Körün Parmak Uçları (Finger Tips of the Blind, Poems, 1998), Posta
Kutusundaki Mızıka (Harmonica in the Mail Box, Essays, 1999), Yangın Merdiveni
(Fire Escape Stairs, Stories, 2000), Makyaj Yapan Ölüler (The Dead Putting on
Make-up, Essays, 2004), Resimde Görünmeyen (What Can’t be Seen in the Painting,
Essays, 2006), Kuduz Aşısı (Rabies Vaccine, Poems, 2006), Güneşimin Önünden
Çekil (Do not Block My Sun, Novel, 2007), Satranç Oynayan Derviş (The Chess
Playing Dervish, Essay2008).
YANGIN MERDİVENİ
FIRE ESCAPE STAIRS
Pojarna stılba, Bulgarian
133 pages, Short Story
Translated by Mariya Leontic
ISBN:9756841516
info@aliural.com.tr, aliural@hotmail.com
We are all trying to escape from
something. We successfully escape from
our lives, from the ones we hate or love,
from our responsibilities… But upon
reading Yangın Merdiveni (Fire Escape
Stairs) , we realise that we are only
running away from ourselves. The loving
arms, which will embrace us in the end,
are nothing but loneliness.

A L P E R C A N I G Ü Z
Alper Canıgüz was born in Istanbul in 1969, completed his secondary school
education at Dârüşşafaka High School and undertook his further education at the
Department of Psychology at Boğaziçi University. He began writing at high school,
and published his first novel, Tatlı Rüyalar (Sweet Dreams), in 2000. His other
novels are entitled Oğullar ve Rencide Ruhlar (Sons and Tormented Souls, 2004) and
Gizli Ajans (Secret Agent, 2008) His first novel, Tatlı Rüyalar (Sweet Dreams), was
described as a psycho-absurd romantic comedy. It is a parody of a novel, which flows
in a festive manner with its strange characters and fantastical stories. In Sons and
Tormented Souls, he persists with a similar style; on the one hand he abides by all the
rules and conventions of a detective novel, while on the other hand satirizing them.
OĞULLAR VE RENCİDE RUHLAR
SONS AND TORMENTED SOULS
Galata Edition , Germany
Translated by Oliver Kontny, 204 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9750502051
www.iletisim.com.tr, iletisim@iletisim.com.tr
In Sons and Tormented Souls, Alper Canıgüz
tells the story of a five year old boy who finds
himself in a mysterious adventure in the
throes of his daily life. Taking advantage
of his young age, this insightful and smart
child with philosophical talents turns out
to be the one able to solve this mystery. The
neighbours and the neighbourhood itself are
revealed as authentic characters unfolding
in the story. An ambitious literary work
uniting the genres of thriller, fantasy and
humour.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A S L I E R D O Ğ A N
Aslı Erdoğan was named as one of the “fifty writers who will be remembered”
by the French journal, Lire. From her first book onwards it was evident that she
offered a different kind of narrative: melancholy stories and a rich language that
effectively conveys the tale to the reader. These characteristics feature prominently
in the the novel which made her popular, Kırmızı Pelerinli Kent (The City in a
Crimson Cloak,1998). The book is one of the most important narratives in recent
Turkish literature and has been translated into many languages. Her short story
“Tahta Kuşlar” / “Wooden Birds”, which received an award in Berlin in 1997, is also
considered one of her most important narratives. Her other works include; Kabuk
Adam (Shell Man, novel, 18th edition), Mucizevi Mandarin (Miraculous Mandarin,
novel, 7th edition), Kırmızı Pelerinli Kent (The City in a Crimson Cloak, novel, 7th
edition), Hayatın Sessizliğinde (In the Silence of Life, essays), Bir Delinin Güncesi
(The Diary of a Mad Woman, essays), Bir Kez Daha (One More Time, essays) Bir
Yolculuk Ne Zaman Biter (When a Journey Ends), Taş Bina ve Diğerleri (Stone
Building and Others, stories)
Foreign Rights: Mucizevi Mandarin/The Miraculous Mandarin: (Edition Galata,
Germany), (Actesud, France), (Buybook, Bosnia Herzegovina), (Ramus, Sweden),
(Gyldendal, Norway); Kırmızı Pelerinli Kent/The City in Crimson Cloak (Soft Skull,
USA), (Buybook, Bosnia Herzegovina), (Aton Odd., Bulgaria), (Unions, Germany),
(Cadmus, Syria), (Zamus, Switzerland), (Gyldendal, Norway), (Actes Sud, France)
KIRMIZI PELERİNLİ KENT
THE CITY IN CRIMSON CLOAK
Soft Skull, USA, 2007, 144 pages, Novel
Translated by Amy Spangler
ISBN: 9789752893580
LaurePecherlpecher@pierreastier.com
Özgür, having deserted her past and secluded herself
from the outer world, is poor, hungry, and on the verge
of a mental breakdown. She has a single weapon
left in the all-out war she has declared against Rio
de Janeiro: to write the city, which has trapped her
and robbed her of everything. As we read the bits
and pieces of Özgür’s unfinished novel, The City in a
Crimson Cloak, with its autobiographical protagonist
named, for the time being, only as Ö, we begin to put
together the fragments of Özgür’s story. Meanwhile,
the narrator tells us of a single day in Özgür’s life
which is, in fact, her last.

A S L I T O H U M C U
Aslı Tohumcu was born in 1974. She continued her studies in the English Language
and Literature Department at Istanbul University, but left during the third year. She
has worked consecutively at Varlık, Mitos (both, literary journals) and at Yapı Kredi
Publishing House. Her first short story was published in 1992, in Varlık. For a while,
she worked on poetry with poets contributing to the literary magazines, Sombahar
ve Ludingirra and had her own poems and articles published there as well. She has
made a documentary, with Kerem Eryavuz, as a supplement to Abis. She is currently
working as a freelance writer in Istanbul.
WORKS: Yok Bana Sensiz Hayat (No Life without You), Abis.
Foreign Rights: Yok Bana Sensiz Hayat/No Life Without You (Steno, Bulgaria),
(Cadmus, Syria), (Ruffel,Germany)
YOK BANA SENSİZ HAYAT
NO LIFE WITHOUT YOU
Steno, Bulgaria, 2007
51 pages, Novel
Translated by Ayser Ali
ISBN: 9789544493240
www.kalemagency.com
Yok Bana Sensiz Hayat (No Life without
You), tells the story of friendship becoming
love, love becoming friendship, love turning
into pain, anguish and inferno, because of
the interference of others.
This book, sometimes written in a fantastic,
poetic style, sometimes more realistically,
is the story of the journey made after losing
one’s soul mate, or life partner and the
quest to understand the reasons for this
separation seen through the eyes of four
characters: Mine, Adnan, Cumurkuşu and
Sur.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A T A O L B E H R A M O Ğ L U
Ataol Behramoğlu was born in Çatalca, Istanbul in 1942. He graduated from Çankırı
High School and the Department of Russian Language and Literature in the Faculty
of Language, History and Geography at Ankara University in 1966. He completed
his masters degree at the University of Moscow and Paris-Sorbonne University, and
his doctorate at Istanbul University. His first book of poetry Bir Ermeni General (An
Armenian General) was published in 1965. With his second book Bir Gün Mutlaka
(Certainly One Day, 1970), he became one of the pioneering poets of his generation.
In addition to his books of poetry, he published works in the genres of drama,
essay, travel writing, children’s literature and translation. He is the recipient of the
international Lotus Literary Award given by the Asia Africa Writers Association
(1981) and the Puşkin Medal awarded by the Russian Federation (2007). His poems
have been published in various languages, both as books and individually in
magazines and anthologies. He is currently a columnist for Cumhuriyet newspaper,
and a professor of Russian Language and Literature at Beykent University.
YAŞADIKLARIMDAN ÖĞRENDİĞİM BİR ŞEY VAR
I’VE LEARNED SOME THINGS
The University of Texas at Austin, USA,2008
200 pages, Poetry
Translated by Walter G. Andrews
ISBN: 978-0-292-71969-9
ataolb@yahoo.com
I’ve Learned Some Things allows English
language readers the rare opportunity to
experience the work of Ataol Behramoglu,
one of Turkey’s most celebrated poets.
The sixty-six poems in this collection
span the author’s extraordinary
career and are stunning examples of
the intense emotional quality of his
work. Behramoglu celebrates the rich
fabric of everyday life by exploring both
personal and social struggles, sometimes
employing a whimsical note.

A Y F E R G Ü R D A L Ü N A L
Ayfer Gürdal Ünal was born in 1953; she graduated from the Üsküdar American
Academy for Girls and then in 1975, from Istanbul University, the Department
of Business Administration. She has worked as a manager for twenty years. Her
first book, Doğum Gününde Gelen Ağaç (The Tree that Arrived on the Birthday)
was published in 1996. This illustrated children’s book was followed by nine other
illustrated children’s books, two novels for children ages 8 through 12 and three
translated works for adults. The author, who has been in charge of the Çocuk Gözü
column (Through Children’s Eyes) since June 2006 in the Dünya newspaper’s book
insert, tries to emphasize the importance of children’s books in communication
within families. The author has taught a course titled Contemporary Turkish
Children’s Literature in the summer of 2007 at the Boğaziçi University Summer
School. She is currently pursuing her master degree in Turkish Language and
Literature at the same university. Ayfer Gürdal Ünal is a member of IBBY
(International Board on Books for Young People) Turkey, SCWIB, Turkish Pen
Association, and the Children’s Literature Association, USA. The author is fluent in
English and can read and understand Spanish and Ottoman.
TAKMA ADI GAGALI
NICK NAMED PLATYPUS
Sardes Verlag, Germany, 2008
110 pages, Young Adult Novel
Translated by İnci Pazarkaya
ISBN: 9789944885256
ahru@turk.net
The book, addresses the issue of abuse that
stems from gossiping, nicknaming, and
insulting among girls, and points out the
role and the responsibility of the audience
in preventing this form of abuse. The novel
depicts the tyranny of the “queen bee” Sema
and her clique over a student who is new in
school. This novel is about dealing with this
tyranny and escaping its grip.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A Y F E R T U N Ç
Ayfer Tunç, is a story writer and novelist who has been declared one of the most
recent brilliant writers in Turkish literature. Her first short story book Saklı (Hidden
1989 Yunus Nadi Short Story Award) has been critically acclaimed both by literary
circles as well as by readers. Tunç graduated from the School of Political Sciences
at Istanbul University and started working as a journalist for highly circulated
periodicals and daily newspapers in 1989. She worked as editor-in-chief at Yapı
Kredi Publishing House from 1999 to 2004. Tunç writes about the virtues of being
a lonely city dweller and a human being, and with deep insight she describes the
suffering it also brings. Her book Bir Maniniz Yoksa Annemler Size Gelecek (My
Parents Will Visit You If You Aren’t Occupied: Our Life in the ‘70s) first published in
2001, won the International Balkanika Literary Award in 2003 and was translated
into six Balkan languages. The same year her screenplay Havada Bulut (Cloud in the
Sky) inspired by Sait Faik’s short stories, was filmed and televised.
WORKS: Saklı (Hidden), Kapak Kızı (Cover Girl), İkiyüzlü Cinsellik (Hypocritical
Sexuality), Mağara Arkadaşları (Cave Friends), Aziz Bey Hadisesi (Aziz Bey
Incident), Bir Maniniz Yoksa Annemler Size Gelecek (My Parents Will Visit You If
You Aren’t Occupied), Ömür Diyorlar Buna (If They Call This Life) Belki Varmış Belki
Yokmuş (Maybe It Exists, Maybe It Doesn’t).
Foreign Rights: Aziz Bey Hadisesi /The Mr. Aziz Phenomenon (Fan Noli, Albanian);
Bir Maniniz Yoksa Annemler Size Gelecek / My Parents Will Visit You If You Aren’t
Occupied (Cadmus, Syria)
AZİZ BEY HADİSESİ
AZİZ BEY INCIDENT
Fan Noli, Albania, 2008
172 pages, Short Story
Translated by Orkida Muça
ISBN: 9789994352371
www.kalemagency.com
Aziz Bey is the most genuine and saddest
hero of Ayfer Tunç’s fictional world;
a world usually portraying stories of
scarred lives, lives that are wasted
because of human frailties and mistakes.
Some readers are struck by the tangible
presence of such a character when
reading the story of Aziz Bey.

A Y L A Ç I N A R O Ğ L U
Ayla Çınaroğlu was born in Ankara in 1939. She graduated from the State Academy
of Fine Arts in 1961. Since 1972, she has written for children, and illustrates some of
her books. Her first book, Yedi Kapılı Kent (The City Of Seven Gates) was published
in 1977. Her tales and poems are published in magazines and language lesson books
for Turkish children in foreign countries. She works towards promoting literacy
by speaking at libraries, schools, and universities. Her theatrical works, Miğfer
(Helmet), Al Takkeli Dev (The Giant with the Red Cap) and Boş Kaplumbağa (Empty
Turtle) have been produced for theatres. Of the 58 titles which she currently has in
circulation, she has received awards for the following works: Mut Teyze’nin Bahçesi
(The Garden of Aunt Mut, Poem Story), Miğfer (Helmet, Play), Kara Yusuf (Black
Yusuf, Tale), Beyaz Benekli At (White Spotted Pony, Stories),Uzay Güzeli (Space
Beauty, Screenplay), Küçük Mor Balık (Little Purple Fish, Poem Story), Yaşasın Kar
Yağıyor (Hurray, it’s Snowing, Story) and Veli’nin Kurabiyesi (Veli’s Cookie, Story),
Tülüş (Novel).
Foreign Rights: Mut Teyze’nin Bahçesi/The Garden of Aunt Mut (Iran), Beyaz
Benekli At/White Spotted Pony (The Netherlands), Küçük Mor Balık/Little Purple
Fish (Egypt)
MUT TEYZE’NİN BAHÇESİ
THE GARDEN OF AUNT MUT
Andisheh Farzanegan, Iran, 2007
36 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Mohammad Reza Mehrafza
ISBN: 978975580298
ucanbalik@ucanbalik.com.tr
aylacinaroglu@gmail.com
In a country, all shades of green decide to leave one
day because of the air pollution caused by excessive
industrialisation. Shades of green are now replaced by
shades of black and grey. The greens hues meet, there
in the sky, with other shades of green which have also
left their respective countries for reasons such as inertia,
insensitivity, and fires. As all shades of green prepare
to abandon the world, thinking that there is no place
for them to live, a bird advises them to visit Aunt Mut’s
garden. Despite the fact that she is blind, Aunt Mut takes
good care of her garden. All those shades of green go
there and settle down in the garden. This intensive green
allows Aunt Mut to regain her eyesight. People outside
are jealous and apathetic with this gleam in the garden.
Some of them attempt to steal some of the green, but
fail since the green of each and every branch and leaf
return to the garden. However, two children ask Aunt
Mut for a pot of flowers, promising to take very good care
or them. And then some other children follow suit... With
each seedling she hands out, she loses her sight little by
little, but Aunt Mut continues to hand them out since
one of the paths to happiness is to distribute it. Sensitive
children will help the colour green find its place in the
world once again.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A Y L A K U T L U
Ayla Kutlu was born in Antakya in 1938 and after graduating from the Faculty
of Political Sciences in 1960, she worked in various institutions for 20 years. She
became a professional literary writer in 1975 and since her retirement in 1980, she
has been intensively producing literary works. She is interested in various areas of
literary genres, such as novels, stories, children’s novels, movie scripts, scenario
writing, introductory papers, documentaries, conversation and radio plays.
Ayla Kutlu was awarded with the first movie script prize at the 13th Antalya Meeting
on Cinema and History (with Tunç Başaran and Macit Koper), and the Altın Koza
Scenario Prize. Five of her stories have been adapted for cinema. She was awarded
with the Madaralı Novel Prize for her most famous work Bir Göçmen Kuştu/He was a
Migrating Bird in 1986.
WORKS: Kaçış (Escape), Islak Güneş (Wet Sun), Cadı Ağacı (Witch Tree), Tutsaklar
(Prisoners), Bir Göçmen Kuştu O (She Was a Migrant Bird), Hoşçakal Umut
(Farewell Hope) , Kadın Destanı (Women’s Legend), Hüsnüyusuf Güzellemesi
(Sweet Words for Hüsnüyusuf ) , Sen de Gitme Triyandafilis (Don’t Go
Triyandafilis), Mekruh Kadınlar Mezarlığı (Sinful Women’s Graveyard).
Foreign Rights: Sen de Gitme Triyandafilis/Don’t You Go Triyandifilis! (German),
Merhaba Sevgi/ Hello Love (Macedonian)
SEN DE GİTME TRİYANDİFİLİS
DON’T GO TRIYANDAFILIS
Literaturca Verlag, Germany, 2007
224 pages, Short Story
Translated by Beatrix Caner
ISBN: 9754942013
ozlem@bilgiyayinevi.com.tr
info@bilgiyayinevi.com.tr
The book includes nine stories on
imaginary beauty. The stories are
basically about women against the
background of a cultural mosaic of
thousands of pieces. The stories are
written in fabulous Turkish. Don’t you go
Triyandafilis presents unique pleasures
to the reader thanks to its emotional
melancholy. The story of the same title
brought the Altın Koza award to the
author.

A Y S E L G Ü R M E N
Aysel Gürmen was born in Cyprus in 1956. She studied Business Administration
and Science Education at Bosphorus University. She continued her studies in
Non-Formal Education at the same University. She started writing for children in
1992. She is well known as the author of the Selen’in Öyküleri (Selen’s Stories) series
(consisting of 12 books). Children and parents alike are great fans of the series in
Turkey. Currently, she has 42 books in circulation and has been granted 6 awards by
different institutions.
Foreign Rights: Kuli’nin Rüyası/Kuli’s Dream (Safeer Publishing, Egypt), Şıkırdağın
Çıngırağı/The Rattling Bell (Talisa Kinderbuch, Germany), Ninemin Hazinesi/
My Grandma’s Treasure (Oraman-Iran)
NİNEMİN HAZİNESİ
MY GRANDMA’S TREASURE
Oraman Publishing, Iran
16 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Nilufar Olfat-Shayan
ISBN: 9789755870830
ucanbalik@ucanbalik.com.tr
One of the books in the Ninem (My
Grandma) series, Ninemin Hazinesi (My
Grandma’s Treasure), brings the concepts of
opposites, the cause and effect relationship,
the topics of neighbourhood, mountain
houses and seasons, together with life
within the flow of entertaining stories. The
poetic diction of the writer in these stories
reinforces the memory capacity in children.
The friendship of the grandmother and the
grandchild helps children regard the elders
in the family not only as old people but as
friends. The friendship of a small child and
an elderly person. Poetic stories moulded
with ideals and emotions.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A Y S E L Ö Z A K I N
Aysel Özakin studied French Literature in Poitiers and worked as a lecturer
in Istanbul and as a guest lecturer at Frankfurt Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
University. She won two major Turkish literary prizes (Sabahattin Ali and Madaralı).
Her works published in Turkish include novels such as Gurbet Yavrum (My Child
the Foreign Lands, 1975), Alnında Mavi Kuşlar (Blue Birds on Your Forehead, 1978),
Genç Kız ve Ölüm (The Young Girl and Death,1980), Mavi Maske (Blue Mask,1988),
Güzellik Acısı (Pain of Beauty, 2006) and short story books entitled Sessiz Bir
Dayanışma (A Silent Solidarity,1976) and Kanal Boyu (Along the Canal, 1981).
Abroad she received several fellowships and grants, among them Gunter Grass,
Worpswede, Valporariso and Yaddo. Özakin is an author with a multi-layered
literary identity. In her novels and plays, she transcends the notions of culture,
background, relationship and identity.
Foreign rights: Mavi Maske/Blue Mask (German),Gurbet Yavrum/My Child the
Foreign Lands (German), Genç Kız ve Ölüm/The Young Girl and Death (German)
ALNINDA MAVİ KUŞLAR
BLUE BIRDS ON YOUR FOREHEAD
Luchterhand Literaturverlag, Germany, 1989
164 pages, Novel
Translated by Carl Koss
ISBN: 9789944122146
georgina.ozer@yordamkitap.com
This novel examines the ongoing clash
between three forces: individuals aiming
at self-fulfilment, intellectual and
emotional emancipation, the political
activists who give absolute priority to
social and political engagement and the
reactionary forces who want to eliminate
them both. The representatives of these
three ideologies fight for their cause on
a May first celebration in Istanbul which
ends in a massacre mise en scene both
by external and internal dark forces. This
novel has been awarded the Madaralı
Prize in Istanbul and has been highly
acclaimed for creating a lyrical and
political atmosphere.

A Y Ş E K İ L İ M C İ
Mainly an author of short stories, Ayşe Kilimci also writes essays and children’s
books. She has 30 books published thus far and around 30 waiting to be published.
She was born and raised in İzmir; she has earned her living working as a social
worker, where she has shared stories of different people from many walks of life,
and her experience in this field has contributed to her writing career. Her first story
appeared in Varlık, a popular literary magazine, when she was 17 and she completed
her first book when she was 19. She thinks that short story writing is by far the most
difficult type of writing which is really exhausting. To her, it means resistance. She
resists injustice, cruelty and despair in the stories and shelters in her writing. She
received several international story awards and was invited to participate in various
literary events in different parts of Turkey as well as Europe. Kilimci’s favorites
among her many books are Merhaba Dünya (Hello, World), Şu Ölüm Dedikleri (That
Which They Call Death), Gül Bekçisi (Rose Keeper), Mucize Var mı Mehmet Abla?
(Is There a Miracle, Mehmet Abla?), Ah Benim Akortsuz Kalbim (Oh, My Discordant
Heart).
Foreign Rights: Mucize Var Mıdır Memet Abla?/Is There a Miracle, Mehmet Abla?
(France); Benim Adım Çocuk/My Name is Child (Yugoslavia)
MUCİZE VAR MIDIR MEMET ABLA
IS THERE A MIRACLE, MEHMET ABLA?
Forum Femmes Mediterranee de Marseille, France
189 pages, Short Story
ISBN: 9753313764
www.znn.com.tr
“The story is people forgetting everything and
being grateful for being alive; it is the north star
of not being lonely. It is a bullet shot through the
dark night. Even if it does not untangle the knot, it
is resonant. Mothers can prepare their daughters’
throne but not their good fortune. Now, that
good fortune is the story... Everyone weaves his
or her own story, the mistakes and faults in the
loops alike are their own making. This book, like
others, bears that intense, wild, and complicated
theme of my heart, my mind, and my personal
adventure. In between the lines are humor for
all of us, of all colors and languages that make
Turkey what she is. I have tremendously enjoyed
writing it, I’m still laughing. You, too, remember,
as you enter this house of mirrors of laughter, that
tears and laughter are intertwined... “There sure
are miracles!” insists little Mehmet in the story
entitled “Yıldızları Dinle” (Listen to the Stars)
which received several awards. Is there? “Sure
there is,” he says, taking the miracle from the
rainbow to Istiklal Street... Let there be a miracle,
let dreams reach the sky, let there be fewer
dungeons and let hope come to life…”
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A Y Ş E K U L İ N
Ayşe Kulin graduated from the American College, Turkey and worked as an editor for
several newspapers and magazines and in the film industry. Her first novel entered
the bestseller lists and sold more than 400.000 copies and she holds many fiction
awards for her works. She has been nominated as author of the year by several
organizations on a number of occasions and her works have been translated into
many languages.
WORKS: Adı: Aylin (Name: Aylin, Biography, 89.edition), Babama (To My
Father, Poems), Bir Gün (One Day, Novel), Bir Varmış Bir Yokmuş (Once Upon a
Time, Stories), Foto Sabah Resimleri (Photo Morning Pictures, Stories), Füreya
(Biography), Geniş Zamanlar (Present Tenses, Stories), Güneşe Dön Yüzünü (Turn
Your Face to Sun, Stories,12. edition), İçimde Kızıl Bir Gül Gibi/(Like a Red Rose
within Me, Essay), Köprü (Bridge, Novel, 48. edition), Bir Tatlı Huzur (Sweet
Peace, Biyografi, 7. Edition), Sevdalinka (Novel, 55. edition), Nefes Nefese (Last
Train to Istanbul, Novel), Umut - Hayat Akan Bir Sudur (Hope - Life is like Flowing
Water, Novel) Gece Sesleri (The Voices of the Night, Novel), Veda (Farewell, Novel),
Kardelenler (Snowdrops, Research).
NEFES NEFESE
LAST TRAIN TO ISTANBUL
Ramsey, France, 2009
450 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9752894532
everest@alfakitap.com
Based on a real event during the World
War II…The marriage of Selva, daughter
of an old Ottoman General, to Rafael,
a Jewish Turk, is denounced by both
families. The young couple moves to
France. But their newfound peace is
shattered with the start of World War II
and the arrival of Nazi forces to France.
Now they have to pass each day in fear
of being sent to a concentration camp.
Their only hope is the Turkish diplomats
who are trying to protect all Turkish
citizens in Europe, while negotiating the
tight rope between the Axis and the Allies
without falling into the abyss of war.

A Y T Ü L A K A L
Aytül Akal was born in 1952. Aytül Akal’s childhood dream was to become a writer
or a poet. In 1973, she started writing professionally for magazines and has done
so ever since. Her stories and poems have been published in different magazines
and newspapers, and she has also written columns and conducted interviews for
various publications. She has devoted herself completely to Children’s Literature
since writing her first children’s book in 1991. She has given lectures, conducted book
signings, and has endeavored to promote a reading culture in Turkey. She has also
developed social projects that support children’s development. She has written fairy
tales, stories, plays, novels, poems and has so far published 100 books. Some of her
books have been translated into German, English, Spanish, Persian and Bulgarian.
WORKS: Masallar Dizisi (Fairy Tales), Sihirli Kapı Dizisi (Magical Door Series),
Mevsimler Kralı’nın Serüvenleri Dizisi (The King Of Seasons’ Adventures Series),
Masallar (Fairy Tales), Fil Masalları (Elephant Tales), Ağaç Masalları (Tree Tales),
Uzaylı Çocuk Masalları (The Space Child Tales), Çikolata Masalları (The Chocolate
Tales), Güzel Dünyamıza Masallar (Tales To Our Lovely World), Orman Masalları
(The Forest Tales), Kitap Masalları (The Book Tales), Uyku Masalları (The Sleep
Tales), Çocuğuma Masallar (Tales To My Child), En Matrak Canavar Öyküleri (The
Funniest Monster Stories), Öyküler (Stories), Süper Gazeteciler Dizisi (Super
Journalists Series), Muhtelif Kitaplar (Miscellaneous Books), Çocuklar İçin Şiirler
(Poetry For Children), Yetişkinler İçin Öyküler, Şiirler (Stories, Poetry For Adults).
DİLEK AĞACI - THE WISH TREE
Talisa Kinderbuch, Germany, 2008
16 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Pervin Tongay
ISBN: 9783939619055
aytul@levi.com.tr
Trees are the heroes of each one of this series
of fairy tales; “The Two Quarreling Trees”,
“The Peace Tree” and “The Tree Who Loved to
Travel”, which expresses children’s passion
for going places. The Wish Tree is a tale which
both, helps children to see that trees are
living beings and encourages them to love
school. “The Most Beautiful Tree of The World”
tells the delightful story of seasonal change
through a tree which changes its hair style...
What do you think happens when the animals
try to build an apartment block in the forest?
What should you say to mysterious neighbours
when the newcomers are going to destroy
their trees and habitat? In these eco-friendly
stories, we also come across numerous fairy
tale heroes who are trying to remember which
fairy tale they come from.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
YAŞAR NE YAŞAR NE YAŞAMAZ
A Z İ Z N E S İ N
YAŞAR IS NEITHER ALIVE NOR DEAD
Prunsoop Publishing, South Korea, 2006
343 pages, Novel
Translated by Nana Lee
ISBN 89-7184-469-8
nesinvakfi@nesinvakfi.org
He was born in 1915 in Istanbul. Worked as a journalist and published satirical/
humoristic magazines. In 1979 he was elected general secretary of the Turkish
Writers Union and was reelected to the same position for many years to follow. Aziz
Nesin, who holds a very distinguished place not only in Turkish literature, but also
in international satirical/humoristic literature, died in 1995. In his stories he gives
us delightful, detailed pen portraits representing the whole cross-section of Turkish
society. He uses Turkish folk literature elements in his stories and employs an
anecdotal or satirical style to criticise social problems. Aziz Nesin introduced modern
satirical writing techniques into Turkish literature and opened the way for younger
generations of satirical writers. He was awarded several literary prizes at home and
abroad.
Some of Works: Novels: Kadın Olan Erkek (The She-Man), Gol Kralı Sait Hopsait
(The Goal King Sait Hopsait), Erkek Sabahat (Tomboy), Saçkıran (Ringworm), Zübük,
Şimdiki Çocuklar Harika (Today’s Kids are Wonderful), Tatlı Betüş (Sweet Betüş),
Yaşar Ne Yaşar Ne Yaşamaz (Yaşar is Neither Alive nor Dead), Surname (Hayri the
Barber Surnamé), Tek Yol (The Only Way); Stories: Fil Hamdi (Hamdi the Elephant),
Damda Deli Var (There’s a Madman on the Roof), Toros Canavarı (The Monster of
the Toros Mountains), Bay Düdük (Mr Whistle), Gözüne Gözlük (You Need a Pair of
Glasses), Ah Biz Eşekler (Us Donkeys), Yüz Liraya Bir Deli (A Madman for Hundred
Liras), Biz Adam Olmayız (We Can’t Be Men), Sosyalizm
Geliyor Savulun (Socialism is Coming: Stand Aside), Vatan
Sağolsun (For the Good of the Country), Maçinli Kız İçin
Ev (Home for a Girl from Maçinli), Memleketin Birinde (In
One Country), Hoptirinam, Uyusana Tosunum (Go to Sleep
Fatty), Aziz Dededen Masallar (Tales from Grandpa Aziz).
One of the greatest Turkish satirical writers, Aziz Nesin’s
Yaşar Ne Yaşar Ne Yaşamaz book is a fine example of Turkish
satire which illustrates a universal truth. For this book,
Aziz Nesin was awarded the Madralı Novel Prize, in 1978.
Yaşar Yaşamaz is a person who is alive, but seems to have
died according to the registry office. The whole problem
starts when he tries to get an identity card for his son at the
beginning of the school year. Yaşar Yaşamaz, who has given
up hope of obtaining an identity card for himself, fights
against all the bureaucracy in order to get an identity card for
his son. However, the identity card is refused on the grounds
that he himself has died before the child was born, therefore,
he does not exist. Yaşar loses his mind and goes insane.
He is put in prison from where he tells his story.

B A R I Ş M Ü S T E C A P L I O Ğ L U
Bariş Müstecaplıoğlu was born in the city of İzmit in 1977. He is a graduate of
Boğaziçi University’s Department of Civil Engineering. His stories have been
published in magazines such as Yaşasın Edebiyat, Varlık and Kitap-lık. He received
the İffet Esen Short Story Award in 1995. He wrote his first novel, Korkak ve Canavar
(The Coward and the Beast, 2002) at theage of 22. The Coward and the Beast
was the first book of the fantasy series Perg Efsaneleri (The Perg Legends), which
continued with Merderan’ın Sırrı (The Secret of Merderan, 2002), Bataklık Ülke
(Marsh Country, 2004) and Tanrıların Alfabesi (The Alphabet of the Gods, 2005) In
December 2005, his novel Şakird (Şakird), which is about Islamic communities and
one man’s search for the meaning of life, was published. Kardeş Kanı (Brother’s
Blood, 2006) and Bir Hayaldi Gerçekten Güzel (Beautiful Dreams, 2009). He also
wrote a children’s book, Hodi Podi (Hodi Podi).
Foreign Rights: Kardeş Kanı/Brother’s Blood (Maletz, Poland), Korkak ve Canavar
/The Coward And The Beast (Arka,Bulgaria), Merderan’ın Sırrı/The Secret of
Merderan (Arka,Bulgaria)
KARDEŞ KANI
BROTHER’S BLOOD
Maletz, Poland, 2008, 240 pages, Novel
Translated by Mikolaj Sobczak, Anna Sobczak
ISBN: 9789752893528
www.kalemagency.com
With the plot of a riveting detective novel,
Müstecaplıoğlu sheds light on the lives of street
children, their plight a bleeding social wound,
thus refreshing our social memories as readers
in this touching and engrossing novel.Two of
the heroes of this gripping detective novel, set
in the streets of Istanbul, are two children who
have landed on the streets: Tamer and Murat.
What they create over time is an ever-expanding
organization: Brotherhood. Then, a journalist
is killed and an act of terror shocks the country,
all triggered by the bloody pursuit of a young
woman looking for her brother’s murderers… A
novel that reads like a fast-paced detective film,
Kardeş Kanı is the story of street violence and
the criminal organizations that profit from it.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
B E H İ Ç A K
YAZAR YÜKSEK TANSİYONLU ÇINAR AĞACI
THE PLANE TREE THAT HAD HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Schulbuchverlag Anadolu, Germany, 2007
Behiç Ak was born in 1956; he is a cartoonist, writer of children’s books, playwright
and documentary filmmaker. Behiç Ak studied architecture at Yıldız University and
Istanbul Technical University. His children’s books have been published in Turkey,
Japan and Korea and his cartoon strip books have been published in Turkey and
Germany. His cartoons have been exhibited in many cities in Turkey, as well as in
Holland, Germany and Sweden. Ak’s plays have been staged in many theatres both at
home and abroad. His 1994 documentary film, “the History of Censorship in Turkish
cinema - Black Curtain,’’ won the Best Documentary award, in the same year, at the
Ankara Film Festival. Many of his works have been translated into German.
WORKS: Plays: Fay hattı ( Fault Line), Tek Kişilik Şehir (One Person City), Bina
(Building), Ayrılık (Separation), Hastane (Hospital), İmaj Katili (The Image Murderer),
Newton Bilgisayardan Ne Anlar (What Would Newton Know about Computers ?),
Benim Küçük Global Köyüm (My Little Global Village), İki Çarpı İki (Two Times
Two), Children’s Books: Yüksek Tansiyonlu Çınar Ağacı (The Plane Tree That Had
High Blood Pressure), Gökdelene Giren Bulut (The Cloud That Floated into the
Skyscraper), Büyükannem ve Miyop Ejderha (My Grandma and the Short-sighted
Dragon), Uyurgezer Bir Fil (A Sleepwalking Elephant), Rüzgârın Üzerindeki Şehir (The
City Above the Wind), Kedi Adası (Cat Island), Bizim Tombiş Taştan Hiç Anlamıyor
(Our Fatty Doesn’t Know Anything About Stones), Ben Ne Zaman Doğdum (When
Was I Born?), Benim Bir Karışım (My Hand Span), Tombiş Maskeli Baloya Katılmak
İstemiyor (Fatty Doesn’t Want to go to the Masked Ball), Karadenizdeki
Yunus (Black Sea Dolphin), Doğum Günü Hediyesi (The Birthday Present),
Ayşe’nin Bulut Projesi ( Ayşe’s Cloud Project), Dikkat Su ( Look out Water),
Dikkat Dünya (Look out World), Bilyalar (Marbles), Kim Kime Dum Duma (
Do Your Own Thing), Ben Yapmadım Ögretmenim (It Wasn’t Me Sir), Galiba
Seni Seviyorum (I Think I Love You), Ne Biçim Kurbağasın Sen? (What Kind
of Frog are You?), Iletişim Karikatürleri (Communication Cartoons), Zelzele
(Quake), Was Kümmerts Mich? (What do I Care?), Yıldızların Tembelliği
(The Stars’ Laziness).
30 pages, Children’s Books, Translated by Sabina Adatepe
ISBN: 9789944717113
behicak@yahoo.com
Ayşe and Ahmet spent all their time either sitting
in their dad, Ibo’s lap, or right at the top of their
village’s only tree, a huge plane tree. They believed
that the tree had high blood pressure just like their
dad. When you looked at the plane tree that had
high blood pressure, from the mushroom topped
roofs, or through the tiny windows of the village
houses, the tree looked like a giant hovering over
the sea. One day Ahmet shouted excitedly, “The
plane tree has dried up!”

B E J A N M A T U R
Bejan Matur was born of an Alevi Kurdish family in Maraş. She studied Law at
Ankara University, but never practiced. In her university years, she was published
in several literary periodicals. Her first book, Rüzgâr Dolu Konaklar (Winds Howl
Through the Mansions, 1996), won several literary prizes. She published four more
poetry books: Tanrı Görmesin Harflerimi (God Must Not See My Letters, 1999), Ayın
Büyüttüğü Oğullar (Sons Reared by the Moon, 2002), Onun Çölünde (In His Desert,
2002), and most recently İbrahimin Beni Terketmesi (Abraham Forsaking Me,
2008). A collection from her poems was published in English as In the Temple of a
Patient God (Arc Publications, 2004) and in German-French as Winddurchwehte
Herrenhauser (PHI, 2006) and transaled into Catalan and Swedish. She is currently
living in Istanbul and writing political and cultural commentaries in the daily press.
IN THE TEMPLE OF PATIENT GOD
Ark Publications, UK, 2004
134 pages, Poetry
Translated by Ruth Cristie
ISBN: 900072963
rights@metisbooks.com
“To read Bejan Matur is to walk into a
windswept desert strewn with bones and
broken bodies and stones stained red by
absent gods. Nothing is whole; nothing
explains itself; nothing lasts. Horsemen
gallop out of the night only to fade into the
mountains on the horizon. Gravestones
line the roads. Ruined houses howl with
wind while shepherds sing dirges about a
shattered, scattered tribe left to wander
in the dark. It is a haunted, desolate and
fragmented landscape in which every stone
glows with a grief beyond words...”
Maureen Freely
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
B E K İ R Y I L D I Z
Bekir Yıldız (Urfa - 1933, Istanbul - 1988) spent his childhood in Kastamonu,
Gaziantep and Adana. He graduated from the Istanbul School of Printing House in
1955. He went to Germany as a worker in 1962 and he worked there for four years.
With the money he saved, he bought a printing machine and returned home to
establish Asya Printing House in Istanbul. Later he shut down the printing house and
became a full time writer. He collected his observations on Germany from the four
years he lived there, in a book called Türkler Almanya’da (Turks in Germany, 1966).
The theme of his second book came from the city of Urfa and surrounding areas, in
this book he depicts the tales of Chief Reso. He was awarded the May Literary Award
for his book Kara Vagon (The Black Wagon) in 1968, Sait Faik Short Story Award for
his book Kaçakçı Şahan (Sahan, the Smuggler) in 1970 and the Milliyet Publications
Novel Award for his novel Darbe (The Coup) in 1990. In addition to his novels and
short stories, he has also written interviews, articles and children’s books.
Some of His Works: Short Stories: Kaçakçı Şahan (Sahan, the Smuggler), Sahipsizler
(The Abandoned), Evlilk Şirketi (The Marriage Company), Beyaz Türkü (The White
Song), Alman Ekmeği (German Bread), Dünyadan Bir Atlı Geçti (A Horseman Passed
Through Earth), İnsan Posası (Human Pulp), Demir Bebek (The Steel Baby), Mahşerin
İnsanları (People of Judgement Day), Bozkır Gelini (The Steppe Bride), Seçilmiş
Öyküler (Selected Short Stories); Novels: Halkalı Köle (The Ringed Slave), Aile
Savaşları (The Family Wars), Ve Zalim ve İnanmış ve Kerbela (And the Cruel and the
Believer and Karbala), Darbe (The Coup), Kara Vagon (The Black Wagon); Children’s
Books: Şahinler Vadisi (The Valley of Falcons), Canlı Tabanca (The Animated Gun),
Arılar Ordusu (The Army of Bees), Ölümsüz Kavak (The Immortal Poplar Tree), Kör
Güvercin (The Blind Dove).
Foreign Rights: Evlilik Şirketi/The Marriage Company (The Netherlands), Halkalı
Köle/The Ringed Slave (Russia).
ÖLÜMSÜZ KAVAK
THE IMMORTAL POPLAR TREE
Rotendam Kunstishing, The Netherlands, 1982
56 pages, Children’s Book
ISBN: 9759099837
info@ozyurekyayinevi.com
The Immortal Poplar Tree is the first book Bekir Yıldız wrote for children.
The protagonist of the book is an immortal poplar tree which lives at a
time when books are collected and burnt. The Immortal Poplar Tree is
a story told by this poplar tree. Freedom is not something gained easily,
because freedom has many enemies. Read what this little poplar tree has
to say, and you will understand this as well.

B E Ş İ R A Y V A Z O Ğ L U
Beşir Ayvazoğlu (1953, Sivas) graduated from the Department of Literature at the
Institute of Education. He is a well-known journalist and television producer, but
besides his identity as a journalist, he is also recognized as a man of letters due to
his particular emphasis on literature and poetry in his essays. He has published
voluminous biographies on Mevlânâ, Fuzuli, Yahya Kemal, Ahmet Haşim, Peyami
Safa, Tarık Buğra and Nazım of Florina. He is a prominent representative of the
otherwise rather inconspicuous community of Turkish conservative intellectuals. By
managing to stay away from ideological fanaticism thanks to an objective attitude,
he is able to produce works of informative value for the public at large. He is the
editor-in-chief of the monthly Türk Edebiyatı Dergisi (Turkish Literature Revue).
He has published books of poetry, novels, stories, plays and interviews. Besides
addressing current cultural and literary issues in his newspaper column, he also uses
the essay form to write on current social issues.
Some of His Works: Aşk Estetiği (The Aesthetics of Love), Güller Kitabı (The Book
of Roses), İslam Estetiği (The Aesthetics of Islam), Tarık Buğra Güneş Rengi Bir
Yığın Yaprak (Tarık Buğra-A Pile of Gold Coloured Leaves), Defterimde Kırk Suret
(Forty Figures in My Book), Peyami-Hayatı Sanatı Felsefesi Dramı (Peyami-His life,
Art, Philosophy and Personal Drama), Siretler ve Suretler (Attitudes and Figures),
Kuğunun Son Şarkısı (The Last Song of the Swan), Ömrüm Benim Bir Ateşti-Ahmet
Haşim’in Hayatı Sanatı Estetiği Dramı (My Life was a Fire-Ahmet Hasim’s Life, Art
and Philosophy and Personal Drama, Bozgunda Fetih Rüyası (Dream of Conquest
during Defeat), Divanyolu-Bir Caddenin Hikâyesi (Divanyolu-The Story of a Street),
1924-Bir Fotoğrafın Uzun Hikâyesi (1924-The Long Story of a Photograph), Neyin
Sırrı (The Secret of the Ney), Yahya Kemal (Encyclopaedic Biography), Florinalı
Nâzım ve Şaşaalı Edebî Hayatı (Nazım from Florina and his Glorious Literary Life),
Yahya Kemal’in İstanbul’u (Yahya Kemal’s Istanbul), Alatav’dan Şardağı’na (From
Alatav to Sardag)
İSLAM ESTETİĞİ - THE AESTHETICS OF ISLAM
Logos A, Macadonia, 2002
Translated by Ali Payaziti
ISBN: 9753460309
bilgi@kapiyayinlari.com
The book explores the philosophical and spiritual background
of Turkish and Islamic art. The book argues that the ban
on image depiction led Islamic artists to steer away from
figurative art towards the abstract, which resulted in a whole
new aesthetic fed by Tasavvuf, and this went on to create
dazzling pieces of art over the centuries.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
5 ÇOCUK 5 İSTANBUL
5 CHILDREN 5 ISTANBUL
Elf Publishing, Georgia
Translated by Tamar Alpenidze
B E T Ü L S A Y I N
32 pages, Children’s Book, Short Story
ISBN: 9756227087
info@gunisigikitapligi.com,
hande@gunisigikitapligi.com
Betül Sayın was born in Istanbul in 1958 and graduated from the Department
of Architecture at the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts. She has been working as a
professional illustrator since 1989. She has illustrated and prepared numerous
children’s books and children’s magazines and some of her works have been
published as UNICEF greeting cards. Sayın’s latest book 5 Çocuk 5 İstanbul (5
Children 5 Istanbuls) featured on the International Board On Books for Young
People (IBBY) Honours List in 2006 in the illustration category. The illustrator, who
manages to take children on a trip into a dream world with her magical artwork,
lives in Istanbul with her husband and daughter.
Foreign Rights: 5 Çocuk 5 İstanbul/5 Children 5 Istanbuls (Elf Publishing, Georgia),
(Edition Orient, Germany)
Written and illustrated by Betül Sayın, the
book depicts the story of pre-school children in
Istanbul. The author relates the five different eras
of Istanbul through five different characters. The
colourful pictures and the unique structure of
the book, which begins in the present and looks
backwards to prehistoric times, offer children
a unique reading and learning experience.
Mert who lives in a crowded neighbourhood of
present day Istanbul visits his ill grandmother.
In his grandmother’s attic, he finds a fez which
belongs to Hamdi who had lived in Ottoman
Istanbul... Anxious to go to festivities held for the
Ottoman Sultan, Hamdi finds a mirror decorated
with purple stones in the Covered Bazaar when
he goes there with his sister. The purple mirror
belongs to Helen who had lived in the Byzantine
era... An old coin sold in a shop catches the
attention of Helen who goes to watch the races at
the Hippodrome with her family. The coin bearing
the figure of a fish belongs to Milya who helps
his grandfather, a fisherman in Byzantion... The
boat of Milya and his grandfather is filled with
the fish they have caught. On the way back from
the ceremony held at the temple, Milya finds an
old piece of ceramic pottery on the street, a piece
from a dish made by the mother of the Girl-witha-Bone-Hairpin,
who lives in a cave near Istanbul
in prehistoric times.

B İ L G E K A R A S U
Bilge Karasu (1930-1995) graduated from the Philosophy Department of Istanbul
University and taught at Hacettepe University for many years. One of Turkey’s
most respected writers, he published four books of short stories, three novels and
four collections of essays. His first novel Gece (The Night) is the winner of the 1991
Pegasus Literature Award; Uzun Sürmüş bir Günün Akşamı (The Evening of a Very
Long Day) won the 1971 Sait Faik Short Story Award, and the English translation of
Karasu’s Göçmüş Kediler Bahçesi (The Garden of Departed Cats) by Aron Aji won
the 2004 National Translation Award in the USA. Usually referred to as “the sage
of Turkish literature,” Bilge Karasu is an influential reference point in the progress
of Turkish fiction writing. A perfectionist, a philosopher, and a master of literary
arts, he left behind a body of work, which skillfully outlines a world unmatched in its
crystal clear transparency.
Foreign Rights: Göçmüş Kediler Bahçesi/The Garden Of Departed Cats (Die
Garten entschwundener Katzen, Literaturca, Germany), (New Directions, USA),
(Scripta, Greece), (Amphora, Russia), (Estriendomudo, Peru); Gece/Night (Die
Nacht, Literaturca, Germany), (Luisiana State University Press, USA), (La Nuit, La
Difference, France), Uzun Sürmüş Bir Günün Akşamı/The Evening of a Very Long
Day (Scripta, Greece)
GÖÇMÜŞ KEDİLER BAHÇESİ
THE GARDEN OF DEPARTED CATS
New Directions, UK, 2003, 232 pages Novel
Translated by Aron Aji
ISBN: 9789753422296
rights@metisbooks.com
In an ancient Mediterranean city, a tradition is
maintained: every ten years an archaic game of
human chess is staged, the players (visitors versus
locals) bearing weapons. The game may prove
as fatal as the attraction our narrator feels for
the local man who is the Vizier of the home team.
Their “romance” provides the skeletal structure
of the novel. Each of their brief interactions works
as a single chapter. And interleaved between their
chapters are a dozen fable-like stories, which
work independently of the main narrative but, in
curious and unpredictable ways echo and double
its chief themes: love, its recalcitrance, and its
refusal to be rushed…
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
B U K E T U Z U N E R
Buket Uzuner was born in 1955, in Ankara. She graduated as a biologist from
Hacettepe University. She has worked as a lecturer and researcher at universities in
Turkey and abroad. Her first short story was published in Dönemeç magazine. Her
stories and articles have been published in various periodicals like Yarın, Türk Dili,
Oluşum, Varlık, Sanat Olayı, Cönk, Gergedan and Argos. She edited the women’s
and travel sections in Rapsodi Magazine (1989, 1992). She served on the executive
committee of the Turkish PEN Writers’ Association between 1993 and 1995. In 1989,
she received a commendation at the Yunus Nadi Short Story competition and was
awarded the Yunus Nadi Novel Prize in 1993, for her book, entitled, Balık İzlerinin
Sesi (The Sound of Fish Steps).
WORKS: Bir Fincan Türk Kahvesi (A Cup of Turkish Coffee), Şiirin Kızkardeşi Öykü
(Tale, the Sister of Verse), Şairler Şehri (City of Poets), Karayel Hüznü (The Sorrow
of the North Wind), Güneş Yiyen Çingene (The Sun Eating Gypsy), Ayın En Çıplak
Günü (The Most Naked Day of the Month), Benim Adım Mayıs (My Name is May),
İstanbullular (Istanbullites), Uzun Beyaz Bulut - Gelibolu (Long White Cloud -
Gallipoli), Kumral Ada Mavi Tuna (Mediterranean Waltz), Balık İzlerinin Sesi (The
Sound of Fish Steps), İki Yeşil Su Samuru (Two Green Otters), New York Seyir Defteri
(New York Log Book), Bir Şehir Romantiğinin Günlüğü (The Diary of a City Romantic),
Bir Siyah Saçlı Kadının Gezi Notları (Travel Notes of a Brunette).
GELİBOLU-UZUN BEYAZ BULUT
GALLIPOLI-LONG WHITE CLOUD
Psichogios, Greece, 2005, 323 pages, Novel
Translated by Thanos Zaragalis
ISBN: 9752890296
everest@alfakitap.com,
www.istanbultelifofisi.com
This is the amazing account of an eightyfive year old
mystery, which unfolds through the chance encounter
of two people, one, a young New Zealand woman
who comes to Turkey to search for the grave of her
grandfather who died in the battle for Gallipoli, the
other, an old Turkish grandmother who wanders around
Gallipoli National Park, hunched over her walking
stick. This book tells the story of a period that currently,
no country allows to be written in history books; it is a
challenge to humanity. How can the same man be a war
hero in two enemy countries? Can history be seen as a
linear process? Should history be rewritten?

B U R A K T U R N A
Burak Turna was born in Istanbul in 1975 and gained his university degree in
Business Studies from the Girne American University in Cyprus. He then worked
as a translator and economics reporter, occupying a variety of media posts. His
writing career began with the sensational debut Metal Fırtına (Metal Storm), and
his imagination has never ceased to amaze his readers since then. Metal Storm kept
its top spot on the bestsellers list for fourteen weeks. Turna has published SistemA,
which is about the rationale behind all his novels, including Metal Storm.
Works: Metal Fırtına (Metal Storm, 4 volumes novels), Bigeran, SistemA, 3. Dünya
Savaşı (3rd World War).
Foreign Rights: Metal Fırtına/Metal Storm (Polish, Greek)
METAL FIRTINA
METAL STORM
Livanis, Greece, 304 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9752631096
www.burakturna.com, info@burakturna.com
Metal Storm is a political novel about a
fictional war between the US and Turkey.
The book has become so popular that it
has also attracted the attention of Turkish
government officials and the international
media. The Christian Science Monitor
has also described the book as “one of the
fastest-selling books in Turkish history,”
while the Chicago Tribune conducted an
interview with the author.
“The hottest selling book in Turkey is a
thriller that portrays a fictional war between
the United States and Turkey.” Chicago
Tribune
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
C A H İ T K Ü L E B İ
Cahit Külebi (1917-1997) graduated from the Turkish Language and Literature
Department of a Teacher Training College in Istanbul. He worked as a literature
teacher, then as chief inspector and as cultural undersecretary at the Ministry
of Education. He retired in 1972, but continued to work for the Turkish Language
Institution until 1983. From 1976 onwards he was chairman of the Turkish
Language Institution. Cahit Külebi wrote about his experiences and collected facts
relating to Anatolia and Turkey. He wrote poems from the perspective of workers
who experienced the urban reality and lead urban lives during the social realism
movement in the 1940s. Unlike other poets involved in this movement, Külebi wrote
about his own experiences and not about the facts known to everyone. He observed
Anatolia and Istanbul as well as life in the West. This surely affected his poetry,
though not to a great extent because he established a strong link between the
content and form of poetry.
WORKS: Atatürk Kurtuluş Savaşında (Ataturk and the Independence War), Yeşeren
Otlar (Greening Grass), Süt (Milk), Şiirler (Poems), Türk Mavisi (Turkish Blue), Sıkıntı
ve Umut (Boredom and Hope), Yangın (Fire), Bütün Şiirleri (The Complete Poems),
Güz Türküleri (Autumn Folksongs), Güzel Yurdum (My Beautiful Homeland), Zerdali
Ağacı (The Wild Apricot Tree), İçi Sevda Dolu Yolculuk (Journey of Love), Şiir Her
Zaman (Poetry Always), Ecem’in Günlüğü (Ecem’s Diary).
LYRICS-SELECTED POEMS
Bata Press, Macedonia, 2007
Translated by Mariya Leontiç
ISBN: 9789989819650
ozlem@bilgiyayinevi.com.tr
bilgi@bilgiyayinevi.com.tr
This book consists of 52 poems which are
characterized by a bright “saz” sincerity,
a Karacaoğlan like simplicity, together
with a limpidity of language. The poems,
from time to time, convey feelings of
pessimism, insecurity and solitude.
Half rhymes, inner voices, thoughts
and feelings, ornamented by elegant
metaphors make Cahit Külebi one of the
most popular poets in Turkey.

C A H İ T Z A R İ F O Ğ L U
He was born in 1940 in Ankara and graduated from the German Language and
Literature Department at Istanbul University. He went twice to Germany in order
to improve his German at the Goethe Institute, which allowed him the possibility
of traveling around Europe and experiencing different cultures. In 1976 he was
appointed translator/interpreter for the General Director of TRT (Turkish Radio
Television). He continued to work at TRT for different departments and in different
capacities until his death in 1987. When he died he was working as an inspector at
TRT Istanbul Radio. Zarifoğlu became known for his distinctive style of poetry. His
poems take the form of inner dialogues, without recourse to external voices. In his
short stories, novels and diaries he reflects his poetic sensitivity. In his children’s
books, fantasy, extraordinary reality and dreams blend into one.
Some of His Works: İşaret Çocukları (Signpost Children), Yedi Güzel Adam (Seven
Handsome Men), Menziller (Target Ranges), Yaşamak (Living), Serçekuş (Sparrow),
Ağaçkakanlar (Woodpeckers), Katıraslan (Stubborn Lion), Yürek Dede ile Padişah
(Grandpa Heart and the Sultan), Savaş Ritimleri (War Rhythms), Korku ve Yakarış
(Fear and Prayer), Bir Değirmendir Bu Dünya (The World is a Wind Mill), Motorlu
Kuş (The Engine-Powered Bird), Sütçü İmam, Gülücük (Smile), Ağaç Okul (Tree
School).
MOTORLU KUŞ
THE ENGINE-POWERED BIRD
Yalda Ghalam, Iran, 2008
108 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Muhammed Rıza Mehrafza
ISBN: 9789645745620
bilgi@beyanyayinlari.com
Some creatures attach an engine to a
swallow. Theswallow is really happy with it
and in time, it forgets that it’s a swallow; its
wings lose their strength and shrink, leaving
only the flesh on its body to cling onto the
engine and its beak becomes useless due to
theconstant drumming on the dashboard
so, one day, they decide to take off the engine
to save the swallow. But, who attached the
engine to the swallow in the first place? Why
did they do it? Was the swallow saved in the
end? The Engine-Powered Bird is a delightful
account of this adventure.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
SON CESET - THE LAST CORPSE
Unionsverlag, Switzerland, 2008
360 pages, Novel
C E L İ L O K E R
Translated into German by Nevfel Cumart
ISBN: 9752931597
www.turkuvazkitap.com
Celil Oker was born in Kayseri, Talas, in 1952. After studying at Talas Amerikan
Junior Shool, he graduated from Tarsus American High School. Subsequently, he
moved to Istanbul and studied at Boğaziçi University. After graduating from the
English Language and Literature department, he worked as a translator, journalist
and encyclopedia writer. Currently he is working as a lecturer in the Communication
Faculty at Bilgi University.
WORKS: Kramponlu Ceset (Corpse With Cleats), Son Ceset (The Last Corpse), Rol
Çalan Ceset (The Corpse that Stole the Role), Çıplak Ceset (The Naked Corpse), Bin
Lotluk Ceset (The Thousand Lot Corpse)
Foreign Rights: Kramponlu Ceset/Corpse with Cleats (Kastaniotis Editions,
Greece), (Unionsverlag, Switzerland); Çıplak Ceset/ The Naked Corpse (Roca
Editorial de Libros, Spain, 2006), (Uitgeverij Elmar, The Netherlands, 2006), Bin
Lotluk Ceset (Kastaniotis Editions, Greece)
The main character of Celil Oker’s
novels, Detective Ünal, tries to get to the
bottom of mysteries which are closely
intertwined with politics, murder and
shady dealings… When events start to
unfold after the murder of one of his
clients -a woman who asks the detective
to take on an unpaid debt case- the
plot starts to thicken and the pace
becomes more frenetic. Readers find
themselves swept along in a complex,
but breathtaking adventure, made even
more compelling by the unexpected twist
at the end. The Last Corpse is the fifth in
the Celil Oker detective series, in which
he successfully recaptures the style of
the classic detective novel. The author’s
fluent prose and convincing dialogues
reveal subtle aspects of contemporary
life.

C E M M U M C U
Cem Mumcu was born in 1966, in Akçaabat and is a medical doctor. He writes
poems, short stories, novels, essays and critical reviews and won the Doruktakiler
Story Prize in 2004. He works in the Communications Faculty at Marmara University,
where he lectures on Creative Writing and the Psychology of Art. He also works as the
general editor for OkuyanUs Publishing House.
WORKS: Hassas Ruhlar Terazisi (Balance for Sensitive Souls), Hayal Kırıklığı
(Disappointment), Makber (Grave), Muallakta - Araf’ta ve Düşte (In Limbo - In
Purgatory and In a Dream), Sahici Aşklar Külliyatı (Real Love Compilation), Terapi
Şeysi (Therapy Thing), Üçüncü Sayfa Güzeli (Page Three Girl).
MAKBER
GRAVE
Ráció Kiadó, Hungary, 2007
120 pages, Novel
Translated by Edit Tasnadi
ISBN: 9789639605299
www.kalemagency.com
We are looking for one, single, definitive
answer... What is it we want to know,
comprehend and solve? Is it the details that
we are after? Or just the same thing in all
its detail? While we are being assailed by
this clamour of detail, can we really find the
answer in such a cacophony? Are we trying to
understand why we are here, why we will go
away or why we decide to stay here, knowing
that we’ll leave one day anyway ?
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
C E M S E L C E N
Cem Selcen was born in Istanbul in 1962. He completed his elementary and high
school education in Bursa. In 1984, he received his degree from the Mechanical
Engineering Department of Yıldız Technical University. His career, which started as
a mechanical engineer, has continued as the manager of a nightclub.
WORKS: Elmanın Suçu (Blame the Apple), Saat Kaçtır Acaba (What Time Is It?),
1578, Öğle Paydosu (Lunch Break).
Foreign Rights:Elmanın Suçu /Blame the Apple (Trud, Bulgaria) (Fan Noli, Albania)
ELMANIN SUÇU
BLAME THE APPLE
TRUD Publishing House, Bulgaira
315 pages, Novel
Translated by Paulina Anastasova Mateeca
ISBN: 9789755703244
www.kalemagency.com
An international crime organization,
an old man, a rape suspect, a lost gang
member, two lovers drifting away, and
an incredible robbery that extends from
Havana, to Paris and finally to Istanbul...
Blame the Apple begins in jail. The
narrator, an anti-hero, is a privileged
convict whose money affords him
many privileges in jail. Although he is a
professional robber, he had not always
been an unlawful man. In fact, he is quite
refined. Cem Selcen tells the story of
this skillful criminal by touching on the
stories of other people: his friends in jail
as well as the accomplices with whom he
robs the Istanbul branch of the Central
Bank of Turkey.

C E M İ L K A V U K Ç U
Cemil Kavukçu was born in 1951. He graduated from the Geophysical Engineering
Department at Istanbul University. His short stories have been published in various
journals since 1980. He is one of the best short story writers of recent years and
bases his stories on ordinary people and ordinary lives, from which he creates a rich,
colorful world. Two recurring features of his works are his focus on minute details
and the strength of his dialogues, particularly his use of slang. Cemil Kavukçu
succeeds in fashioning his own style through his use of lucid, uncomplicated
language.
WORKS: Suda Bulanık Oyunlar (Dirty Games in Water), Mimoza’da Elli Gram
(Fifty Grams in Mimosa), Başkasının Rüyaları (Somebody Else’s Dreams), Bilinen
Bir Sokakta Kaybolmak (Getting Lost in a Familiar Street), Dönüş (Return), Dört
Duvar Beş Pencere (Four Walls, Five Windows), Gamba, Gemiler de Ağlarmış
(Ships Also Cry), Nolya, Pazar Güneşi (Sunday Sun), Selo’nun Kuşları (Selo’s Birds),
Temmuz Suçlu (July is Guilty), Uzak Noktalara Doğru (To Far Away Places),Yalnız
Uyuyanlar İçin (For Those Who Sleep Alone), Angelacoma’nın Duvarları (The Walls
of Angelacoma), Otobiyografik Bir Anlatı (An Autobiographical Story)
BAŞKASININ RÜYALARI
SOMEBODY ELSE’S DREAMS
Literaturca Verlag, Germany, 2007
238 pages, Short Story
Translated by Beatrix Caner
ISBN: 9750703383
international@canyayinlari.com
Readers of Somebody Else’s Dreams are
struck by the strange connections between
the stories. In this book Kavukçu prompts
the readers to feel as if they are in search of
the writer’s personal motivation for writing,
as he himself draws back the curtain on his
stories. As we pass through the sharp but
blurred zone between fiction and reality,
writer and narrator, hero and writer merge;
the one melting into the other, resulting in
our entering a world in which we don’t really
know who is who. The use of the same heroes
and same narrators links the stories to each
other, giving us snapshots taken at different
moments of the same life.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
C E V A T Ç A P A N
Cevat Çapan was born in Darıca in 1933 and studied English at Cambridge
University. He later taught English Literature and Drama in the English Department
of Istanbul University from 1960 to 1980, and worked as Professor of Drama in
Mimar Sinan University from 1980 to 1996. He is currently Professor of English at
the Yeditepe University in Istanbul. His first large collection of poems entitled Dön
Güvercin Dön (Return Oh Dove!) was awarded the Behçet Necatigil Prize in 1986.
His later poems were collected in four other volumes Doğal Tarih (Natural History,
1989), Sevda Yaratan (Creator of Love, 1994), Ne Güzel Yolculukta Aklımdan Çıkmaz
(I Cannot Forget What a Beautiful Journey It Was, 2001), and Bana Düşlerini Anlat
(Tell Me Your Dreams, 2007). A selection of his poems was published in France under
the title L’hiver est fini in 1996 and in Great Britain under the title Where Are You
Susie Petchek. He has translated widely American and Greek poets from English into
Turkish and has also edited anthologies of verse translation.
Foreign Rights: A Selection from his poetry books Dön Güvercin Dön, Doğal Tarih,
Sevda Yaratan: Where Are you, Susie Petsheck (Arc Publications, English), L’hiver est
fini (Creaphis, French)
WHERE ARE YOU, SUSIE PETSHECK
Arc Publication, UK, 2001
120 pages, Poetry
Translated by Michael Hulse and Cevat Çapan
ISBN: 1900072432
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ ykykultur.com.tr
A.S. Byatt says: “The poems of Cevat Çapan
sound ancient and traditional, and yet they
are recognizably related to modernism. They
are rooted in Turkish life and literature and
yet they are European, and beyond that, aware
of a world literature which means something,
and in which they have a place.” Rather than
pessimistically dwelling on pain and sorrow,
he looks to the good, to joy and hope, and his
poetry, without ignoring life’s disappointments,
has a knowledge and exaltation of joy and
enthusiasm. Embracing friendship and
humanity with the memories of a lifetime, a
wind of optimism, calling from isolation, calling
to isolation, blows through his poetry.

C Ü N E Y T Ü L S E V E R
Dr. Cüneyt Ülsever (Ankara, 1951) graduated from the Department of Economics at
Boğaziçi University. He completed his masters degree in International Relations at
The Johns Hopkins University and in Economics at Colombia University. He pursued
his doctorate in Human Resources and Economics between 1978 and 1983 at Harvard
University. Ülsever worked in various management positions between 1983 and 1997
and as a consultant between 1997 and 1999. He has been a columnist in Hürriyet and
Daily News newspapers and a Human Resources consultant since 1999. The writer is
known on the literary scene, particularly for his murder novels.
WORKS: Novels: Kara Dul (Black Widow), Hacı (Hadji), Topal Devrimci Cinayeti (The
Murder of the Crippled Reformist), Hisarüstü Cinayetleri (Hisarüstü Murders)
Memoir: Teneke Evin Torunu (The Grandchild of the Tin House) Other works: Kendini
Arayan Türkiye-Bir Siyaset Modeli Tezi (Turkey in Search of Herself-Thesis of a
Political Model), 21. Yüzyılda Küreselleşme ve Türkiye Perspektifi-Siyaset Üzerine
Bir Tez (Globalisation and the Perspective of Turkey in the 21st Century-A Thesis on
Politics), Neden Liberalizm?-Liberal Teoriye Bir Bakış (Why Liberalism-A Look at
Liberal Theory), Kendini Arayan Dünya-21. Yüzyılın Paradigmalarını Dünya Liderleri
İrdeliyor (A World in Search of Herself-Paradigms of the 21st Century Explicates
World Leaders), İnsan Yönetimi-21. yüzyılda Üretimin Temel Kaynağı İnsana Yeni Bir
Bakış (Human Resources Management-A New Perspective on the Human Being, the
Resource of 21st century Production), Huzura Yeniden Yolculuk: XXI. Yüzyılda Bütün
İnsan (A Journey Back to the Peace of Mind-The Holistic Person in the 21st Century).
Foreign Rights: Topal Devrimci Cinayeti/The Murder of the Crippled Reformist
(Foremost Press, USA), Hisarüstü Cinayetleri/Hisarüstü Murders (Foremost Press,
USA), Hacı/Hadji (Foremost Press, USA).
HACI - HADJI
Foremost Press, USA, 446 pages, Novel
Tanslated by Mert Akcanbaş
ISBN:9752891705
everest@alfakitap.com
26 August 1997… Time, 02.23… Place, Kayseri…
Hayrullah Gesili, known as Hacı in the entire city of Kayseri,
is jolted awake by a phone call in the middle of the night,
informing him about the arrest of his brother as a suspect in a
double homicide case. As Hacı approaches Ankara in his car, he
journeys into his past as well. Homicide Detective Yağız Balcı
realises that one of the slained victims is Sevil Ötüşken, known
as “100% Sevil”, a consultant to foreign companies who bid
in the Department of Defence and for government contracts
in Turkey, the incident could be explained by “reasons” that
go much “deeper.” Hacı is a follower of shariah who could be
arrested just because of the salt and pepper beard hanging
down to his chest, if it were left to the media. Without delay,
newspapers announce headlines such as “Political homicide”,
“Islamic green capital renders account in Ankara”, “The
revenge for 28 February”. As he draws closer to the heart of the
matter, Yağız Balcı will realise that even the facts behind “those
that appear to have happened” can be altered, if necessary.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
Ç E T İ N A L T A N
Çetin Altan was born in Istanbul in 1927 and graduated from the Faculty of Law at
Ankara University, but instead of practicing his career, he worked as a journalist for
various newspapers. Meanwhile, his poems and short stories were first published in
1946 and he has worked as a columnist in prominent newspapers for more than 60
years. He currently works as a columnist for the newspaper Milliyet. Altan is a profilic
writer with more than 50 published books (memoirs, novels, futuristic short stories,
travel notes, theatrical plays, etc.). He is considered to be one of the leading writers
of Turkish literature and has written more than 35,000 essays on various subjects.
He has written 9 theatrical plays, which have all been performed by state and private
theater groups.
Foreign Rights: Büyük Gözaltı/The Great Surveillance (French, Swedish, Greek,
Bulgarian, Romanian and Spanish); Bir Avuç Gökyüzü/A Handful of Sky (French,
Swedish, Greek, Bulgarian, Romanian and Spanish); Küçük Bahçe/The Little Garden
(French, Swedish, Greek, Bulgarian, Romanian and Spanish); Viski/Whisky (French,
Swedish, Greek, Bulgarian, Romanian and Spanish)
BÜYÜK GÖZALTI
THE GREAT SURVEILLANCE
Flammarion, France, 1992
280 pages, Novel
Translated by Julie Pavesi
ISBN: 975101459X
sdiker@inkilap.com
solina@inkilap.com
The Great Surveillance was on the
recommended reading list for high
schools in France. Critics in the European
press praised his novels and compared
his style to that of Kafka. Written with
an allegoric, literally rich style, Altan’s
novels are mainly about the loss of
identity of individuals in society due to
political and social presures.

D E M İ R Ö Z L Ü
Demir Özlü was born in Istanbul in 1935 and graduated from the Law Faculty at
Istanbul University in 1959. After studying Philosophy from 1961 to 1962 at the Paris
(Sorbonne) University, he returned to Turkey and worked as a research assistant in the
Department of Law Philosophy and Methodology at Istanbul University Law Faculty
for four years. He also worked as a lawyer. After the military coup of 1980, he was
denaturalized, but he was able to return to Turkey in 1989. After 1980, he focused on
novel, narrative, memoir, diary and travel books. He currently lives in Stockholm. His
first work, Discomfort (Short Story) was published in 1958.
Some of His Works: Short Stories: Soluma (Breathing, 1963, TDK Story Award),
Stockholm Öyküleri (Stockholm Stories,1988, Sait Faik Short Story Award), İstanbul
Büyüsü (Charm of Istanbul), Geçen Yaz Kentte Kızlar (Girls in City in Past Summer),
Şapka, Deniz Kıyısı ve Yüz (Hat, Seashore and Face). Novels: Uzun Bir Sonbahar ( A
Long Fall); Bir Beyoğlu Düşü (A Beyoğlu Dream), Berlin’de Sanrı (Hallucination in
Berlin); Bir Yaz Mevsimi Romansı (A Romance of A Summer Season, 1990, Orhan
Kemal Novel Award), Tatlı Bir Eylül (Sweet September), İthaka’ya Yolculuk (Journey
to Ithaca, World Book Magazine Book of Year, 1998-Yunus Nadi Novel Award),
Dalgalar (Waves).
Foreign Rights: Berlin’de Sanrı/ Hallucination in Berlin (Halluzination in Berlin,
Berlin, Aubau Verlag, Germany, 1992), Hallucination à Berlin, France, 1993)
İSTANBUL BÜYÜSÜ - CHARM OF ISTANBUL
Literaturca Verlag, 2002, 148 Pages, Short Story
Translated by Beatrix Caner
ISBN: 9755104194
ankaraburosu@imge.com.tr
Demir Özlü is an author who loves Istanbul
and who can describe it beautifully. Demir
Özlü is one of the most original and important
names of the 1950’s, a writer whose place
in Turkish storytelling is undeniable. His
main goal has been to investigate depression
intellectually as an existential problem.
He has always been inspired by themes of
morality, tradition, alienation and loneliness.
He is an intellectual author with a global
perspective whose stories seem to be possible
anywhere in the world.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
ÖLÜ EKMEĞİ - BREAD FOR THE DEAD
BS-Ansisa, Russia, 1975, 164 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9789755090467
www.arkadas.com.tr
D U R S U N A K Ç A M
Dursun Akçam (1930, Ardahan-2003, Ankara) the Ankara Gazi Institute of Education
in 1958. He worked as a teacher, journalist, writer, and unionist. He served as the
second chairman of the Teachers Union of Turkey. He was arrested after the military
coup of March 12, 1971, and was sentenced to eight years and ten months in prison. He
was later acquitted on appeal in the Supreme Court. After the closing of the newspaper
Demokrat, which he helped to found in 1977, he went abroad due to the military coup
of September 12, 1980 and did not return home for ten years. His first article entitled
“Köyden Sesler” (“Voices from the Village”) was published in the journal Varlık in 1952.
His other works were published in many newspapers and journals. He won first prize in
the Milliyet Ali Naci Karacan Interview Competition in 1985 with his work Analarımız
(Our Mothers), the Golden Orange Award at the 12th Antalya Art Festival in 1976 with
his short story “Haley,” and received the Turkish Language Association’s Novel Award
in 1977 with his novel Kanlıdere’nin Kurtları (Wolves of Bloody River).
WORKS: Sevdam Ürktü (My Love Is Frightened), Ucu Ucuna Yaşam (Nearly Life),
Kanlı Derenin Kurtları (Wolves Of Bloody River), Maral (Asian Elk), Kafdağının Ardı
(Behind Kaf Mountain), Ölü Ekmeği (Bread for the Dead), Dağların Sultanı (The Sultan
Of The Mountains), Öğretmeni Kim Öptü? Generaller Birleşin ve Tüm Öyküler (Who
Kissed The Teacher? Generals Unite And Other Stories), Haley, Doğunun Çilesi (The
Ordeal of the East), Kan Çiçekleri (The Blood Flowers), Taş Çorbası (Stone Soup),
Kafkas Kızı (The Caucasian Girl)
Foreign Rights: Ölü Ekmeği/Bread for the Dead ( Bulgarian and Russian); Alaman
Ocağı/The German Guild (German)
Dursun Akcam is one of the masters of the Turkish literary
world and an important representative of Turkish literature
focussing on social reality. Ölü Ekmeği (Bread for the Dead)
is based on his observations on rural life and consists of ten
short stories: Ölü Ekmeği (Bread for the Dead), Seher Tayfası
(The Dawn Crew), Tezek Payı (A share of dried cow dung),
Kahraman (The Hero), Ölü Ölü Ekmeği (Bread for the Dead),
Pantol (Trousers), Kiraz (Cherry), Seher (The Dawn), Kurban
(The Victim), Bade (Wine), Yoğurt ve Oğlan Uşağı (Yoghurt and
the Boy Servant). Dursun Akcam writes with full awareness
of the social role played by literature and the writer, and acts
as an intermediary to reflect the expectations of the rural
population in which he grew up. Dursun Akcam internalises the
resources of the verbal culture in his works and in the words of
the literary critic Dogan Hizlan, “With his works, he taught us
that without understanding the realities of village life, without
visiting the remotest villages of Anatolia and living there, and
without digesting the East, it is impossible to understand and
perceive this country and its people.”

KANAYAN TÜRKÜ - BLEEDING FOLK SONG
Tribina Makedonska Publishing, Macedonia, 1999
Translated by Esad Bayram
ISBN: 9989623155
D U R S U N Ö Z D E N
Dursun Özden was born in Niğde in 1950. He graduated from the Department of Press
and Public Relations at Ankara University. He received diplomas from Kırcali Academy
Balkans Folklore Institute and Bucharest University as well as Grigore Kiazim Popular
Music Research Institute. His first poem was published in 1970. He began to work as
the Kocaeli reporter for Politika newspaper in 1976. He was tried and acquitted in 1971
and in 1981 for “Crime of Thought”. Özden’s work has been published in literary, culture,
art, tourism, language, criticism, folklore and research magazines and newspapers and
broadcast on radio and television. Some of his poetry, analysis, essay and travel writings
have been published in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Macedonian and Russian.
He has travelled to 66 countries and ventured to every corner of Anatolia; he conducted
research on near extinct ethnic cultures in Africa, faith, folklore, the Population Exchange,
Anatolian Nomads, Turkish culture and traces of Atatürk in the world. Investigative
reporter Dursun Özden has worked as Press and Public Relations Advisor, manager,
documentary script writer, editor and editor-in-chief and he is the Turkish representative
of Assa-Irada (Daily News Agansia), Azer News (English Newspaper), and Daily News
Travel (Italian) newspapers. He is the recipient of several awards, both at home and
abroad, in literature, cultural research and press.
Some of His Works: Poetry: Gökkuşagı Tarlası (The Field of Rainbows), Yeni Zamanlar
Dervişi (The Dervish of Modern Times), Sevginin Uçları (The Tips of Love), Kanayan
Türkü (Bleeding Folk Song), Türküler Kanamasın (Don’t Let the Folk Song Bleed),
Yitik Zaman Işığı (The Light of Lost Time), Dudak İzi (Lip Imprint), Ateşli Al Atlar
(Fiery Red Horses). Travel: Küba Uzak Değil (Cuba is not Far), Yalansız Cennet Küba
(Cuba: Paradise with no Lies), Uygur Karızlarına Yolculuk (Journey to Uyghur Kariz).
Essays: Yüreğimin Açkısı-Deneme (Key to My Heart), Kuşatılmış Yazılar (Writings
Under Siege)
ozdendursun@gmail.com, www.dursunozden.com.tr
The book comprises of 42 poems by the
traveller poet Dursun Özden about love,
nature, freedom and peace. The poems
are written in a sincere, plain, austere
and accessible language yet enriched with
powerful imagery. The internal sounds,
emphases and melodies which occasionally
end a line, or occur within a line, support
Dursun Özden’s authentic and free poetry
technique and make him different..The book
received the 1999 Al Cahez Poetry Award.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
E C E A Y H A N
After graduating from the School of Political Science in Ankara, Ece Ayhan (1931,
Muğla) worked as a civil servant and kaymakam (governor of a town district). His
first poem was published in 1954 in the magazine Türk Dili. Ayhan employs a web of
associations and allusions which give him a distinctive, even unique place in modern
Turkish poetry. His work embodies the slang as well as the historical texts and living
street culture. He passed away in 2002.
He is a master of images, who integrated into his poetry many other art forms,
including painting and cinema. Ece Ayhan is not only the most original representative
of the Second New, but also the symbol of explosion in Turkish poetry.
Some of His Works: Poetry Collections: Kınar Hanımın Denizleri (Mrs. Kınar’s Seas);
Bakışsız Bir Kedi Kara (A Black Cat with No Gaze); Ortodoksluklar (Orthodoxies);
Devlet ve Tabiat (The State and Nature); Yort Savul, Sivil Şiirler (Civilian Poems),
Essay: Bir Şiirin Bakır Çağı (The Copper Age of a Poetry)
BAKIŞSIZ BİR KEDİ KARA VE
ORTADOKSLULAR
A BLIND CAT BLACK AND THE ORTHODOXIES
Green Integer, USA, 2009
81 pages, Poetry
Translated by Murat Nemet Nejat
ISBN: 1557131023
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
Ayhan takes the reader through the dark
streets of Galata district of Istanbul,
a neighbourhood where historically
European minorities lived alongside red
light zone. Like a modern-day Rimbaud,
Ayhan, in this amazing translation,
explores linguistically and conceptually
what the Turkish culture and authorities
outlawed. A daring innovator, Ayhan
uses language not as a rational wordcarrier,
but as an instrument to unveil
new insights into the world of his visions.

E D İ P C A N S E V E R
Edip Cansever (1928-1986, Istanbul) graduated from Istanbul High School for Boys,
after which he attended Business School. He quit the school after some time and
worked in his father’s antique shop in the Grand Bazaar until 1976. He was one of
the leading members of the “Second New” poetry movement along with Turgut Uyar
and Cemal Süreya in the fifties. His first poetry book İkindi Üstü (Towards Afternoon,
1947) was the story of the first contact of a 19-year-old youth with the world and his
first protests. His second poetry book, Dirlik Düzenlik (Peace and Harmony,1954),
was influenced by the “Garip” poetry movement. The many poetic influences he came
under were instrumental in developing his very personal and mature style. He found
his own language, as well as his own themes, inclinations and predilections by the
time he published his third and major poetry book Yerçekimli Karanfil (Gravitational
Carnation,1957). The foundations of Cansever’s poetry, summarized as the “neverending
search of the individual motivated by his loneliness and alienation”, were laid
down in this book.
DIRTY AUGUST: SELECTED POEMS
Talisman House Publishers, USA
Translated by Richard Tillinghast-
Julia Clare Tillinghast Akalın
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
Edip Cansever is one of the masters of
modern Turkish poetry. He bears out T.S.
Eliot’s remark that “poetry only pursues its
own function.” He wrote poems that display
the fine details of poetic craftmanship. From
some poets, we can remember complete
verses; Edip Cansever is of a different kind.
In his work, it is the poetic essence that
pervades our memories.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
E G E M E N B E R K Ö Z
Egemen Berköz was born in Zonguldak in 1941. He completed his elementary and
middle school education in Zonguldak and high school in Bolu. He studied Italian
language and literature at the Faculty of Letters at Ankara University (1959-1963). He
worked as a copywriter. He is the editor of the art page of the newspaper Cumhuriyet.
He published the journal Alan 67 (1965), and has translated poetry, novels and stories
from Italian into Turkish. His first poem, Akşam (Evening), was published in 1959 in
Yeditepe. His poetry has been published in journals such as Dost, Ataç and Yelken. A
poet of the 1960’s generation, the enthusiasms of 1968 can be detected in his poetry.
He is concerned with politics and the world. An urban dweller’s anxieties, pains,
enthusiasms, loves and battles with the city are the subjects of his poetry. He has a
balanced, clear and original style.
His Books of Poetry: Çin Askeri Ah Devran (The Chinese Soldier, Oh Fortune, 1966),
Yalnızlıklar, Yalnızlıklar (Loneliness, Loneliness, 1977), Bu Kitapta Sen Nerdesin
(Where are you in this Book ?, 1981), Unutma (Forgetting, Collected Poems, 2006).
BU KİTAPTA SEN NERDESİN?
WHERE ARE YOU IN THIS BOOK
Bandecchi e Vivaldi, Italy, 2009
96 pages, Poetry
Translated by Rosa Gali Pellegrini
ISBN: 975329042X
egemenberkoz@yahoo.com
In the introduction of this book Berköz
says, “As subject matter, I am interested
in man, and as a man, I am interested
in me. But, this should not be taken as
selfishness. Because there are people
like me who exist in the same chaos,
contradictions and depressions; in short,
there are thousands, tens of thousands of
people who are part of this century and
this land. I know that when I talk about
them, I talk about myself, and when I
talk about myself, I talk about them.” In
these poems, a middle class Istanbulian’s
distress, observations and impressions
are masterfully and clearly crafted.

E L İ F Ş A F A K
Elif Şafak, born in Strasbourg, France in 1971, graduated from the International
Relations Department at Middle East Technical University. She holds an MSc. in
Gender and Women’s Studies and has a PhD in Political Sciences from the same
university. Her first book of short stories, Kem Gözlere Anadolu (To Evil Eyes:
Anatolia), was published in 1994. She won the Mevlâna Prize with her first novel
Pinhan (The Sufi), in 1998. This first book was followed by two more, Şehrin Aynaları
(The Mirrors of the City) and Mahrem (The Gaze, 2000), for which she was awarded
the Turkish Writers’ Association Best Novel Award. Elif Şafak, whose articles have
been published in international newspapers and journals, has been translated into
more than fifteen languages. Her books are published by eminent international
publishers such as Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Viking and Penguin.
WORKS: Pinhan (The Sufi), Şehrin Aynaları (The Mirrors of the City), Mahrem (The
Gaze), Bit Palas (The Flea Palace), Araf (The Saint of Incipient Insanities), Med-
Cezir (Ebb and Tide), Baba ve Piç (The Bastard of Istanbul), Siyah Süt (Black Milk),
Aşk (Love).
BABA VE PİÇ
THE BASTARD OF ISTANBUL
Eichborn, Germany, 2007, 386 pages, Novel
Translated by Juliane Gräbener-Müller
ISBN: 9753425538
www.marionboyars.co.uk
On one level, The Bastard of Istanbul traces
the interwoven threads of a story, set over a
period of 90 years, of the Turkish- Muslim
Kazancı family and that of an American
family of Armenian origin. On another
level, as it is the story of four generations of
women coming from a family in which men
always die unexpectedly, leaving the women
behind, it is a women’s novel.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
HER TEMAS İZ BIRAKIR
EACH CONTACT LEAVES A TRACE
Galata Edition, Germany, 2009
299 pages, Novel
Translated by Oliver Kontny
ISBN: 9750504409
iletisim@iletisim.com.tr
E M R A H S E R B E S
Emrah Serbes was born in 1981 in Yalova. After dropping out of various schools,
he concluded his extended educational career in the Department of Drama in the
Faculty of Language, History, Geography. From time to time, he conducted interviews
for Birgün newspaper, and wrote drama critiques for Radikal 2. He worked as the
Ankara representative of Hayvan magazine. The conversations that he regularly had
with Ahmet İnam and Cengiz Güleç were collected in a book entitled Şen Profesörler:
Metaforla Saadet Olmaz (Jovial Professors: Metaphors Don’t Bring Bliss, 2006).
WORKS: Her Temas İz Bırakır (Each Contact Leaves a Trace), Son Hafriyat
(Final Excavation), Erken Kaybedenler (Early Losers)
Foreign Rights: Her Temas İz Bırakır /Each Contact Leaves a Trace (Galata Edition,
Germany)
Kızılay, Sakarya Avenue, SSK Office Building,
Language-History Campus, Atakule, student
housing... and Police Station... Homicide desk.
Unable to adapt to the “new legal acquis”
Behzat Ç., the awkward and “formidable” chief
of police. He listens to the police wireless, not
to music. He doesn’t read books, he begins to
read the newspaper for sports news. He holds
no political views. It is as if he is “one of us” as
reflected on the third page news, even his name
is incomplete. He used to be a Centre Fullback
who kicked well in the First Amateur League,
but then he stopped playing football and started
kicking other people. For instance, those who
stabbed people in the heart for five liras, those
who raped 13-year-old girls, those who killed
their own relatives for honour... There are no
problems in terms of his own sense of justice,
evildoers seem to be obvious... But is that really
the case? Things may disturb Behzat Ç. and his
sense of justice could sometimes... A murder
case where tracks of horseshoe get mixed in
with those of dogs. Why would anyone kill
this girl? And why in this way? What if we say
politics was involved? Strange... A detective
novel, abundant in intrigue, peeking into the
world of students, other worlds, but especially
into that of the police.

E N G İ N G E Ç T A N
Engin Geçtan is a practicing psychotherapist. He taught psychology at several
universities in Ankara and Istanbul. Between the years 1975-1987, he wrote four
psychiatry books that have a significant following outside professional readership:
İnsan Olmak (Being Human), Varoluş ve Psikiyatri (Existence and Psychiatry),
Normaldışı Davranışlar (Abnormal Behavior), Psikanaliz ve Sonrası (Psychoanalysis
and After). Later Geçtan began working on novels and scenarios. His novels are
Kırmızı Kitap (The Red Book), Dersaadet’te Dans (Dance in Dersaadet), Bir Günlük
Yerim Kaldı İster misiniz? (I Have Space for One Day Only, Taking?), Kızarmış
Palamutun Kokusu (The Smell of Fried Bonito), Tren (The Train) and most recent
one, Kuru Su (Dry Water). Drawing on his forty years of experience in psychiatry,
he published Kimbilir? (Who Knows?) and Hayat (Life), books on psychiatry and
contemporary life on the verge of chaos. Seyyar (Always Moving) is a book of
interviews with him. Geçtan currently lives and works as a psychotherapist in
İstanbul.
KIZARMIŞ PALAMUTUN KOKUSU
THE SMELL OF FRIED BONITO
Dar Kreideh, Lebanon
248 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9789753423020
rights@metisbooks.com
A beautiful novel about Istanbul, the city
of innumerable cultural and historical
layers. After many years in New York, the
main character is enticed by the nostalgic
smell of fried bonito to return to his native
Istanbul, only to find that he never really
knew this city, the city which is not “one”.
His phantasmagoric journey through
the different ages and cultures of the
megalopolis is at once a quest after culture
and a journey of self-knowledge. With its
vivid descriptions of the ages and people that
Istanbul has accommodated, the novel can
also be read as a literary exploration of what
it is to be foreign and what “nativeness”
involves.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
E N İ S B A T U R
He was born in 1952. His first article was published in 1970, to be followed by his first
novels in 1973. He led UNESCO’S ‘’Our Cultural Heritage-from Göreme to Istanbul‘’
campaign in 1984. Between 1978 and 1998 he wrote regular weekly articles for
various periodicals and newspapers and his work was also published in several
foreign journals. He has been awarded the Cemal Süreya, Golden Orange and Sibilla
Aleramo awards for his poetry and has won the TDK (Türk Dil Kurumu-Turkish
Language Institution) award for his essays. Enis Batur is a lecturer at Galatasaray
University. His novel “Elma” has been translated into Romanian and also “Selected
Poems of Enis Batur” has published in English.
WORKS: Eros ve Hgades (Eros and Hgades), Bir Ortaçağ Yalnızlığı (A Medieval
Solitude), Nil (The Nile), Ara Kitab (Apocrypha), İblise Göre İncil (The Bible
According to Lucifer), Kandil (Oil Lamp), Meseller (The Book of Sayings), Sarnıç
(Cistern), Tuğralar (Monograms), Yazılar and Tuğralar, (Writings and Monograms),
Gri Divan (Grey Divan), Koma Provaları (Coma Rehearsals), Perişey (Fairylike)
Ondört+X = 14 (Fourteen+X = 14), Taşrada Ölüm (Preparations for Death and Life
in the Country), (Darb ve Mesel (Blow and Parable), Opera 1-4004 (Opera 1-4004),
Doğu-Batı Dıvan (Ash Divan), Sütte Ne Çok Kan (What a Lot of Blood There is in
Milk), Kanat Hareketleri (The Flapping of Wings), Papirüs (Papyrus), Mürekkep
(Ink), Tüy (Feather), Ağırlastırıcı Sebepler Divanı (Aggravating Factors Divan),
Abdal Düşü: Düzyazı Şiirler (Abdal’s Dream: Prose Poems).
ASH DIVAN: SELECTED POEMS OF ENIS BATUR
Talisman House, Publishers, USA, 2006
Translated by Saliha Paker, Clifford Endres,
Selhan S.Endres, Mel Kenne
ISBN: 1584980494F
www.kalemagency.com
One of Modern Turkish Literature’s foremost
essayists and poets, Enis Batur, began his
literary career as a film and music critic. His
works which are the products of a profound,
cultural and intellectual knowledge are
highly regarded for their critical, probing and
research centered approaches. His poems,
which usually pose existential questions,
although written in a prose-like style, still
retain their clarity.

E N V E R E R C A N
He was born in 1958 in Istanbul. He did not complete his studies and for a long time
worked in factories as a manual worker. Between 1984 and 1992 he worked for
several newspapers and prepared art and literature programs for various television
channels. Since 1992, he has been the general editor of Varlık Dergisi, which is the
most influential literature journal in Turkey. Enver Ercan has won several important
poetry awards.
WORKS: Eksik Yaşam (An Unfulfilled Life), Sürçüyor Zaman (Time Slip), Geçtiği Her
Şeyi Öpüyor Zaman (Time Kiss).
SELECTED POEMS
Cum Ltd., Bulgaria, 2007
Translated by Kadriye Cesur Özgür,
Hüseyin Mevsim
ISBN: 9789549171723
varlik@varlik.com.tr, enverercan@yahoo.com
Enver Ercan is one of the figureheads of
Turkish poetry that appeared after 1980.
He uses ordinary words to create novel,
extraordinary images; his discourse is
smooth, relaxed and unhurried. He continues
to struggle with life and poetry.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
E R D A L Ö Z
YARALISIN - YOU ARE WOUNDED
Buntbuch, Germany, 1982, 272 pages, Novel
Translated by Wolfgang Scharlipp
ISBN: 9755100876
www.onkagency.com
Can Publishing House founder Erdal Öz was born in 1935. His father was a civil servant
and his family traveled and lived in many different parts of Turkey. Öz began to study
at the Law School at Istanbul University and finished his degree at the University of
Ankara, though he did not practice law after graduating. It was only when he was
imprisoned for his political views between 1971 and 1973 that he returned to law
in order to clear the false charges imputed on him. Erdal Öz belongs to the 1950s
generation that made great strides in the Turkish short story genre. His books bear
the traces of his political imprisonment. His novel Yaralısın (You Are Wounded) first
appeared in the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet in 1973 and was published the following
year. In 1975, You Are Wounded brought him the Orhan Kemal Literary Award. Erdal Öz
passed away in 2006.
WORKS: Novels: Gülünün Solduğu Akşam (The Night His Rose Wilted)
Odalarda (In the Rooms). Short Stories: Sular Ne Güzelse (If the Waters Are So
Beautiful), İki Deniz Öyküsü (Two Sea Stories), Kanayan (Bleeding), Havada Kar
Sesi Var (There is the Sound of Snow in the Air), Cam Kırıkları ( Pieces of Broken
Glass). Travel: Bir Gün Yine Allı Turnam (Again One Day My Red Crane).
Memoir: Defterimde Kuş Sesleri (Voices of Birds in My Notebook)
Foreign Rights: Yaralısın/You are Wounded (Du Bist Verwundet, Buntbuch Verlag,
Germany, 1982); (Je bent gewond, Ambo & Novib, The Netherlands, 1988)
One of the works recounting the period
of terror beginning with the period of the
Marshall Plan and continuing until the
military coup of March 12, 1971, it tells of the
period of detainment spent by a young man
in Ankara, whose house was raided one night
by five police officials and who was taken into
custody because of a sack with books. The
young man, a recent university graduate, has
no illegal connections. None of his books are
banned or confiscated publications. And yet,
he is taken from his home, beaten, despised,
tortured, deprived of basic human rights. Two
months pass by. He has not yet been allowed
to see his parents. His memories sway back
to his childhood, to his mother, who used to
work in a primary school, cleaning floors every
morning and doing all kinds of chores until
the school day was over. “You are Wounded”
was awarded the “Orhan Kemal Novel Prize”
in 1975.

E R E N D İ Z A T A S Ü
Erendiz Atasü was born in Ankara in 1947. She graduated from the Faculty of
Pharmacy at Ankara University in 1968, and was a professor of pharmacognosy at the
same institution until her retirement in 1997. Her short stories, written with a feminist
consciousness, have been published in literary journals such as Sanat Edebiyat ‘81,
Düşün, Çağdaş Türk Dili, and Varlık and her essays and articles on literary topics,
women’s issues, secular society, and Republican reforms have appeared in journals and
dailies such as Saçak, Çağdaş Türk Dili, Cumhuriyet Kitap, Varlık, Papirüs, Cumhuriyet,
and Aydınlık. Atasü’s work has been the subject of various literary studies, which have
looked at both the context and form of her writings. She is known for approaching
problematic themes such as the alternative history of women, feminine perspectives on
the Republican reforms, and women’s conceptualizations of sexual relationships and
female sexuality, as well as for her usage of imagery and language. Some of her short
stories have been translated into other languages and been published in anthologies in
Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany and Holland.
WORKS: Short Stories: Kadınlar da Vardır (Women Also Exist), Lanetliler (The
Damned), Onunla Güzeldim (Beautiful With Him), Dağın Öteki Yüzü (The Other
Side Of The Mountain), Taş Üstüne Gül Oyması (Roses Engraved In Marble), Uçu
(Evanescence). Novels: Gençliğin O Yakıcı Mevsimi (That Scorching Season Of Youth),
Açıkoturumlar Çağı (The Age Of Open Debate), Bir Yaşdönümü Rüyası (A Mid-Life
Dream). Essays: Benim Yazarlarım (My Writers), Kadınlığım, Yazarlığım, Yurdum (My
Womanhood, Authorship And My Country), İmgelerin İzi (Reflections Of Images),
Kavram ve Slogan (Concept and Slogan).
Foreign Rights: Yaş Dönümü Rüyası/A Mid-life Dream (Greece), Lanetliler/The
Dammed (Germany), Dağın Öteki Yüzü/The Other Side of the Mountain (UK)
BİR YAŞDÖNÜMÜ RÜYASI - A MID-LIFE DREAM
Derdanos Publishing House, Greece, 2005
311 pages, Novel, Translated by Anti Karra
ISBN: 9789750702129
www.eredizatasu.com
This book is about various kinds of repression.
It is mainly about Feride’s painful confrontation
in her fifties with the probability that her sexual
choice has not been the right one after all. The story
revolves around the mother-daughter relationship
between Feride and her stepdaughter Şirin, whom
she loves as her own child. The central story is
encircled by the social unrest of Turkey’s last
twenty-five years and the impact of these
experiences on the characters. The deeper message
of the book is that an individual’s life is not actually
a limited patch of time, but rather a passage from
one’s own past which flows into the future lives of
others. Confrontations with love, pain, and violence
uproot the repressed inclinations of the deeper self,
and the impacts of these confrontations are felt
beyond one individual lifespan.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
E S M A H A N A Y K O L
Esmahan Aykol was born in 1970. She graduated from the Faculty of Law at Istanbul
University before going to Berlin Humboldt University, where she obtained her
Masters Degree in Law. Kitapçı Dükkanı (The Bookstore) is Aykol’s first book. One of
the most well-known Turkish detective story writers, Esmahan Aykol has also written
a book of poetry entitled O Şehirde Düşlerim Kaldı (I Left my Dreams in That City).
WORKS: Kelepir Ev (A Bargain House), Kitapçı Dükkanı (Bookstore), Şüpheli Bir
Ölüm (A Mysterious Death), Savrulanlar (Dispersed)
Foreign Rights: Kitapçı Dükkanı/Bookstore (Hotel Bosforo, Roca Editorial, Spain,
2007), (Hotel Bosforus, Diogenes, Switzerland, 2003); Kelepir Ev/A Bargain House
(Diogenes, Switzerland, 2003); Savrulanlar/Dispersed (Diogenes, Switzerland,
2007)
KİTAPÇI DÜKKANI
BOOKSTORE
Roca Editorial de Libros, Spain, 2007
237 pages, Novel
Translated by Karen Eskenazi
ISBN: 9944860178
esmahanaykol@yahoo.com
This book introduces us to Kati Hirşel, a
German woman who has settled in Tunel,
Istanbul where she owns a bookstore
which only sells detective stories. Kati’s
childhood friend Petra comes to Istanbul
to make a film, but the director of the
film gets killed. Katy, who’s a detective
story addict, tunes into the amateur
sleuth within her, tries to trace the crime
back to its source and untangle the web
of relationships. She finds herself caught
up in a nail biting adventure in pursuit of
murderers and victims.

F A K İ R B A Y K U R T
Fakir Baykurt was born in Burdur in 1929 and worked as a teacher in various villages
after graduating from Gönen Village Institute in 1948. He also worked as a Turkish
language teacher after training at Gazi Education Institute. During his teaching
career, he was elected as president for the Turkish Teacher’s Uninon (TÖS). Fakir
Baykurt became involved in literature with poetry, although he is mostly known as a
storyteller and novelist. He won the Yunus Nadi Novel Prize with Yılanların Öcü (The
Revenge of the Snakes), the TRT Story Prize in 1970 with Sınırdaki Ölü (The Corpse at
the Border) and the Turkish Language Institute Novel Prize in 1971 with Tırpan (The
Scythe), the Orhan Kemal Novel Prize in 1978 with Kara Ahmet Destanı (The Epic of
Kara Ahmet), the Berlin Senate Child Literature Prize in 1984 with Barış Çöreği (The
Peace Muffin) the German Industry Union (BDI) Literature Prize with Gece Vardiyası
(The Night Shift). A further selection of his work includes Irazca’nın Dirliği (The Life
of Irazca), Onuncu Köy (The Tenth Village), Amerikan Sargısı (American Bandage),
Köygöçüren (Village Migrator), Keklik (Partridge), Yayla (The Plateau) Yüksek
Fırınlar (High Ovens), Koca Ren (The Big Ren), and Yarım Ekmek (Half a Loaf of
Bread). Fakir Baykurt died in 1999.
Foreign Rights: Yılanların Öcü?/The Revenge of the Snakes (German), (Georgian),
(Russian); Irazca’nın Dirliği/The Life of Irazca (German), (Bulgarian), (Uzbek);
Anadolu Garajı/Bus Terminal Anatolia (English);Barış Çöreği/The Peace Muffin
(German); İki Türk Masalı/Two Turkish Fairy Tales (German), Sakarca/Sakarca the
Cockerel (German); Türkiye’de Köy Enstitüleri/ The Village Institutes in Turkey
(German)
YILANLARIN ÖCÜ - THE REVENGE OF THE SNAKES
Ararat Verlag, Germany, 1981, 221 pages, Novel
Traslated by Horst Wilfrid Brands
ISBN: 9750403959
kenan@literatur.com.tr
Karataş is a beautiful yet very impoverished village in
Turkey and Kara Bayram is one of the poor residents
of the village. He lives in a one room house, left by his
father, with his good-natured wife, three children and his
mother Irazca, the pillar of his home. Irazca is a troubled,
grieving woman, but she is very formidable, too. As they
go on living standing on their own feet, their peaceful
existence is disturbed one day. Favoured by Mukhtar
Cımbıldak Hüsnü, Haceli decides to build a house in
front of theirs. Of course, Irazca protests and all hell
breaks loose in the village... and in the town... . A lot of
things happen to the family... In this novel, Fakir Baykurt
depicts little power relations prevalent in village life, the
opportunists who pursue these relations, the extensions
of these people in politics and bureucracy, and finally
bright and beautiful people whom those cruel people
want to crush and eliminate; in short, he touches upon
the “issues of the country” at the risk of being labelled
objectionable and becoming the center of much debate,
and hence animosity, at the time...
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
F A L İ H R I F K I A T A Y
Falih Rıfkı Atay, who is known for his books on Atatürk, was born in 1894 in Istanbul
and graduated from the Faculty of Letters at Istanbul University. After the 1908
revolution, he began writing in the Tanin newspaper. He was a third lieutenant in the
First World War. He also travelled across Europe in this position. He founded Akşam
newspaper in 1918. He became a member of parliament as a Bolu deputy. In 1950, he
withdrew from politics and dedicated all his time to journalism. Falih Rıfkı passed
away in 1971.
WORKS: Çankaya, Zeytindağı (The Olive Mountain), Falling Years Çöküş Yılları
(Years of Decline), Kurtuluş (Survival), Babanız Atatürk (Your Father Atatürk),
Vahidettin, Atatürkçülük Nedir? (What is Kemalism?)
Foreign Rights: Zeytin Dağı/The Olive Mountain (Editions Turquoise, France), (Rose
Verlag, Germany)
ZEYTİNDAĞI (ÇÖKÜŞ YILLARI)
THE OLIVE MOUNTAIN (FALLING YEARS)
Rose Verlag, Germany, 2009
368 pages, Memoir
Translated by Nüvit Çalış
ISBN: 9756461071
pozitifkitap@pozitifkitap.com
The name of the book, Zeytindağı
(The Olive Mountain) comes from a
mountain on which Cemaş Pasha had his
headquarters. The author goes to Cemal
Pasha’s headquarters on a mission. He
tells his memoirs from the last days of
the Ottomans to the first days of the
Republic of Turkey. This book is one of the
masterpieces on Turkish history.

F A T İ H E R D O Ğ A N
Fatih Erdoğan was born in 1954 in İzmir, and moved to Istanbul in 1958. He
graduated from Boğaziçi University, the Department of Mechanical Engineering
in 1979. He worked as an editor for children’s publications at the Redhouse
Publishing from 1980 to 1991. He worked in the Munich International Youth Library
(Internationale Jugendbibliothek München) in 1984. He received his master’s degree
in 1989 from Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters, the Department of Library
Science. From 1992 to 2002, he worked as a faculty member in the same department
and taught “Children’s Literature”, “Desktop Publishing”, “The Publishing World and
Its Problems”, “Texts for Librarianship” and “Texts for Information Science” courses.
He received his doctorate in 1999 from the same department. In addition to several
conference papers and articles about children’s literature, he has written over fifty
books for children and has translated a number of books.
SİHİRLİ ŞAPKA
THE MAGICAL HAT
Önel Verlag, Germany, 2007
135 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Christel Schütte
ISBN: 9753100191
mavibulut@mavibulut.com.tr
When he said “Oh, I wish I were invisible, and
no one could see me unless I wanted them
to...” all that Burak actually wanted was to
go unnoticed by the teacher who was going
to check their homework in the first period
at school. The trunk of the oak tree shook
from one side to another, its branches went
up and down and an acorn broke off and fell
on top of Burak’s head. Now Burak finds an
outlandish, blue hat on his bed that same
night...
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
F A T M A K A R A B I Y I K B A R B A R O S O Ğ L U
Fatma Karabıyık Barbarosoğlu was born in Afyon in 1962, and gained her degree
in Philosophy from Istanbul University in 1984. The title of her master’s thesis is
“Assessing Sufistic Education”. She gained her PhD in 1994, with a thesis called
“Fashion and Mentality Relations along the Modernization Process”. She was selected
as “Story Writer of the Year” by the Turkish Writers’ Association in 2001. Barbarosoğlu
has been writing in the newspaper Yeni Şafak since 1996.
Some of Her Works: Moda ve Zihniyet (Fashion and Mentality), Acı Deniz (Bitter
Sea), Sözün ve Sükûtun Renkleri (Colors of Words and Silence), Gün Akşamsızdır
(Day without Evening), Senin Hikâyen (Your Story), Hiçbiryer (Nowhere).
FATMA ALİYE: UZAK ÜLKE
FATMA ALIYE: FAR LAND
Asia Publishers, South Korea
357 pages, Novel
Translated by O. H. Eunkyung
ISBN: 9789752635067
fatmabarbarosoglu@gmail.com
Far Land, by Fatma Karabıyık
Barbarosoglu, one of the most significant
writers of contemporary literature, is a
novel based upon the life of Fatma Aliye,
who was the first-ever female Muslim
writer. Far Land has a dual narrative: on
the one hand we read the story of Fatma
Aliye, an Ottoman intellectual, writer,
mother and wife, while on the other we
focus on the story of another writer,
who lives in Turkey in the 21st century
and who is studying Fatma Aliye. In this
story of the first female Muslim writer,
Far Land refreshes our understanding of
what the late Ottoman intellectuals went
through, and also presents a panorama
of contemporary Turkey through its
second heroine.

F A Z I L H Ü S N Ü D A Ğ L A R C A
Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca was born in Istanbul in 1915 and completed his primary
education in different parts of Anatolia. He graduated from Kuleli Military High
School in 1933. In 1950 he resigned from the army to devote himself to poetry. He
worked for several government offices and retired in 1959. He opened the Kitap
Publishing House in Istanbul and published the journal entitled Türkçe from 1960 to
1964. He closed his publishing house in 1970. He has written more than one hundred
books, including more than twenty books for children, and children are a continual
theme in his works. His fame rests on the poetry collections published between 1940
and 1968. He also wrote politically motivated books like Hiroşima (Hiroshima,1970).
In 1974 Dağlarca received Yugoslavia’s Golden Wreath Award and in 1977 he was
named “Poet of the Year” at the Rotterdam Poetry Festival. A panel of distinguished
Turkish men of letters honored him as “Turkey’s leading living poet” in 1976.
Dağlarca is one of the most widely translated Turkish poets of our time.
Foreign Rights: Balina ve Mandalina/Whale and Tangerina (Hvalen og mandarinen,
Vindrose, Danish), (Rotterdamse Kunststichting, Dutch), Hollandalı Dörtlükler/
Quatrains of Holland (English), Seçme Şiirler/Selected Poems (Pittsburg, English),
Cezayir Türküsü/Song of Algeria (L’Oisaeau a quatre ailes, Cheyne, French), (Avantlumiére
Arfuyen, French), (Rotterdamse Kunststichting, Dutch)
SELECTED POEMS
University of Pittsburg Press, USA, 1969
Translated by Talat Sait Halman
ISBN: 9780822952046
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
Dağlarca’s poetry is like self-rising yeast. The
veiled periphery of the whole of his poetic quest
is concealed within a single poem. His entire
poetry is contained in a momentous line. His
poetic quest is part of humanity’s quest. The
wonder that man has felt since the beginning
of his existence appeals to the poet, and in a
sense his work is a kind of anthropology. The
concept of the human fascinates him, and
he has a great sensitivity to all stages of the
human and of humanity. Perhaps the source of
this sensitivity is rooted in his respect for man
and in his own humanity.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
UÇURTMAYI VURMASINLAR
DON’T LET THEM SHOOT THE KITE
Kastaniotis Editions, Greece, 1998
112 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9789755101415
Fiction: international@canyayinlari.com
Non fiction: rights@metisbooks.com
F E R İ D E Ç İ Ç E K O Ğ L U
Feride Çiçekoğlu studied architecture at METU (Ankara) and obtained her PhD from
the University of Pennsylvania. After the 1980 military coup in Turkey, she was a
political prisoner until 1984. She owes her first novel Uçurtmayı Vurmasınlar/Don’t
Let Them Shoot the Kite to the stint in prison. Adapted by the author to screen, it won
a number of awards, national and international, including “Prix du Public Rencontres
Internationales” (Cannes, 1989). Among her other filmed scripts are Journey to Hope
(Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, 1991) and Suyun Öte Yanı which she rewrote as
a novella (The Other Side of the Water, 1992). Her short stories were translated into and
published in several languages. Between 1995-99, she was the editor-in-chief of the
quarterly journal Istanbul published by the History Foundation. She has been Course
Director for the graduate program in Film and Television Studies at Istanbul Bilgi
University since 2005, and she has recently published a book on the representation of
cities and women in cinema, Vesikalı Şehir (The Prostitute City, 2007).
Foreign Rights: Uçurtmayı Vurmasınlar/Don’t Let Them Shoot the Kite (Ze Mogen
Niet Op De Vileger, Beverwijk, Dutch), (Kastaniotis, Greek).
İnci is a political prisoner. Barış is the son of
another prisoner who has been jailed for drug
dealing. The boy has been condemned to grow
up in prison since there is no one else to take
care of him. He learns about nature, the world
outside, and affection through İnci. The film
version of Don’t Let Them Shoot the Kite won
many national and international awards,
including the Golden Orange (Antalya,
1989) and the Prix du Public Rencontres
Internationales (Cannes, 1989). Asked about
Don’t Let Them Shoot the Kite, Çiçekoğlu
says, “When the iron door closed behind me
one June afternoon in 1984, leaving me on the
outside and Barış’s wails on the inside, I never
dreamed that his voice would one day reach so
many people. It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought
of noting down my memories about Barış, but
I felt that even the words that were actually
committed to paper usually did not reach the
limited number of people who were in the
habit of reading. When Barış’s tiny voice rose
on the screen, a new opportunity to get Don’t
Let Them Shoot the Kite published was born.
This is why the book owes a debt of gratitude
to the screen.”

F E R İ D U N A N D A Ç
Feridun Andac was born in Erzurum in 1954. He received his first degree from the
Faculty of Education at the University of Marmara. He obtained his masters degree
from the Faculty of Literature at the University of Istanbul. He taught literature
and comparative literature. In addition to his research work, and essays, his short
stories and travel writings were published in various magazines and newspapers.
Andac, who published many books in these fields, became the Editor in Chief of
Dünya Books from 2002 onwards. He has written columns for Cumhuriyet and Dünya
newspapers and continues to teach “Contemporary Turkish Literature” in the Faculty
of Communication and Fine Arts at University of Marmara.
Some of His Works: Critical Writings: Gerçekçilik Yolunda (In the Path of
Realism), Yazınsal Gerçekçiliğin Boyutları (Dimensions of Literary Realism),
EdebiyatımızınYol Haritası/Yazınsal Oluşumun Göstergeleri (A Roadmap for Our
Literature/ The Indicators of Literary Formation). Essays: Işık Ol (Be the Light),
Günüme Ağ (Netting for my Day), Söz Uçları (The Edges of Words) Yazı Burçları
(The Star Signs of Writings), Aynanın Arkası (The Back of the Mirror), Celile’de
Kuşlar Ölüyor (Birds are Dying in Celile), Babil’e Yolculuk (A Journey to Babylon),
Günün Gölgedeki İzi (Traces of the Day in the Shadows), Küllenen Her Şey
(Everything in Ashes), Aşk Hayatı Gölgeler (Love Shadows Life), Susan Bir Yerin Dili
(The Language of a Silent Place), Zamana Yazılan Sözler (Words Written for Time),
Öykü Yazmak Öyküyü Düşünmek (To Write a Story, to Imagine a Story), Gönlümün
Yitik Yurdunda (In the Lost Lands of My Heart) , Kar Masalları (Snow Fairytales),
Yoksa Aşk Ölür (Or Else Love Dies). Narrative:Ferhad ile Şirin (Shirin and Farhad)
Foreign Rights : Babam ve Kiraz Ağacı-Seçme Öyküler/My Father and the Cherry
Tree-Selected Short Stories (CUM Publications, Bulgaria), Kar Masalları/Snow
Fairytales (Connectum, Bosnia Herzegovina).
KAR MASALLARI - SNOW FAIRYTALES
Connectum, Bosnia Herzegovina, 2009
140 pages, Novel
Translated by Džejla Dautović
ISBN: 9789958590726
feridun.andac@dunya.com
The writer started writing this book during a journey
to the East, and the stories accumulate as they follow
the axis of place/belonging/nature, love/passion/
loyalty-commitment/break up and journey to
memory. The stories are written in the narrative style
of a novel which ensures that each story retains its
own thematic reality within that story.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
F E R İ T E D G Ü
Ferit Edgü (1936) first came on the Turkish literary scene in the 1950’s, publishing his
poetry in various journals. He later received attention for his short stories. His first
story was published when he was 18 years old (1954) in the journal Yeni Ufuklar, a
literary venue for young authors. Before age 32 he had published three more important
books of short stories, Kaçkınlar (Deserters, 1959), Bozgun (Defeat, 1962) and Av
(Hunting, 1968). In Bir Gemide (On Board , 1978) and Çığlık (Scream, 1982), he wrote
about characters unable to feel at home in a bleak world. He began to seek out a new
reality by creating characters outside of the real world. His craft improved with every
new book. Ferit Edgü occupies a special place in the Turkish short story due to the
commentary on the role of language and literature within his stories. His construction
of reality in his novels Kimse (No One, 1976) and O/Hakkâri’de Bir Mevsim (He/A Season
in Hakkâri, 1977) can serve as a guide to young authors who seek a distinctive style.
Some of His Works: Eylülün Gölgesinde Bir Yazdı (It Was a Summer in the Shadow
of September), Binbir Hece (A Thousand and One Nights), Doğu Öyküler (Eastern
Tales), İşte Deniz (There’s the Sea), Maria, Do Sesi (The sound of Doh), Avara
Kasnak (Idler Wheel), Nijinski Öyküleri (Tales of Nijinski), Tüm Ders Notları (All
Class Notes),Yazmak Eylemi (The Act of Writing), Şimdi Saat Kaç? (What Time is it
Now?), Yeni Ders Notları (New Class Notes), Seyir Sözcükleri (Words for a Voyage),
Devam (Continuation), Sözlü/ Yazılı (Oral/Written), İnsanlık Halleri (States of
Humaneness), Ah Min-el Aşk (Oh, Love), Dağ Şiirleri (Mountain Poems), Görsel
Yolculuklar (Visual Journeys), Abidin, Avni Arbaş, Osman Hamdi-Bilinmeyen
Resimleri (Osman Hamdi - Unknown Paintings), Doğa Dostları (Nature Friends).
Foreign Rights: Hakkari’de Bir Mevsim/A Season in Hakkari (Unionsverlag,
Switzerland, German, 1997), (Gallimard, France, 1989), (De Martinis & C., Italy)
(Shobun-sha Publishers, Japan, 1995), (Bardon Chinese Media Agency, China, 1999),
(Connectum, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2004); Eylül’ün Gölgesinde Bir Yazdı/A Summer
Under the Shade of September (Unionsverlag, Switzerland, German, 1990).
HAKKARİ’DE BİR MEVSİM
A SEASON IN HAKKARİ
Connectum, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2005
198 pages, Novel
Translated by Kerima Filan
ISBN: 9755702857
posta@selyayincilik.com
Ferit Edgü, as one of the most eminent figures of Turkish Literature,
is notable for his use of poetic language and the surrealist style of his
works. Hakkari’de Bir Mevsim, clearly autobiographical, is regarded
as Edgü’s most important book, blending real life with fiction and
describing solititude, poverty and life in the country with perfect
narrative technique and vivid images.

F E Y Y A Z K A Y A C A N
Feyyaz Kayacan was born in 1919 in Istanbul. He worked for a long time at the BBC
Turkish Section. He wrote short stories and poems in French, English and Turkish.
In 1992 he published Modern Turkish Poetry, in English. His first two books were in
French, the third Kaşık Havası (A Folk Dance) and fourth Benim Örümceğim Başka
(My Spider is Different) were in Turkish and his fifth poetry book was in English.
Better known as a short story writer, Feyyaz Kayacan’s short story collection was
published by Yapı Kredi Cultural Activities, Arts and Publishing, a month after his
death, in 1993.
WORKS: Şişedeki Adam (Bottled Man), Kaşık Havası (A Folk Dance), Sığınak
Hikayeleri (The Shelter Stories), Benim Örümceğim Başka (My Spider is Different).
SIĞINAK HİKAYELERİ
THE SHELTER STORIES
Rockingham Press, UK, 2007
125 pages, Short Story
Translated by Ruth Christie
ISBN: 9753630467
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
The Shelter Stories comprises six
magnificient short stories proving how hope
and wisdom can render life more beautiful.
The stories focus on a group of Londoners
clinging onto life by living their own lives to
the full during the war years.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
F E Y Z A H E P Ç İ L İ N G İ R L E R
Feyza Hepçilingirler was born in 1948. She graduated from Istanbul Teacher
Training College and from the Turkish Language and Literature Department at
Istanbul University. At present, she is a lecturer at Yıldız Technical University,
Istanbul. She won the Success Award in 1979, for her play Yanlışlıklar (Mistakes), in
the Turkish Ministry of Culture, Children’s Works Competition, the Sait Faik Short
Story Award for Eski Bir Balerin (An Ex-Ballerina) in 1985, the Borski Grümen Award
(Balkan Writers’ Association) for her short story Ne Güzel Ölmüştüm (What Luck! I
Was Dead) in 1991 and the Sedat Simavi Literature Award for her short story book
entitled Savrulmalar (Confusions) in 1997. Her short stories have been translated
into French, German, English, Serbian and Croatian.
WORKS: Türkçe “Off” 3 (Turkish is Off 3), Dilim Dilim Ana Dilim (My Mother
Tongue), Ya Armut Ağacı Olursam (And If I should Turn Into a Pear Tree), Dilin
Zamana Dokunduğu - Türkçe Günlükleri (When Language Touched Time - Turkish
Diaries), Yıldızların Suya Döküldüğü-Türkçe Günlükleri (When the Stars Fell into
the Water - Turkish Diaries), Sorulmadan Dedim “Ah” (I Said “Oh” Without Being
Asked), Türkçe “Off” (Turkish is Off), Sabah Yolcuları (Morning Voyagers), Türkçe
Dil Bilgisi Öğretenlere ve Öğrenenlere (For Those Learning and Teaching Turkish
Grammar), Tanrıkadın (Goddess), Öykünmece (Putting on Airs) Savrulmalar
(Confusion), Kırmızı Karanfil Ne Renk Solar (Onto What Color Does Red Carnation
Fade), Üç Nokta Bir Çizgi (Three Dots and a Dash), Kırlangıçsız Geçti Yaz (Summer
with No Swallows), Ürkek Kuşlar (Timorous Birds), Eski Bir Balerin (An Ex-
Ballerina), Uçtu Uçtu Pelin Uçtu (Pelin Flew Away), Çirkin Prenses (The Ugly
Princess), Yanlışlıklar-Altı Çocuk Oyunu (Mistakes-Six Plays for Children).
FEYZA HEPÇİLİNGİRLER SHORT STORY
SELECTION
Literaturca Verlag, Germany, 2005
Translated by Beatrix Caner
ISBN: 3935535104
feyzahep@hotmail.com
This book by Sait Faik Short Story Award
winner Feyza Hepçilingirler, contains
21 short stories on life, human warmth
and ordinary people, which will give
great pleasure to the reader through its
striking use of narrative.

F İ L İ B E L İ A H M E T H İ L M İ
Filibeli Ahmet Hilmi graduated from the Imperial Galatasaray High School in
Istanbul. He commenced his imperial service as a clerk in the Office of Public
Debts. While in service in Beirut, he was compelled to flee to Egypt because of his
“Young Turk” activities. It was in Egypt that he started up the newspaper Çaylak
(Rookie). Although he returned to Istanbul in 1901, he was exiled to Libya by Sultan
Abdulhamid II. While in Libya, he cultivated an interest in Sufism and became a
member of the Arusiyya dervish order. Ahmed Hilmi returned to Istanbul on the
proclamation of the Second Constitutional government in 1908, and founded the
newspaper Ittihad-ı Islâm (Islamic Unity), which enjoyed but a brief existence. The
author of some forty works, Ahmed Hilmi died in 1913 and is buried in the courtyard
of the Mosque of Mehmed II at Istanbul.
AMAK-I HAYAL
AWAKENED DREAMS
Treshold Books, USA, 1998
158 pages, Novel
Translated by Refik Algan and Camille Helminski
ISBN: 9756963050
info@kaknus.com.tr, kaknus@gmail.com
The hero of the novel is a young man called
Râci. He has studied science, philosophy and
religion but he is cynical about the meaning
of life. In a cemetery, he meets Aynalı Baba,
an old man who wears clothes with pieces
of mirrors and looks like a madman. Aynalı
Baba starts teaching Râci by playing a
reed flute. Râci experiences a set of life-like
dreams. He meets prophets and holy beings
and begins to understand the meaning of his
existence.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
F İ L İ Z T O S Y A L I
Filiz Tosyalı was born in Izmir in 1945. She graduated from Üsküdar American Girls
High School in 1964 and from Bradford Junior College in the USA and from the
Graphics Department of the State School of Applied Fine Arts in 1966. After working
as a script writer and graphics artist for advertising companies, in 1978, she began
to write and illustrate books for preschool children. She attended a three-month
training and research program in Munich International Children’s Library in 1980.
She currently works as a freelancer, and has had several books published by private
publishing houses, the Ministry of Culture and The Environmental Foundation. In
addition to this, she has participated in numerous national and foreign exhibitions.
WORKS: Sevmeyi Öğrenirken (Learning to Love), Yaşamayı Öğrenirken (Learning
to Live), Sevgiyle Yaşarken (Living with Love), Dost Kuzenler-1 (Friendly Cousins-1),
Dost Kuzenler-2 (Friendly Cousins -2), Kırmızı Motosiklet-1 (The Red Motorcycle
-1), Kırmızı Motosiklet-2 (The Red Motorcycle -2), Mesajımı Bekle (Wait for my
Message), Evde ve Ana sınıfında Okul Öncesi Eğitim (Pre-school education in
Kindergarden and at home), Tekerlekli Sandalye (The Wheelchair).
KIRMIZI MOTOSİKLET
THE RED MOTORCYCLE
Anadolu Verlag, Germany, 2007
86 pages, Children’s Book, Novel
Translated by Sabine Adatepe
ISBN: 9789756022887
info@buyayinevi.com.tr
Emir has to take a challenging exam.
When his nature-loving family decide to
continue their life in Bayramoğlu during
winter, too, they buy him a motorcycle,
thinking that he might revolt at the
thought of weekends with no friends. Just
the right size for a 10-year-old child, this
motorcycle embellishes Emir’s dreams.
In the meantime, Emir who passes his
exam, is sent to boarding school at the
tender age of 10 while he is happy living
with his family. He thereafter spends the
weekends with his family.

F Ü R U Z A N
Füruzan was born in Istanbul, in 1935. She could only continue her school life
until the end of primary school. Her short stories were published when she was
very young and she immediately attracted the attention of the literary world. Her
stories, both long and short are remarkable for the way in which she employs an
uncomplicated form of language, viewed from an optimistic perspective, while
never overdramatizing either the characters or the events. Füruzan, whose books
have been constantly republished, won the Sait Faik Short Story Award in 1972 with
Parasız Yatılı (Free Boarding School), and in 1975, the Turkish Language Association
Novel Award for her novel 47’liler (Born in 1947). She has written a film script based
on her short story Benim Sinemalarım (My Cinemas) which was made into a film
in 1989. She has also written a play based on her short story Kış Gelmeden (Before
Winter Comes) in 1997.
WORKS: Parasız Yatılı (Free Boarding School), Kuşatma (The Siege), Benim
Sinemalarım (My Cinemas), 47’liler (Born in 1947), Yeni Konuklar (New Guests),
Ev Sahipleri (Landladies), Redife’ye Güzelleme (Sweet Words for Redife), Gecenin
Öteki Yüzü (The Other Face of the Night), Gül Mevsimidir (It’s the Season of Roses),
Berlin’in Nar Çiçeği (The Pomegranate Blossom of Berlin), Lodoslar Kenti (The City
of the Southwest Wind), Balkan Yolcusu (Balkan Traveler).
Foreign Rights: Kırk Yedi’liler/Those Born in ‘47 (Sevka Pirvaova, Bulgarian), Sevda
Dolu Bir Yaz/A Summer Full of Love (Milet Publishing, English), (Europa Verlag,
Vienna-Münich-Zürich, Aufbau-Verlag, DTV-German), Yeni Konuklar/New Guests:
(DTV, German), Parasız Yatılı/Free Boarding School (Editions Bleu Autour, French)
ÖYKÜLER (SEÇMELER)
SHORT STORY SELECTION
Connectum, Bosnia Herzegovina, 2008
Translated by Kerima Filan
ISBN: 9789958590542
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
It would be quite misleading to confine Füruzan’s
talent for storytelling to her awareness of social
issues. What makes Füruzan such a wizard of
detail, in addition to her choice of theme and her
excellent use of language, is her ability to imbue
the feeling of all five senses into her stories, not
only to convey what is there, but also, to imply
what is not.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
G A Y E B O R A L I O Ğ L U
HEPSİ HİKAYE
ALL STORY
Cadmus Press, Syria
124 pages, Short Stories
Translated by Bakr Sidqi
ISBN: 9789754709483
iletisim@iletisim.com.tr
Gaye Boralıoğlu was born in Istanbul on 22nd October, 1963. She studied Philosophy
in the Faculty of Letters at Istanbul University. She received her masters degree
with her thesis which examined the relationship between social anthropolgy and
ethics. She worked as a journalist, an advertising script writer, and a screenwriter.
She wrote articles about politics, literature and cinema for various magazines and
newspapers. Her first book of short stories, Hepsi Hikâye (All Story) was published
in 2001 and her novel constructed from photographs, Meçhul (Unknown), was
published in 2004.
A series of stories... a story of series...
telling about the profession called
dealing with life, a profession that gets
harder and harder each day... about the
perpetual adolescent daze as a basic
human condition... the abysmal anxiety
of being misunderstood, inability to
express one’s self, to pick things up,
to control one’s relationships... still
shooting for happiness, dreaming about
moments of bliss... stories that tell such
things differently from the way they
have always been told...
That’s why, young and fresh...
That’s why, cool and refreshing...
That’s why, humorous stories without
being forced to be humourous...
Plus... all that through the language of
women!

JİLET SİNAN
RAZOR SİNAN
G Ö N Ü L K I V I L C I M
Gönül Kıvılcım was born in 1963 in Kırıkkale. She graduated from Boğaziçi
University in İstanbul with a degree in Economics. She also received an MA in Mass
Communication at Bergen University, Norway. Kıvılcım has lived and worked as a
journalist in Berlin and Cologne and worked for the German television broadcaster
WDR. She has worked for the Turkish newspaper Radikal . Her first book, Kasaba ve
Yalanlar (A Small Town and Lies) was a collection of short stories, published in 2001.
Her other books are: Jilet Sinan (Razor Sinan, 2002), Can Publishing House, Parçalı
Aşklar (Kaleidoscope of Love, 2004) Everest Publishing House. Her story called
“Kasaba ve Yalanlar”from the book with the same title was translated into German
for the short story anthology Love, Lies and Ghosts, Unionsverlag, 2006.
Fan Noli, Albania, 2009
188 pages, Novel
Translated by Orkida Muça
ISBN: 9789750701450
www.kalemagency.com
The violence in our life. The violence in the
street. The violence on the tongue. Walking
among those at the bottom of the society,
in the streets of a different republic, Gönül
Kıvılcım displays that multi-layered violence.
In the streets rape, murder, and suicide are
ordinary and frequently occurring incidents.
Kıvılcım’s narrator wanders in the streets
like an invisible hero and pushes a door we
have long forgotten: that of conscience. In
Razor Sinan, this door, which is inclined to
stay closed in welfare societies, is pushed
open. In order to settle a conscientious issue,
the crimes and dreams of glue sniffers and
street urchins, are displayed, portrayed in
their language, which is wholy blasphemous.
This is a world which exists very close to us,
but also one which will seem frightening to
most of us.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
G Ü L İ R E P O Ğ L U
Gül İrepoğlu was born in stanbul in 1956 and graduated from the Academy of Fine
Arts at Istanbul University. İrepoğlu is presently a professor and teaches Art History
at Istanbul University. She has penned various essays and books examining artistic
links between the cultures of the East and the West. Gül İrepoğlu is a member of
UNESCO, acting as director for the Cultural Inheritance Committee and chairperson
for the TAÇ Foundation. Gül İrepoğlu gives lectures and produces a television
program for the Turkish Radio and Turkish Corporation (TRT) called “Sanat-Mekan”.
Following her first novel entitled Gölgemi Bıraktım Lale Bahçelerinde (I left My
Shadow Over The Tulip Gardens), a novel on 16th century miniaturist Levni, İrepoğlu
published her second historical novel Cariye (The Concubine), set in XXVIII Century
Ottoman Seraglio.
Foreign Rights: Gölgemi Bıraktım Lale Bahçelerinde/I Left My Shadow Over The
Tulip Gardens (Cadmus Press, Syria); Cariye/The Concubine (Oceanida, Greece),
(Cadmus, Syria), (Damyan Yakov, Bulgaria), (Vivaldi, Romania), (Uklad ANKA, Poland)
GÖLGEMİ BIRAKTIM LALE BAHÇELERİNDE
I LEFT MY SHADOW OVER THE TULIP GARDENS
Cadmus Press, Syria
338 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9752931618
www.kalemagency.com
Gül Irepoglu’s novel I Left My Shadow over
the Tulip Gardens portrays a glamorous
picture of one of the most pompous eras in the
history of the Ottoman Empire. Throughout
the pages of this marvelous novel, the reader
witnesses the stories of sultans, artists, viziers
and odalisques and becomes acquainted with
them not as historical figures, but as unique
individuals who love, hate, fear, desire, suffer
and who give themselves up to their destiny.
These skillfully interwoven stories display the
most fabulous details that shine a light on
the life and traditions of an important era.
Although the novel is based on historical facts
and extensive research, the author’s subtle
style, descriptive story-telling craft and vivid
imagination enable us to make the most of an
unforgettable reading experience.

G Ü L S Ü M C E N G İ Z
Gülsüm Cengiz was born in 1949 in Sütçüler, Isparta. She graduated from the
Teacher Training College and worked as a teacher in Istanbul and Balıkesir for 14
years. After leaving her job, she worked in publishing as an editor and manager,
which prompted her into opening her own publishing house, Demet Yayıncılık.
Subsequently, she worked as children’s page editor for various newspapers and
journals and as a radio programmer. She has won several prizes in Turkey and
abroad. Her poems have been translated into different languages and have been
published in journals, anthologies and selected writings.
WORKS: Akdeniz’in Rengi Mavi (The Mediterranean Sea is Blue), Arı ile Papatya
(The Bee and the Daisy), Başak’ın Çevre Günlüğü (Başak’s Environmental Diary),
Bir Dilim Ekmek İçin (For a Slice of Bread), Çiçek ile Kirlikara (Çiçek and Kirlikara),
Damlacık (Water Drop), Doğanın Öfkesi (Nature’s Anger), Doğum Günü Armağanı
(Birthday Present), Hayvanlarla Konuşan Çocuk (The Child Who could Speak with
Animals), Kente Gelen Çam Ağacı (The Pine Tree That Came to the City), Mayısta
Üzgün Gönlüm (My Heart Feels Sad in May), Taş Devrine Yolculuk (Trip to the Stone
Age), Herkesin Bir İşi Var (Everybody Has A Job), Aslı Okula Başladı (Aslı Started
School), Ayşe’nin Günleri (Ayşe’s Days), Bıcırık, Bir Kedinin Günlüğü (A Cat’s Diary),
Evdeki Altınlar (Gold at Home), Eylül Deyişleri (September Sayings), Kırda Bir Yaz
Sabahı (A Summer Morning in the Countryside), Kuşlar Kralı Kim Olacak? (Who’ll
be the King of the Birds?), Küçük Beyaz Güvercin (Little White Dove).
Foreign Rights: Ayşe’nin Günleri/Days of Ayşe (Nagel und Kimche, Switzerland),
(Gabriel Verlag, Austria), (Dar ül Haris, Syria). 19 of Cengiz’s children’s books have
been published in German by Verlag Anadolu and FreiAkademie.
AYŞENİN GÜNLERİ - DAYS OF AYŞE
Gabriel Verlag, Austria1997, 256 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Hasibe Kalkan Kocabay
ISBN: 9757837563
info@evrenselbasim.com, glsmcengiz@gmail.com
Ayşe is one of us. She may be the classmate
we are sharing our desk with, or maybe she
is one of the tens of thousands of children
living in the same city as us. She is a child
who loves people, animals and nature with
all her heart. She looks at life with optimism
and hope, with the feelings of friendship,
cooperation and comradery. Ayşe’nin Günleri
tells us the story of this little girl.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
G Ü L T E N A K I N
Gülten Akın was born in 1933 and is Turkey’s most distinguished female poet.
She studied Law at Ankara University and worked as a barrister in various parts
of Anatolia. She is at the forefront of poets for whom poetry is synonymous with
social responsibility. Her poetry has a calm yet powerful voice. Her poems have been
translated into English, German, Flemish, Danish, Italian, Bulgarian, Arabic, Polish,
Spanish and Hebrew, and used in academic studies. Akın won the 1961 and 1971
Turkish Language Association Poetry Awards and the 1992 Sedat Simavi Literature
Award.
WORKS: Rüzgâr Saati (Hour of the Wind), Kestim Kara Saçlarımı (Cut My Dark
Hair), Sığda (In the Shallows), Kırmızı Karanfil (Red Carnation), Maraş’ın ve
Ökkeş’in Destanı (Epic of Maraş and Ökkeş), Ağıtlar ve Türküler (Elegies and Folk
Songs), İlahiler (Hymns), Sevda Kalıcıdır (Love Endures), Sonra İşte Yaşlandım (It
Was Then That I Aged), Sessiz Arka Bahçeler (Silent Back Yards), Uzak Bir Kıyıda
(On a Distant Shore), Şiir Üzerine Notlar (Notes on Poetry), Seçme Şiirler (Selected
Poems), Toplu Oyunlar (Collected Plays).
Foreign Rights: Kadın Olanın Türküsü/ The Song of Women (Das Lied vom Frausein,
Sardes Verlag, German); Seçme Şiirler/Selected Poems (Contemporary Literature in
Translation, The Penguin Book of Women Poets, The Penguin Book of Turkish Verse,
Pacific Quarterly Moana, Contemporary Turkish Literature, International Poetry
Review, Modern Turkish Poetry, English)
KADIN OLANIN TÜRKÜSÜ
THE SONG OF WOMEN
Sardes Verlag, Germany, 2008
Translated by Yüksel Pazarkaya
ISBN: 9783941025004
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
The book is consisted of the most
important poems of Gülten Akın in
chronological order. The main theme
of Gülten Akın’s poems is human and
society and notably several life conditions
of women. Gülten Akın is recognized as
a writer who enlivens the international
poetry with elaborated type of writing
and specific timbre.

G Ü L T E N D A Y I O Ğ L U
Gülten Dayıoğlu was born in Kütahya in 1935. She completed her primary and
junior high school education in different areas of Turkey and graduated from the
Istanbul Atatürk High School for Girls. She studied Law at Istanbul University, before
deciding to become a primary school teacher and obtaining her Teaching Certificate.
She went on to work as a primary school teacher for 15 years. For the last 45 years,
she has continuously contributed to children’s and young adult’s literature. In 2004,
the Turkish Ministry of Education named Dayıoğlu the most read author of all time.
She has also won numerous awards and her stories have been translated into many
languages and published in several anthologies.
Foreign Rights: Geride Kalanlar/Those Who Have Stayed (Swedish); Yurdumu
Özledim/I Miss My Home (Kaufman, German); Geriye Dönenler/Back Home (IKOO
Publishing House, German); Kalbi Kirik Ayicik/Little Bear with a Broken Heart
(Russian); Dünya Çocukların Olsa/If the World Belongs the Children (German);
Fadiş (German)
MO’NUN GİZEMİ
BURTCH & DAPHNE AND THE SECRET OF MO
Xlibris Corporation, USA, 2009
288 pages, Children’s Book Fantasy Novel
ISBN: 9789754059809
oyaalpar@altinkitaplar.com.tr,
info@altinkitaplar.com.tr
I was on my way to Australia when I met a
most peculiar young man on the plane. He was
a genetic engineer. We had a very interesting
conversation on cloning and he told me a story
of a remarkable adventure, which inspired
met to write this novel. The story was about
a young girl, Defne, and a young boy, Burc,
two high school kids who were passionately in
love with each another. Well, this is how the
breathtaking novel came about. Each page
fills the reader with increasing wonder. And
yet, there are still some questions in my mind
that I have not been able to answer to this day.
Was Burc, my travelling companion, a real
human being? Or had I travelled with a human
being produced in a laboratory using some
advanced genetic technology and cloning
techniques?
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
G Ü N D Ü Z V A S S A F
Gündüz Vassaf was born in 1946. His works reveal a sharp wit, with an instinctive eye
for the absurdities of life. Transcending the limitations of genre, he is a storyteller and
essayist of consummate skill, weaving philosophy, psychology, and literature into a
web of words. He is part Socratic, part Nietzschean, and wholly original in his quest for
freedom and individuality. A leading figure in Turkish intellectual life, Vassaf has also
been writing a weekly cultural column in the newspaper Radikal since 1997. His books
and articles open the mind to new venues of thought and new inquiries into the state of
humanity. A unique author, whose works are universal.
WORKS: Cehenneme Övgü (In Praise of Hell), Cennetin Dibi (Depths of Heaven),
Tarihi Yargılıyorum (I Judge History), Kırk Yıl Önce Kırk Yıl Sonra Rusya Amerika
(Forty Years Ago Forty Years Later Russia America), Annem Belkıs (My Mother Belkıs)
Foreign Rights: Cehenneme Övgü/In Praise of Hell (Dostoyevskyi Publications,
Russia - Fan Noli, Albania), Annem Belkıs/My Mother Belkıs (Dostoyevskyi
Publications, Russia), (Steno, Bulgaria).
ANNEM BELKIS
MY MOTHER BELKIS
Steno, Bulgaria
303 pages, Biography
Translated by Rüstem Aziz Mümin
ISBN: 9789754708264
www.kalemagency.com
My Mother Belkıs is a biography of the
author’s mother, a fascinating tale of a
woman’s life in transition from East to
West, spanning the 20th century. The
book presents everyday life in the late
Ottoman Empire, the young Republic
of Turkey, and the United States as
seen through the eyes of a 94-year-old
psychologist. My Mother Belkıs takes the
reader from Koranic school in Macedonia
to Harvard Graduate School and beyond.
20,000 copies sold to date.
“A must for anyone interested in the lives
of women in the twentieth century.”

G Ü N G Ö R D İ L M E N
He was born in 1930. Dilmen, who won first prize in the Sinema Tiyatro Dergisi
(Cinema and Theater Magazine) competition, in 1959, with his one-act play, entitled,
The Ears of Midas, graduated from the Classical Philology Department, Faculty of
Humanities, at Istanbul University, in 1960. Dilmen has worked with Israeli and
Greek theatres and studied theatre at Yale and Washington Universities in the USA.
Currently, he is a lecturer at Istanbul University State Conservatory.
WORKS: Galile’nin Günahları (Galileo’s Sins), Osmanlı Dram Kumpanyası (Ottoman
Drama Company), Hakimiyeti Milliye Aşevi (National Soup Kitchen), Kurban
(Victim), Aşkımız Aksarayın En Büyük Yangını (Our Love Consumes Aksaray), Ben
Anadolu (I, Anatolia), Bağdat Hatun (Lady Baghdad), Deli Dumrul (Dumrul the
Fool), Midas’ın Kulakları (The Ears of Midas), Midas’ın Kördüğümü, (Midas’ Gordian
Knot), Akad’ın Yayı (Akad’s Bow), Troya İçinde Vurdular Beni (I was Shot in Troy),
Ayak Parmakları (Toes), Avcı Karkap (Hunter Karkap) Canlı Maymun Lokantası
(Live Monkey Restaurant), Ak Tanrılar (White Gods), Hasan Sabbah.
BEN ANADOLU
I, ANATOLIA
Editoria & Spettacolo, Italy, 2007
420 pages, Drama
Translated by İclal Aydın Margariti
ISBN: 97899443964431
pankitap@pankitap.com
One actress plays sixteen different
characters, against the background of
six thousand year- old Anatolia. Each
woman’s story differs in time and genre,
ranging from tragedy to comedy, within
a time span covering thousands of years,
from the mythological ages to the Turkish
Independence War. The play has been
translated into English, German, French
and Italian and has been staged by various
theatre companies in Turkey and abroad.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
H A K A N B I Ç A K Ç I
Hakan Bıçakçı was born in Istanbul in 1978 and moved to Ankara in 1996 to attend
university. His first articles were published in the literary magazine Dört Mevsim (Four
Seasons). He graduated from the Department of Economics at Bilkent University
in 2001 and subsequently returned to Istanbul. His first novel, Romantik Korku
(Romantic Fear), came out in 2002, his second novel, Rüya Günlüğü (Dream Diary), in
2003, the third, Boş Zaman (Spare Time), in 2004, his first book of short stories, Bir Yaz
Gecesi Kabusu (A Mid-Summer Night’s Nightmare), in 2005 and his fourth novel and
fifth book, Apartman Boşluğu (The Apartment Shaft), in 2008. He has written many
articles on literature, film and popular culture for various newspapers and magazines
in addition to other articles which appear regularly in various publications. He has also
written feature film scenarios for Asya Film. He currently lives in Istanbul and works as
an ad writer.
Foreign Rights: Apartman Boşluğu/The Apartment Shaft (Fan Noli, Albenia), (Etrak,
Egypt)
APARTMAN BOŞLUĞU
THE APARTMENT SHAFT
Fan Noli, Albenia, 256 pages, Novel
Translated by Jimmy Lazri
ISBN: 9753295987
www.kalemagency.com
A musician who confines himself to his
home in order to compose music, strange
voices that come from within his home, the
dark hole on the wall of his flat, and songs
without writers… A psychological suspense
story that is based on creativity, inspiration
and the artistic ego, and which takes place
in an apartment haunted by a muse… Arif
is a harmless, quiet man in his thirties
who has just been dismissed from his job
where he has worked for many years. He
lives alone in an old flat in Istanbul. He is
also the vocalist of a rock group that plays
in bars, covering songs by foreign groups.
He is prepared to sacrifice anything if only
he could sing his own songs, and make an
album of his own compositions, in other
words, really make music…

H A K A N Y E L
Hakan Yel was born in Istanbul in 1968 and studied Archaeology and Art History at
Ankara University. During his professional life, he worked as a furniture upholstery
worker, wall paper application laborer, private driver, apprentice in dental prosthesis
laboratories, waiter in pizzerias, machine operator in fairgrounds, restaurant
manager, bar manager, product manager, and sales inspector. He currently offers
training workshops to companies on sales techniques. His first book entitled
Sultana Dokunmak (Touching the Sultan, 2005) has been reprinted many times.
The author’s second novel, Lokanta (Restaurant), a horror-suspense novel which
examines the idea that the aggression and violence taking hold of society day by day
will soon bring its own sense of justice; it also analyzes the resulting chaos. The book
was met with a strong response from literary critics with its style that reflected the
violence it discussed.
WORKS: Novel: Sultana Dokunmak (Touching the Sultan), Lokanta (Restaurant),
Rüzgâr Ekenler (Wind Sowers). Non Fiction: Her Şeyi Satarım Ruhum Hariç (I can
Sell Everything Except My Soul).
Foreign Rights: Sultana Dokunmak/Touching the Sultan (Celia and Soft Publishing,
Bulgaria), (Triton, Romania), (Maletz, Poland); Lokanta/Restaurant (Celia and Soft
Publishing, Bulgaria)
SULTANA DOKUNMAK
TOUCHING THE SULTAN
Celia and Soft Publishing, Bulgaria
350 pages, Novel
Translated by Alina Asparuhova Karahanova
ISBN: 9789752105928
www.hakanyel.com
Istanbul is shaken by a series of murders
targeting imams - Muslim prayer leaders.
The violence of these murders attracts public
attention. That all of the victims are imams
make people suspect that the murders are
related to a specific tariqa (sect). A the same
time, a substantial amount of arms are
purchased in Northern Iraq. The purchasing
of the arms by two old men from Istanbul
alerts the Israeli and Turkish intelligence
departments that survey the region on a
continuous basis. The secret agents tracking
the arms purchase direct their search to
Istanbul when the two old men who actually
purchased the arms are killed. All this
activity is monitored by a special unit within
the Turkish state. The Israeli intelligence
department wants to find out what is
happening in Istanbul. A female agent called
Helin, who has been kept dormant in Istanbul
for a long time, is assigned this duty.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
A SHORT STORY SELECTION
Sardes Verlag, Germany, 2007
Translated by Yüksel Pazarkaya, İnci
Pazarkaya, Cornelius Bischoff
ISBN: 9783981041941
bilgi@bilgiyayinevi.com.tr
H A L D U N T A N E R
Haldun Taner was born in 1915 and died in 1986. He was the pioneer of epic and
cabaret theatre in Turkey. Haldun Taner’s works are marked by a keen sense of
observation, criticism and humour. He is known for his short stories reflecting
upon chaotic city life, characterized by its surfeit of contradiction, ignorance
and absence of good manners. He wrote sketches, short stories, plays, cabarets,
film scripts, satire, essays and newspaper columns. He became internationally
famous with his epic play Keşanlı Ali Destanı (The Ballad of Ali from Keşhan). He
won several national and international literature awards. His works have been
translated into many languages.
WORKS: Yaşasın Demokrasi (Long Live Democracy), Tuş (Key), Şişhane’ye Yağmur
Yağıyordu (It Was Raining in Şişhane), Ayışığında Çalışkur (Çalışkur under the
Moonlight), Onikiye Bir Var (One Minute to Twelve), Konçinalar, Sancho’nun Sabah
Yürüyüşü (Sancho’s Morning Stroll), Kızıl Saçlı Amazon (Red Headed Amazon),
Yalıda Sabah (Morning in the Mansion), Günün Adamı - Dışardakiler (Man of
the Hour - Outsiders), Ve Değirmen Dönerdi (And the Windmill Turned), Fazilet
Eczanesi (The Goodwill Pharmacy), Lütfen Dokunmayın (Please Don’t Touch),
Huzur Çıkmazı (Tranquility Impasse), Keşanlı Ali Destanı (The Ballad of Ali from
Keşhan), Gözlerimi Kaparım - Vazifemi Yaparım (I Just Close My Eyes and Do
My Duty), Zilli Zarife (Gaudy Zarife), Vatan Kurtaran Şaban (Şaban, the Nation’s
Savior), Bu Şehr-i İstanbul Ki (This City: Istanbul), Sersem
Kocanın Kurnaz Karısı (The Shrewd Wife of the Stupid
Husband), Astronot Niyazi (Niyazi the Astronaut), Ha Bu
Diyar (Oh, This Country!), Dün Bugün (Yesterday, Today),
Aşk-u Sevda (Passionate Love), Dev Aynası (Giant Mirror),
Yâr Bana Bir Eğlence (A Little Bit of Fun Please), Ayışığında
Şamata (Fun and Games in the Moonlight), Hayırdır İnşallah
(Good News, I Hope).
Haldun Taner focuses his short stories on the celebration
of life and nature, the praise of sincerity and honesty but,
more importantly, on the love of human beings. The joy of
life, the search for happiness and a deep humanism form the
background to his short stories. Taner, although well aware
of developments in the modern short story, remains true to
the traditional approach. He neither looks for novelty in the
structural form, nor accentuates tension or poetic style in the
language. For the most part, he is content to employ a plain,
simple, narrative style.

H A L İ D Z İ Y A U Ş A K L I G İ L
Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil (1867-1945) was a well-known author of the late Ottoman
and early Republican years. The author of six novels and numerous short stories,
he also served the Ottoman government in different posts at home and abroad,
and for that reason was well informed both about the Ottoman state structure and
about Ottoman daily life in general. The author also achieved fame for his realistic,
psychological works, which were influenced by the French realists and naturalists.
Some of His Novels: Nemide, Bir Ölünün Defteri (The Notebook of a Deceased),
Ferdi ve Ortakları (Ferdi and his Partners), Mai ve siyah (Blue and Black),
Aşk-ı Memnu (Forbidden Love), Kırık Hayatlar (Shattered Lives).
Foreign Rights: Aşk-ı Memnu Forbidden Love (Verbotene Lieben, Unionsverlag,
German), (Verboden Liefte, Atheneaum-Polak & Van Gennep, Dutch)
AŞK-I MEMNU
FORBIDDEN LOVE
Unionsverlag, Switzerland, 2007
472 pages, Novel
Translated into German by Wolfgang Riemann
ISBN: 97510054934
www.onkagency.com, www.turkishauthors.com
A story about an extra-marital love affair and
the difficulty of the status of women in the
Ottoman period. Bihter, an attractive lady
married to Adnan who is much older than
herself, falls in love with Behlül and enters
into a passionate affair with him. However
Behlül, a moody adventurist, is bored with this
relationship after a short while and falls in
love with Bihter’s stepdaughterBihter. A short
time before the marriage of Behlül and Nihal,
the family finds out about the ‘forbidden love’
affair of Behlül and Bihter. Bihter cannot take
the pressure and commits suicide. This leads
to a chain of events which leaves everyone in
solitude.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
H A L İ D E E D İ P A D I V A R
SİNEKLİ BAKKAL - THE CLOWN AND HIS DAUGHTER
Manesse Verlag, Random House, Germany, 2008,
424 pages, Novel , Translated by Renate Orth Guttman
ISBN: 9750707766
international@canyayinlari.com
Halide Edip Adıvar (Istanbul, 1884 -1964) graduated from the Üsküdar Academy
for Girls in 1901 and started writing newspaper articles about women’s rights in
1908. This created a backlash from the Ottoman conservatives. During the March
31st insurgency she went to Egypt for a brief period. She returned to Istanbul in
1909, and worked as a teacher and inspector. She served in various hospitals during
the Balkan War. She delivered a very influential speech at the Sultanahmet Square
in 1919 at a protest rally against the invasion of Izmir. She believed that Turkey
should be ruled under a mandate regime of the United States. She took part in the
War of Independence in 1920 as a lance corporal and was promoted to the rank of
sergeant major. During the remainder of the War of Independence, her ideas began
to diverge from the political views of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Republican
People’s Party. After the Progressive Republican Party she supported was closed, the
Law of Declaration of Peace came into effect and the era of single party rule began.
She left Turkey together. When she returned to Istanbul in 1939, she was appointed
chairman of the Department of English Philology at Istanbul University. In 1950, she
entered the Turkish Grand National Assembly as an independent MP from the candidate
list of the Democratic Party. She resigned office in 1954 and retreated into seclusion.
Adıvar was a writer who lived through the transition from the Ottoman Empire to
the Turkish Republic, an important Turkish Author who witnessed the events of this
dramatic period and captured their details in her novels.
Some of Her Novels: Sinekli Bakkal (The Clown and His Daughter), Handan
(Handan), Ateşten Gömlek (The Shirt of Flame),Türkün Ateşle İmtihanı (The
Turkish Ordeal), Vurun Kahpeye (Strike the Harlot).
Adıvar’s first novel, Sinekli Bakkal (The Clown
and His Daughter), was first published in
English, and then in Turkish. She struggled to
overturn the prevalent backward mentality
regarding women and introduce a new
understanding of the role of women in the
Republic. Adıvar never compromised her
opinions nor relinquished her ideals even in
the difficult times Turkey went through. Many
of her characters carry traces of her own life.
Whether in The Clown and His Daughter,
Handan (Handan, 1912), Ateşten Gömlek (The
Shirt of Flame, 1922) or Türkün Ateşle İmtihanı
(The Turkish Ordeal, 1962), the characters often
embody the author herself. As a significant
intellectual of her time, Adıvar influenced other
writers in her close environment.

H A M D İ K O Ç
Hamdi Koç was born in 1963. He studied English literature and has translated the
works of Bechett, Joyce, and Jane Austen. His first novel, Songs on the Death of
Children, succeeds, in therms of both language and style, in capturing the fantasies
of a “still” and depressed boy.
WORKS: Novels: Melekler Erkek Olur (Angels are Male), Çiçeklerin Tanrısı (The
God of Flowers), İyi Dilekler Ülkesi (The Land of Good İntentions), Çocuk Ölümü
Şarkıları (Songs on the Death of Children), Kalpten Parçalar (Pieces of the Heart) ,
Bir Eski Kocanın Öğleden Sonrası (One Afternoon of an Ex-Husband).
MELEKLER ERKEK OLUR
ANGELS ARE MALE
Ruffel Verlag, Germany
308 pages, Novel
Translated by Vedat Çorlu and Sabine Çorlu
ISBN: 9786051111667
dk.rights@dogankitap.com.tr
In his novel Melekler Erkek Olur (Angels are
Male), Koç tels us about a bored man; bored of
his car, clothes, lost of money to spend... This is
a story of our modern days, not yet in the past.
“I was doing a secret thing.... And I was afraid
o my wife, my children, my boss, my friends, my
colleagues... In short, I was afraid of everything
that owes me, that has the potential to my my
life harder o even unbearable. One by one and
all together, I was afraidof all of them”
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
H A N D E A L T A Y L I
Hande Altaylı was born in Edremit in 1971. After finishing Galatasaray High School
she studied Public Relations and Politics at Boğazici University. She has worked as
an ad writer for several agencies and has also composed a selection of lyrics. Her first
novel Aşka Şeytan Karışır (The Devil Interferes in Love) was published in 2006. Her
second and most recent novel Maraz (The Sickness) was published in 2009.
AŞKA ŞEYTAN KARIŞIR
THE DEVIL INTERFERES WITH LOVE
Univers, Romania
188 pages, Novel
Translated by Emilia Comanici
ISBN: 9756287582
www.kalemagency.com
Ordinary people would not deviate, the
most innocent ones would not become
sinners, and the good would not act
maliciously if only the devil did not
interfere with love... Aslı goes into love
blindly with the courage youth gives her.
Putting the social rules, her morality,
conscience, and shame aside she falls
in love with Ömer, her aunt’s lover. In
the beginning, she does not even care
that her lover is married. But after bouts
of jealousy, questioning, dreams and
disappointments she finds a way out
by running away. Years later, when she
thinks she is a mature woman Ömer
crosses her path again.

H A S A N A L İ T O P T A Ş
He was born in Denizli’s Çal County in 1958. His first collection of short stories was
published under the title Bir Gülüşün Kimliği (The Identity of a Smile) in 1987; his
second book Yoklar Fısıltısı (The Muttering of Nonentities) came out in 1990. With
his manuscript titled Ölü Zaman Gezginleri (Dead Time Travelers), he won a short
story contest in 1992. He was awarded an Honourable Mention by the Ministry of
Culture in the same year for his unpublished book Sonsuzluğa Nokta (Period to
Eternity). In 1994, he won the Yunus Nadi Prize for Novels with his unpublished
Gölgesizler (The Shadowless). With his novel Bin Hüzünlü Haz (A Thousand Gloomy
Pleasures), he won the Cevdet Kudret Prize for Literature. The author also has a
book, Yalnızlıklar (Desolations), which is written as poetic prose, a novel titled Kayıp
Hayaller Kitabı (Book of Lost Dreams), and a children’s novel called Ben Bir Gürgen
Dalıyım (I am a Hornbeam Branch). Toptaş’s last novel Uykuların Doğusu (East of
Slumber), was published in 2005.
Foreign Rights: Gölgesizler/The Shadowless (German, Finnish, French)
GÖLGESİZLER
THE SHADOWLESS
Plon, France, 2009
232 pages, Novel
Translate by Noemi Cingöz
ISBN: 975293434X
www.hasanalitoptas.net
In a village, people disappear without a trace all of a
sudden, but this is such a case of disappearance that it is
as if they evaporated or vanished into thin air... Cıngıllı
Nuri, Güvercin, the mukhtar who goes all the way to the
city searching for them, Cennet’s son who loses his mind
and keeps asking why it snows, the barber’s apprentice
who goes to buy razor blades and then dissapears...
Gölgesizler is the story of “lost people, lost lives” in which
fact and fantasy collide, written in a melodious tone,
almost as if poetry; it is the story of people whose “souls get
too bored”, “whose skins are too tight for their bodies all of
a sudden; whose hands do not match their arms and their
feet to their legs; whose eyes have become insufficient for
seeing. Gölgesizler is a novel which will grip, tax, surprise
and enrich the reader with its surrealistic narration and
extraordinary language bordering the edges.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
H A S A N E R K E K
Hasan Erkek was born in 1970 in Adıyaman. He graduated from the Theatre
Department at Ankara University where he also obtained his Master’s and PhD
degrees. Currently he is a faculty member at Anadolu University Conservatoire. He is
a member of the executive committees of the Turkish Playwrights Association (vicepresident),
Turkey’s ASSITEJ (International Association of Theatre for Children and
Young People-vice-president) and UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionnette-
National Center).
WORKS: Bir Gençlik Şarkısı (A Song of Youth), Eşik (The Threshold), Don Kişot’un
Ruhu (The Soul of Don Quixote), Yaşasın Barış (Long Live Peace), Ezginin Güncesi
(Ezgi’s Diary), Radyo Çocuk Oyunları (Radio Plays for Children), Oyun İçinde
Anlatı ( The Narration in the Play), Özgürlük Yarışı (Race for Freedom), Bu Dünya
Hepimizin (This World Belongs to All of Us), Barış Cumhuriyeti (Republic of
Peace), Radyo Oyunları (Radio Plays), Sahne Çocuk Oyunları-1 (Children’s Stage
Plays -1), Mızıka (Harmonica), Kağıthelvacı (Wafer Seller) Tahta Otobüs (Wooden
Bus), Müzik Kutusu (Music Box), Güzel Kemanım (My Beautiful Violin), Güzelyurt
Çocukları (Children of Beautiful a Country), Bedel (Cost), Sevda Pınarı (Love
Fountain), Hayatın Çiçekleri (Flowers of Life), Buluşan Yollar (Converging Roads),
Gençlik Irmağı (Youth River), Umut Kuşları (Birds of Hope), Heyecanlı Bir Senaryo
(An Exciting Script).
Foreign Rights: Eşik/The Threshold (Mütercim Publishing, Russian), (Le Seuil,
Turkish Ministry of Culture, French); Özgürlük Yarışı/Race for Freedom
(Der Wettstreit um die Freiheit, Frieling Verlag, German)
EŞİK - THE THRESHOLD
Mütercim Publishing, Azerbaijan, 2007
164 pages, Drama
Translated into Russian by Makbule Muharremova
ISBN: 9751726336
yayimlar@kultur.gov.tr, hasanerkek@yahoo.com
We follow the life story of a family who has had to
move to the city because of desperate economic
conditions in the country side. Although the
family frees itself from the repressive patriarchal
traditions, it has difficulties in integrating itself
into urban life. The play centers on the family’s
struggle to cope with the psychological, cultural
and economic challenges faced in order to cross the
threshold, during their process of integration.

H A S A N K I Y A F E T
Hasan Kıyafet (1938, Kırşehir) was educated at the Village Institute and obtained
a degree in English from Gazi Eğitim. He worked as a teacher throughout Anatolia.
He published his first poems and articles in Çaltı newspaper. He translated I. Yılmaz
Sunucu’s short story Muska from Turkish into English with the name “The Charm”.
He became well known for his novel Komünist İmam (The Communist Imam) which
was published in 1969. The novel which is currently on its 54th edition, had wide
repercussions at the time it was published and politically it cost the writer dearly.
Kıyafet spent his teaching career in exile, as well being adversely affected by the
events of 12 March and 12 September like other intellectuals. The writer has over 40
printed books including his children’s books and his research work. He won many
awards with is various works: Barac, achievement award in Sebahattin Ali Short Story
Competition; Diyarbekir’e Girmek (Entering Diyarbekir), Mezapotamia Cultural Centre
Film Story Competition; Yürüyüş Okulu (The School of Walking), the Turkish Ministry
of Culture Film Story Competition; Ve Umut Direniyor (And Hope Resists),
the Disk-Abdullah Baştürk Blue Collar Literature Competition.
Some of His Works: Novels: Komünist İmam (The Communist Imam), Başlayan
Kavga (The Beginning of the Strugle) Aliali, Yaşamak Yasak (It is Forbidden to Live),
Yatırım Çocuklar (Investment Children), Bizim Lise (Our High School), Bismillah
Sevda ve Sosyalizm (Bismillah, Love and Socialism), İnsan Yokuşu (The Human
Hill), Umut Direniyor (Hope Resists). Children’s Stories: Çingene Çocuğu (The Gipsy
Child), Bizim Fabrika (Our Factory), Cin Top (Ball Game), Almanya Afacanları (The
Little Rascals of Germany), Küçük Kapıcı (The Small Porter), Kurnaz Kurt (The
Sly Wolf), Kuşkalenin Kuşları (The Birds of Kuşkale), Sığırcık Kayası (The Rock of
Sığırcık), Uçan Tilki (The Flying Fox).
KOMÜNİST İMAM
THE COMMUNIST IMAM
3C Utigeverij, The Netherlands, 2004,
184 pages, Novel, Translated by Erhan Gürer
ISBN: 9758426788
info@ozyurekyayinevi.com
What did the Communist Iman mean to say: He emphasised that
Communism is not a religion, it is an economic movement. In the
area where the Kop Mountains are located, there lived a legendary
rebellious imam who was a firm believer and practiser of Islam. Just
like Robin Hood, he not only took from the rich to give to the poor, but
in this remote village by the mountains he set up an exemplary village
where they lived a communal life...Those who called him a communist
were the feudal land owners and the state...
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
H A S A N L A T İ F S A R I Y Ü C E
Hasan Latif Sarıyüce was born in 1929. He graduated from Gazi Education Academy
and worked as a Turkish language and literature teacher in the schools. He served
one term as an MP. He has had more than a hundred books published, most of which
have been brought out by the Ministry of Culture. His first poem appeared in Çığır,
a magazine published in Ankara, in 1947 and subsequently, his short stories were
published in the magazine, Sesimiz. Since 1947, Sarıyüce has been writing poems,
tales and novels more specifically aimed at children.
WORKS: Beyaz Kanatlı Kuş (The Bird with White Wings), Dört İsimli Prens (The
Prince with Four Names), El Evinde (In Somebody Else’s House), Güle Güle Küçük
Arkadaş (Bye Bye Little Friend), Kuş Seslerinden Korkan Çocuk (The Child Who
was Afraid of Bird Song), Tarla Kuşlarının Öyküsü (The Tale of the Skylarks),
Uğur Böceğinin Düğünü (Marriage of a Ladybird), Üç Ayaklı Oğlan (The Three-
Legged Boy), Çocuklara Şiirler (Poems for Children), Düş Yağmuru (Dream Rain),
Altın Öğütler (Golden Advice), Anadolu Efsaneleri 1-2 (Anatolian Legends 1-2),
Anadolu Masalları Dizisi (Anatolian Tales Series), Ders Veren Türk Masalları
(Turkish Parables), Keloğlan Masallar Dizisi (Keloğlan Tales Series), Manzum
Ezop Hikâyeleri (Aesop’s Fables in Verse), Manzum Nasrettin Hoca Hikâyeleri
(Nasreddin Hodja Tales in Verse), İncili Salkım (Cluster of Pearls), Mavi Kahkaha
Çiçeği (The Blue Laughter Flower), Mercan Kız (Coral Girl).
ÇITI PITI HANIM - MISS PETITE
109 pages, Children’s Book
Yalda Ghalam, Iran, 2008
Translated by Muhammed Rıza Mehrafza
ISBN: 9754947627
bilgi@bilgiyayinevi.com.tr
ozlem@ bilgiyayinevi.com.tr
This is the fifth book in the Anatolian Tales Series.
It contains such charming tales as Çıtıpıtı Hanım
(Miss Petite), İğci Baba (Pop the Weaver), Ağlayan
Nar ile Gülen Ayva (The Weeping Pomegranate
and the Smiling Quince), Karlı Dağları Aşan Kız
(The Girl Who Crossed Snowy Mountains), Cesur
Mıstılıcık (Brave Mıstılıcık), Menekşe Yaprağından
İncinen Kız (The Girl who was Hurt by a Violet
Petal) and Safoğlan (Naive Boy). These tales have
been illustrated by Cavit Yaren. This series of tales
won the Türkiye İş Bankası Literature Award in 1991.

H I F Z I T O P U Z
Hıfzı Topuz was born in Istanbul in 1923 and graduated from the School of Law at
Istanbul University in 1948. He received his MA from the University of Strasbourg
were he studied International Law and Journalism and completed his PhD on
Journalism. He has also worked at the daily Akşam newspaper, first as the chief of
intelligence and then as the editor. He was among the founders of the Trade Union
of Journalists of Istanbul and served as the Chairperson. He worked at the UNESCO
Headquarters in Paris as head of the Free News Circulation Department (1959-1983).
He worked for TRT, the Turkish Radio and Television Company, as the Vice General
Manager responsible for the radio channels (1974-75). In 1986, he founded the
Communications Research Association (ILAD), and he has acted as the chairperson
since then. He has penned articles for Vatan, Milliyet and Cumhuriyet newspapers as
well as for various magazines. He gave lectures at the Faculties of Communication
Studies at the Anatolian University, Galatasaray University and Istanbul University,
including courses on the press, the history of television and radio, international
communication, and political communication.
WORKS: Özgürlüğe Kurşun (Bullets Against Freedom), Çamlıcanın Üç Gülü (Three
Roses of Çamlica), Başın Öne Eğilmesin (Keep Your Head Up), Meyyale, Gazi ve
Fikriye (Gazi and Fikriye), Elvada Afrika Hoşçakal Paris (Farewell Africa), Goodbye
Paris, Taifte Ölüm (Teath in Taif), Eski Dostlar (Good Old Friends).
BAŞIN ÖNE EĞİLMESİN - KEEP YOUR HEAD UP
Steno Publishing House, Bulgaria, 2009
264 pages, Novel
Translated by Rüstem Aziz Mümin
ISBN: 9751411505
omer@remzi.com, info@kalemagency.com
Sabahattin Ali always kept his head up. He
never gave up defending his views in his literary
works and newspaper articles. In his short life
lasting only for 41 years, he not only produced
outstanding works of Turkish literature
which were translated into many languages
worldwide, he also demanded independence,
freedom and modernization for his country.
He lived dreaming of these values. After a life
blighted by prison and exile he paid the final
price for this dream and was slaughtered in the
Forest of Istiranca. In this novel, author Hıfzı
Topuz, using real documents while developing
his own style, holds a mirror to the tragic life
of Sabahattin Ali from his youth up until the
day he was murdered. Sabahattin Ali certainly
features among the unforgettable names in
Turkish literature.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
H İ L M İ Y A V U Z
Hilmi Yavuz was born in1936. He graduated from the Philosophy Department at
London University. He has worked as a lecturer at Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul
Technical University and Boğaziçi University. Hilmi Yavuz, who started writing
poems as part of the Second New poetry movement, has managed to fashion his
unique style by producing poems that are refined, intensive and profound. Hilmi
Yavuz, who continues to write poems, won the Yeditepe Poetry Award in 1978 and the
Sedat Simavi Vakfı Literature Award in 1987.
WORKS: Bakış Kuşu (Glance Bird), Bedreddin Üzerine Şiirler (Poems on Bedreddin),
Doğu Şiirleri (Poems of the East), Yaz Şiirleri (Summer Poems), Gizemli Şiirler
(Mysterious Poems), Zaman Şiirleri (Time Poems), Söylen Şiirleri (Spoken Poems),
Ayna Şiirleri (Mirror Poems), Hüzün ki En Çok Yakışandır Bize (It’s Melancholy
That Most Becomes Us), Gülün Ustası Yoktur (The Rose Has No Master), Erguvan
Sözler (Erguvan Lyrics), Çöl Şiirleri (Desert Poems), Akşam Şiirleri (Evening
Poems), Yolculuk Şiirleri (Road Poems), Hurufi Şiirler (Hurufi Poems). Felsefe ve
Ulusal Kültür (Philosophy and National Culture), Roman Kavramı ve Türk Romanı
(The Concept of Novel and the Turkish Novel), Kültür Üzerine (On Culture),
Felsefe Üzerine (On Philosophy), Yazın Üzerine (On Literature), Denemeler Karşı
Denemeler (Essays and Counter Essays), Dilin Dili (The Language of Language),
İstanbul Yazıları (Istanbul Writings), Taormina, Fehmi K.’nın Acaip Serüvenleri
(The Strange Adventures of Fehmi K.), Kuyu (The Well), Okuma Notları (Reading
Notes ), İstanbul’u Dinliyorum (Listening to Istanbul), Ah Kadınlar (Sweet Women).
SEASONS OF THE WORD:
SELECTED POEMS OF HİLMİ YAVUZ
Syracuse University Press, USA, 2007
Translated by Walter G.Andrews
ISBN: 0815608799
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
This volume is a selection of eighty-seven poems
taken from a number of works by Hilmi Yavuz.
Hilmi Yavuz has sought to blend traditional
and contemporary elements in his poetry and
has established a harmonious balance between
form and essence. Moreover, by making use of
Islamic Mysticism-more specifically, Sufism-he
has created a new vocabulary. His outstanding
contribution bears testimony to the venerable
position he has held in Turkish poetry for the
last fifty years.

I Ş I K S Ü K A N
Işık Sükan was born in Istanbul in 1936 as the child of a well-established Istanbullite
family. As she continued with her training in music and arts, she received her
education in law and journalism. The author worked in Babıali as a journalist and
upon her graduation, she worked as a lawyer and legal consultant. Her children’s
books entitled Prens Kardu (Prince Kardu) and Altın Kalem Masalı (The Tale of the
Golden Pen) were published in two volumes. Işık Sükan visited the elderly ladies of
Istanbul, inquiring about life during the last period of the Ottoman Empire, how
they lived and entertained in their youth. She penned Asitane Efsaneleri (Legends of
Constantinople) as a result. Music, plastic arts, drawing and literature have always
been part of her life. Sükan also has a keen interest in architecture, history and
Sufism.
WORKS: Asithane Efsaneleri (Legends of Constantinople, Short Story), Aklın
Ötesinde (Beyond the Mind, Poetry), Prens Kardu (Prince Kardu, Children’s Book),
Altın Kalem Masalı (The Tale of the Golden Pen, Children’s Book).
ASİTANE EFSANELERİ
LEGENDS OF CONSTANTINOPLE
Arab Scientific Publishers, Lebanon, 2008
192 pages, Short Story
Translated by Abdulkadir Abdelli
ISBN: 9752561526
info@kaknus.com.tr, kaknus@kaknus.com.tr
The book is a collection of 23 short stories
depicting the lifestyle and traditions of
Ottoman culture. The stories will allow you to
draw an extremely interesting and realistic
mental picture of Ottoman women. You will
learn quite a lot about the social structure
and values of the Ottomans as well as the
relationships between men and women. You
will capture details which are about to fall
into oblivion, such as the colloquial language,
common household items, traditions and
manners. The stories, which take place in the
atmosphere of âsitâne (capital city), one of
the many names given to Istanbul throughout
history, will certainly offer tremendous reading
pleasure.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
I Ş I L Ö Z G E N T Ü R K
Işıl Özgentürk was born in Gaziantep in 1948 and after graduating from the Faculty
of Law at Istanbul University started her writing career. Her first works were in
children’s literature. In the competitions held by Arkın Publishing House, she won
awards with her children’s stories and poems. Then she started to write for adults.
For many years she conducted interviews for Cumhuriyet newspaper. She wrote film
scripts and plays. She wrote the script for the film “Seni Seviyorum Rosa” (I love
you Rosa), which she also directed. She has won many awards in international film
festivals and represented Turkey in various festivals overseas. Her children’s plays
have been performed by Istanbul City Theatres. Özgenturk has written film scripts
for the cinema and directed films. At present, she continues to write for Cumhuriyet
newspaper.
WORKS: Children’s Books: Mavi Karaca (The Blue Deer), Düyaya Masallar
(Fairytales for Duya), Geniş Mavi Bir Gök (A Wide Blue Sky), Kuş Ne Yana Öter? (In
Which Direction Do Birds Chirp?), Hayat Okulu (The School of Life), Güneşe Giden
Yiğitler (Brave Men off to the Sun), Yokuşu Tırmanır Hayat (Life Climbing up the
Hill), Hançer (The Dagger). Other Works : Küçük Sevinçler Bulmalıyım (I Need to
Find Little Pleasures, Play), Büyülü Bir Yolda (On a Magical Road, Travel Writing),
Hiçbirimiz Masum Değiliz (None of Us Is Innocent, Articles), Sessizlik ve Sırdır
Ötesi (Beyond Is Silence and Mystery, Short Stories and Poems), Tırmanır Hayat
(Life will Climbe, Short Stories)
HAYAT OKULU
THE SCHOOL OF LIFE
Express Verlag, Germany, 1983
48 pages, Children’s Book
ISBN: 9789944942584
The School of Life consists of interesting
stories told by little children. Those
children, whose stories we’re told about
in The School of Life, attempt to take on
the toughest jobs, in order to survive.
Some sell flowers, some sell newspapers
and others clean shoes...

İ H S A N O K T A Y A N A R
İhsan Oktay Anar was born in Yozgat in 1960. He studied at the Philosophy
Department at Ege University and obtained his Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD degrees
from the same university. At present he is a faculty member at Ege University. He
is one of the most important names in recent Turkish literature. Each of his books
is notable for its use of detailed historical knowledge, resulting from meticulous
research. The structure of his novels usually comprises a central narrative, around
which the threads of many interconnected stories are intricately woven... Puslu
Kıtalar Atlası (The Atlas of Hazy Continents) has been translated into more than 20
languages.
WORKS: Puslu Kıtalar Atlası (The Atlas of Hazy Continents, 1995), Kitab-ül Hiyel
(Book of Mechanics, 1996), Efrâsiyâb’ın Hikâyeleri (Tales of Afrasiab, 1997), Amat
(Amat, 2005), Suskunlar (The Mute, 2007).
Foreign Rights : Puslu Kıtalar Atlası/The Atlas of Hazy Continents (Magyar
Napló, Hungary), (Ammann Verlag, German, Switzerland), (Actes Sud ,France),
(Munhakdongne Publishing, Korean); Kitab-ül Hiyel/Books of Mechanics (Actes
Sud, France); Efrâsiyabın Hikâyeleri/Tales of Afrasiab (Rácıó Kiadó, Hungary).
PUSLU KITALAR ATLASI
THE ATLAS OF HAZY CONTINENTS
Munhakdongne Publishing, South Korea, 2008
238 pages, Novel
Translated by Nana Lee
ISBN: 9754704724
iletisim@iletisim.com.tr
This was İhsan Oktay Anar’s first novel. The
book, which was first published in 1995,
attracted attention for its content and
form. The book won critical acclaim and
has been reprinted several times. Anar, who
has been described as a “breath of fresh air
for Turkish literature,” is able to convey to
the reader, his profound understanding of
history, emanating from his philosophical
background. His limpid use of language
has sparked interest in history amongst his
readers.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
İ L H A N B E R K
İlhan Berk was born in Manisa in 1918, diedin Bodrum in 2008. His first poems
were published in journals Manisa Halkevi, Uyanış, Varlık, Çığır to name a few. He
graduated from the French department of Gazi Education Institution and taught
for ten years. His poems were mostly realist until 1953 and after this date his poetry
became the forerunner of “Second New” movement. He is the most prominent
member of this movement. History and sexuality are the main themes of his poetry.
Berk has been a vital force in the modernization of Turkish poetry.
Foreign Rights: Madrigals (Sherman Books, English), (Histoire secrete del poésie,
Artuyen, French); Galile Denizi/The Sea of Galile: Mar de Galilea (Ediciones del
Oriente y del Mediterraneo, Spanish&Turkish); Güzel Irmak/River (Rio Hermoso,
Ediciones del Oriente y del Mediterraneo, Spanish&Turkish); Seçilmiş Şiirler/
Selected Poems (Talisman House, English), (Logos Publishing, Albanian), Seçilmiş
Şiirler/Selected Poems (A Leaf about to Fall, Salt Publishing, English)
SEÇME ŞİİRLER
SELECTED POEMS: A Leaf about to Fall
Salt Publishing, UK, 2006
160 pages, Poetry
Translated by George Messo
ISBN: 9781844712748
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
İlhan Berk is a poet who wrote about the
theory of poetry just as he wrote poetry,
considering and defining his own concept of
the art. More importantly, starting with his
first poem, he was an innovator in language,
concept and thematic matter, giving his
work an importance that continues even
today. He especially elaborated the issue
of language, the language of poetry and,
more importantly, strove to develop his own
poetic language. Objects, numbers, things
and abstract concepts are turned into most
exceptional expressions in his poetry. İlhan
Berk’s poetry is open to innovation and
linguistic creativity in each and every word.

İ N C İ A R A L
Aral was born in Denizli in 1944. She completed Manisa Primary Education School
and the Arts and Crafts Department of the Gazi Institute of Education serving
as a teacher in Samsun, Manisa, and Izmir, as well as at the Gazi Institute of
Education. From 1977 onwards she began writing short stories that were published
in magazines. Her first collection of stories, Ağda Zamanı (Leg Waxing Time), won
the 1980 Akademi Press Achievement Award. Kıran Resimleri (Pictures of Death,
1983) in which the violent events that took place in Kahramanmaraş are depicted,
won the Nevzat Üstün Short Story Award. This book was translated into French and
published in 1989. The Yunus Nadi Prize for Novels, which she won for Ölü Erkek
Kuşlar (Dead Male Birds) in 1992, was another addition to her awards. Aral, who also
writes essays, memoirs, and stories, is the author of Yeni Yalan Zamanlar (Times of
New Lies, 1994), Hiçbir Aşk Hiçbir Ölüm (No Love No Death, 1997), İçimden Kuşlar
Göçüyor (Birds Migrate from within Me, 1998), Mor (Purple, 2003), and Taş ve Ten
(Stone and Flesh, 2005).
Foreign Rights: Uykusuzlar/Sleepless (Les Insomiaques, Publisud, France,
1994); Kıran Resimleri/Pictures of Dead (Scenes de Massacres, L’Harmattan,
France, 2000); Mor/Purple (Oceinada, Greece, 2008); Safran Sarı/Saffron Yellow
(Oceinada, Greece).
SAFRAN SARI
SAFFRON YELLOW
Oceinada, Greece
311 pages, Novel
ISBN 9789759174873
www.turkuvaz.com
From İnci Aral, on her 30th Anniversary of
writing, a notable novel about these days of
Turkey.
A young investment banker; an antique
smuggler woman; a graduate call-girl... İnci
Aral, narrates the intersecting paths of these
three characters, on her novel grounded on
the idea of “No Future”. On the eve of the
second millenium, these people affected by
social, economical and cultural turbulences,
questions their drifts and unforeseen futures.
On one side there is hefty money, all kinds
of earthly pleasures, colourful lifes, and on
the other side soiled and corrupted values,
dissatisfaction, exploited system and
degenerated sexuality…
Saffron Yellow is an adventure of thirtysomethings,
estranged from their identities,
loves and hopes on the pursuit of money,
power and success; first by loosing their
affections, then their beliefs in future and
their souls at the end...
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
İ S K E N D E R P A L A
Iskender Pala was born in 1958 and, after completing his degree in the Faculty of
Literature at Istanbul University in 1979, he received his PhD in the field of Divan
Poetry (Ottoman court literature). He then became an associate professor in 1983
and professor in 1998. As a literature researcher, he published many scientific and
literary essays in various encyclopedias and periodicals. He wrote course books
for middle school and high school education. He conducted research on Ottoman
naval history and published some of his research studies as books. He has attracted
attention especially in the field of “divan” literature and has 45 books published so far.
Foreign Rights: Babil’de Ölüm, İstanbul’da Aşk/Death in Babylon, Love in Istanbul,
(Europa, Hungary), (Ednorog, Bulgaria)
BABİL’DE ÖLÜM, İSTANBUL’DA AŞK
DEATH IN BABYLON, LOVE IN ISTANBUL
Europa Publishing House, Hungary
416 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9789758950119
www.kalemagency.com
When the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman, the
Law-maker, is about to conquer Bagdad,
Fuzuli is examining secret volumes in the
library of the Academy. He is reading the
last bits of information before the sultan’s
soldiers come to the library to pillage it. Just
before the soldiers arrive, the Syrian librarian
gives Fuzuli a double-horn handled dagger in
the shape of a forked-tongued snake’s head.
The librarian says, “For those who know how
to die, a dagger means life, and for those who
know about love, there are but seven truths.”
Then he asks Fuzuli to safeguard this secret
forever. Fuzuli is a young poet whose work
is well-liked. The Ottomans show interest in
him and enjoy his art; however, certain people
aim to take the dagger from him.

İ S M E T Ö Z E L
İsmet Özel (1944, Kayseri) is an important figure in the past forty years of Turkish
poetry. He studied at the Faculty of Political Sciences of Ankara University. He had
to discontinue his studies before he graduated and did two years of military service.
In 1963, the year when his first poems were published, he became a member of
the Labour Party. He took part in activities such as the editing and distribution of
the magazine Dönüşüm (Transformation). He became one of the founders of the
Federation of Clubs of Ideas, which later evolved into the organisation Dev-Genç. In
1969, at a panel titled “Reformist Young Poets Start a Fight,” he and three friends
protested against pacifist poetry. Later he and Ataol Behramoğlu founded the
magazine Halkın Dostları (Friends of the People). It issued 18 numbers before it was
closed down by martial law. Following the intervention of 12 March 1971, Özel felt
the need to reassess his opinions and beliefs. He graduated from the Department
of French Language and Literature at Hacettepe University and became a French
teacher at the State Conservatory for eighteen years.
WORKS: Geceleyin Bir Koşu (A Running At Night), Evet, İsyan’ın (Yes, Your
Rebellion) Cinayetler Kitabı (The book Murder), Şiir Okuma Kılavuzu (Guide for
Reading Poem), Çenebazlık (Chatty), Celladıma Gülümserken (Smiling to My
Executioner), Şiirler 1962-1974 (Poems 1962-1974), Şiir Kitabı (The Book of Poetry),
Erbain (The Forty), Bir Yusuf Masalı (A Yusuf Tale), Of Not Being A Jew.
Foreign Rights: Faydasız Yazılar (Logos A Publishing House, Macedonia 2002)
ERBAİN - THE FORTY
240 pages, Poetry
ISBN: 9757796312
sulekitap@yahoo.com
İsmet Özel’s poems have been discussed
in modern Turkish literature not just
because of his idiosyncratic views on
poetry, but also because of his political
opinions and changing views. Despite his
changing ideology, the quality of his poems
remained consistent throughout his career.
Critic Memet Fuat describes İsmet Özel’s
poetry: “In the beginning İsmet Özel was a
revolutionary. He tended to dismiss those
poets who were not bold, quarrelsome
and ‘militant’ like him. Then one day his
views changed. He laid aside collectivism
and militancy and chose Islam. While the
revolutionaries lost a promising poet the had
set their hopes on, the Muslim side gained a
talented poet.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
J A K L İ N Ç E L İ K
Jaklin Çelik was born in Diyarbakır, but at a young age moved with her parents to
Kumkapı, Istanbul. She studied at the Surp Mesropyan Armenian primary school and
at the Çemberlitaş High School. Çelik, who worked as both a columnist and editor
for Agos, the Turkish-Armenian Istanbul based paper, has also published stories and
interviews in various journals. In 1999 she won honourable mention in the Yaşar
Nabi Nayır Short Story Awards. Her short stories are collected in three books: Kum
Saatinde Kumpkapı (Stories from the Sandgate, 2000), Yılanın Yolu (The Snake’s
Trail, 2003) and Kaçak Yolcu (Stowaway, 2005).
KUM SAATİNDE KUMKAPI
STORIES FROM THE SANDGATE
Nettleberry-Çitlembik Publications, USA, 2002
212 pages, Short Stories
Translated by Nancy Öztürk
ISBN: 9789756663127
kitap@citlembik.com.tr
Çelik’s book of short stories, Kum
Saatinde Kumkapı (Stories from the
Sandgate), contains eleven stories,
mostly about the Armenian community
in Turkey. She examines the lives of
ordinary people and the monotony of
their life. From time to time, Turks and
Kurds are also featured in her stories, but
the author does not place an emphasis
on ethnic identity. In fact, had it not
been for their names, such as Kayane,
Azat, Arşaluys, Onnik or Yerçenik, it
would be impossible to distinguish these
characters as belonging to an ethnic
group which have lived in Anatolia
for hundreds of years, from any other
Turkish character.

K A R A C A O Ğ L A N
The dates of birth and death of Karacaoğlan, one of the 17th century bards, are
unknown. He is assumed to have been raised among the Turcomen who had lived
in the Taurus mountains. His poetry hints that he had travelled in Eastern and
Southeastern Anatolia, had been to Egypt, Tripoli and Rumelia, and had lived
away from home for many years. Karacaoğlan had not been influenced by divan
and dervish poetry, had not aspired to write like madrasah and dervish poets, had
not even used Ottoman prosodic meter. Instead, like a traditional bard, he had
remained committed to traditions, life and the taste of the public, to the themes of
love and homesickness. He had been a village and tribal poet of love and nature,
voicing the beauties of nature and countryside, love, joys and sorrows in village life.
The poems of Karacaoğlan, who appears to have written mostly ballads, semai, and
occasionally epic poems, are those which first come to mind today when one speaks
of Turkish popular poetry-singing. The life of Karacaoğlan was turned into a story in
Yaşar Kemal’s book Üç Anadolu Efsanesi (Three Anatolian Legends).
KARACAOĞLAN BÜTÜN ŞİİRLERİ
KARACAOGLAN THE COLLECTED POEMS
Kelag-E Sefid, Iran
368 pages, Poetry
Translated by Şepnal Şeydaiy
ISBN: 9759950972
The book presents all of the poems of
Karacaoğlan, the most significant name in
Turkish popular poetry-singing. The themes
explicit in the focus on human beings of
Karacaoğlan’s poetry are nature and love.
Separation, homesickness, and death are
other themes that become evident in the
totality of his poems. The poet voices his
emotions in a realistic way and expresses
his thoughts in a clear and accessible style.
He relies more on reality than fantasy. The
source of his joy of living is his passion for
the beautiful, for the loved one, and nature.
The essence of his lyrical diction exhibits
the features of his characters’s being and
thought. Nature, the essential part of
nomadic life, is one of the main themes of his
poetry. He expresses the nature of the places
he visited in a magnificent way. Another
important theme in his poetry, the existence
of love, becomes even more beautiful with
his metaphors of nature. The joy experienced
with the lover, the pain brought on by her
are shared with nature. He deals with the
concept of love/lover, which form the focal
point of his poetry in addition to nature, in a
different way to that of the traditional rules
of love poetry.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
K E M A L B İ L B A Ş A R
Kemal Bilbaşar (1910-1983) graduated from the Department of History-Geography in
the Gazi Educational Institute in 1935. He taught at Nazilli and Izmir Karakaş Middle
Schools and retired in 1961. After being involved in politics for a while, he settled down
in Istanbul in 1966. He published his first stories in the Aramak magazine which he
published together with Cahit Tanyol and İlhan İleri in Izmir (1939). He received his
first award in the short story competition held by community centers at that time. With
the exception of the period between 1945 and 1952, Bilbaşar continually published short
stories and wrote scripts for radio sketches. His short stories, novels and articles were
published in various newspapers and magazines. He also wrote drama, screenplay and
textbooks, but tended more towards novel writing after 196l. Kemal Bilbaşar won the
Ankara Community Center Short Story Competition in 1939 with his story “Budakoğlu”,
the Turkish Language Institution Novel Competition with his novel Cemo in 1967, and
May Novel Competition in 1970 with his novel Yeşil Gölge. With 27 reprints, Cemo is
considered to be themasterpiece of the writer. Bilbaşar died on 21st January, 1983.
Some of His Works: Novels; Denizin Çağırışı (The Call of the Sea), Ay Tutulduğu Gece
(The Night of the Eclipse), Cemo (Cemo), Memo (Memo), Yeşil Gölge (The Green
Shadow), Yonca Kız (The Girl Yonca) Başka Olur Ağaların Düğünü (Agha weddings Are
Different), Kurbağa Çiftliği (The Frog Farm), Kölelik Dönemeci (The Turn of Slavery),
Bedoş (Bedos), Zühre (Venus) Short Stories: Anadolu’dan Hikayeler (Tales from
Anatolia), Cevizli Bahçe (The Walnut Garden), Pazarlık (The Bargaining), Pembe Kurt
(The Pink Wolf), Irgatların Öfkesi (The Anger of the Workers on the Field), Kurbağa
Çiftliği (The Frog Farm).
CEMO - GEMMO
Peter Owen Unesco Collection, UK, 1976, 223 pages, Novel
Translated by Enis B. Rey and Mariana Fitzpatric
ISBN: 0720604246
www.kemalbilbasar.com
The first years of the Republic. Cemo is a legend living in the harsh
geographical conditons of the Eastern Anatolia, in its remorseless air,
in its nature that makes one excited and exhausted with its thousand
and one plays. Cemo sets hearts on fire with her burning eyes as black as
coal, with her black hair bearing the glow of the sky, with her eyebrows
which turn into daggers when knitted. Cemo is a brave woman who is
stubborn, not yielding to anything, protecting her people and her life
with everything she has. She is a symbolic name in Turkish literature
with her fable-like life in Eastern Anatolia. Kemal Bilbaşar’s Cemo has
secured her place among unforgettable novel characters. In Cemo, Bilbaşar
depicts people in a squirarchy, their tribal conventions, convictions, and
lifestyles in an amazingly realistic way. It is a novel of resistance.

K E M A L Ö Z E R
Kemal Özer was born in Istanbul in 1935 and studied at the Department of Turkish
Language and Literature at Istanbul University. He worked for Cumhuriyet
newspaper and Karacan Publications, and was editor of Varlık magazine for a
number of years. Kemal Özer set up his own publishing house, Yordam Yayınları,
and publishes his own books. He served as Vice Chairman of the Turkish Writers
Syndicate. So far sixty of his books from different genres have been published, 16 of
which are poetry books. He has received a number of awards for his poems, which
show a realistic approach to the problems of society. The poetry of Kemal Özer,
who has taken part in international poetry events in Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, the
Netherlands, Denmark and Slovakia and has been the guest of Hungarian PEN and
the Union of Soviet Writers, has been translated into twenty foreign languages and
has been published in book form in Bulgaria, Denmark and the Netherlands. His
most important works include Ölü Bir Yaz (A Dead Summer), Kimlikleriniz Lütfen
(Your IDs please), Oğulları Öldürülen Analar (Mothers with Murdered Sons). The
writer wrote in many different disciplines of literature from poetry to children’s
stories, from comical writings to travel books. He passed away in 2009.
Foreign Rights: Trenler Ne Güzeldir/How Beautiful Trains Are (Öner Verlag,
Germany).
TEMMUZ İÇİN YARALI SEMAH
A WOUNDED SEMAH FOR JULY
80 pages, Poetry
ISBN: 9789944122351
georgina.ozer@yordamkitap.com
Kemal Özer, who has embedded the act of
“bearing witness to events” in his poetry,
maintains this approach in “A Wounded Semah
for July”. He views the tragic events that took
place in Sivas in 1992 through the eyes of poetry.
These poems, which aim to render visible the
deaths caused by the fire, and the feelings,
reactions, pain and drama caused by these
deaths, are as much an expression of “setting
out again at the place where the road ends” as
they are a “witnessing statement” that revolves
again and again round the central theme of
the crime that was committed like the semah,
a religious dance. A Wounded Semah for July
points a finger of accusation at attempts to bury
this tragedy, at hopes that it will be forgotten
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
K Ü R Ş A T B A Ş A R
Kürşat Başar was born in Istanbul in 1963 and graduated from the Department of
Philosophy at Istanbul University in 1985 where he received his MA from the same
department. Since 1981, his essays, articles and interviews have been published in
various newspapers and magazines such as Gösteri, Hürriyet, Yeni Yüzyıl, Güneş,
Akşam, Star, Picus, Nokta, Aktüel and Tempo. His books Konuştuğumuz Gibi Uzaklara
(Far Away as we’ve Agreed, 1990), Sen Olsaydın Yapmazdın Biliyorum (You Wouldn’t
Do it, I Know, 1992), Aşkı Bulmanın ve Korumanın Yolları (Ways to Find and Keep
Love, 1996), Başucumda Müzik( Music by my Bedside, 2003) are novels; Kış İkindisinin
Evinde (In the House of the Winter Afternoon, 1998 - Milliyet Haldun Taner Short Story
Award) is a short story book; İğreti Yaşamlar (Makeshift Lives, 2000) and Çok Güldük
Ağlamayalım (We’ve Laughed Much, Hope we Don’t Cry Now, 2006) are essays; Doğan
Hızlan: Bir Roman Kahramanı (Doğan Hızlan: A Protagonist, 2005) is a biography.
BAŞUCUMDA MÜZİK
MUSIC BY MY BEDSIDE
Colibri, Bulgaria, 2008
440 pages, Novel
Translated by Rozilya Samouilova
ISBN: 9789752893422
everest@alfakitap.com
“If I had been told that I could stop at a
certain moment in my life and stay there
forever, I would have chosen one of two
moments. The first is when I was rocking
in the swing hanging from the branches of
a tree in the garden of my childhood. The
other is the day I first kissed the man I loved
more than anyone in my whole life… Many
strived to write the common language of
falling in love. In fact, it is quite simple: you
are in love if you feel as if you are rocking on
a swing when you kiss someone.”

L A T İ F E T E K İ N
Latife Tekin was born in Kayseri, in 1957. Her family moved to Istanbul in 1966, when
she was nine years old. She completed her studies at Beşiktaş Girls High School, then,
worked briefly at the Istanbul Telephone Company. Her first book, Dear Shameless
Death, was published in 1983. She earned her reputation with this novel, in which she
gives a surrealistic account of Anatolian village life and its people, in a style similar
to that of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. After this first
novel, which is considered as belonging to the genre of magical realism, other works
followed and have been translated into English, German, French, Italian, Persian
and Dutch. Tekin’s variety of style and approach has enabled her to become one of
the most eminent novelists of her generation.
WORKS: Sevgili Arsız Ölüm (Dear Shameless Death), Berci Kristin Çöp Masalları
(Berji Kristin: Tales from the Garbage Hills), Gece Dersleri (Night Lessons) Buzdan
Kılıçlar (Swords of Ice), Aşk İşaretleri (Love Signs), Ormanda Ölüm Yokmuş (No
Death in the Forest), Unutma Bahçesi (Oblivion Garden), Muinar (Muinar), Bir
Yudum Sevgi (A Drop of Love).
Foreign Rights: Buzdan Kılıçlar/Sword of Ice (Marion Boyars, English), (Stock,
French); Berji Kristin Çöp Masalları/Berji Kristin: Tales from the Garbage Hills
(Marion Boyars, English), (Unionsverlag, German), (Stock, French), (Giunti, Itailan)
BUZDAN KILIÇLAR
SWORDS OF ICE
Marion Boyars, UK, 2007, 128 pages, Novel
Translated by Saliha Paker, Mel Kenne
ISBN: 9789752891005
everest@alfakitap.com
“Nobody knows or understands poor people’s souls
better than other poor people’’. Poverty is the only thing
which is as certain and razor-edged as death and for
hundreds of years, poor souls, in order to resist the
pressure of this reality, have been communicating with
each other, by means of signs and a secret language
that rich people can never learn. If they didn’t have this
knowledge of poverty, which is like an impudent frog
in their pockets, fully aware that there is no place for
them in the cruel world of others, how could they bear
to exist in this perpetual state of trepidation, forcing
them to tiptoe their way through life. How could anyone
know this?”
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
L E V E N T M E T E
Mete was born in Izmir in 1958 and, after graduating with a degree in medicine from
Hacettepe Medical School, he specialized in thought, language and concentration
problems in schizophrenia and has won the Turkish Psychiatry Association
Research Award four times. In addition to his works entitled Şizofreni: En Uzak Ülke
(Schizophrenia: the Remotest Land, 1998) and Depresyon: Hüzünden Melankoliye
(Depression: from Sadness to Melancholy, 1999). He has also published the novels
entitled Terapi (Therapy), Rika’nın Beyni (Inside Rika’s Brain), Büyücüler (Sorcerers),
and Aşk Hastalığı (Love-Sickness). Mete acted as stage assistant for the play Albay Kuş
(Colonel Bird) staged at Izmir State Theatre. He is currently the head of the Psychiatric
Clinic at Izmir’s Atatürk Training Hospital.
Foreign Rights: Aşk Hastalığı/Love-Sickness (Steno, Bulgarian), (Fan Noli, Albanian );
Rika’nın Beyninde/Inside Rika’s Brain (Fan Noli, Albanian)
AŞK HASTALIĞI
LOVE-SICKNESS
Steno Publishing House, Bulgaria
232 pages, Novel
Translated by Rüstem Aziz Mümin
ISBN: 9789750707094
international@canyayinlari.com
info@kalemagency.com
A man and a woman who try to make sense
of what has happened to them while being
dragged away by the sudden exuberant
feelings that wrecked their lives. Hesitant
souls who come and go between love,
passion and emotion on the one hand,
and spouse and children, conscience and
reason on the other. Love-Sickness is an
extraordinary novel about uncontrollable
passion, deceiving against all odds, inner
conflicts, and eventually, questioning love
itself. One day the man goes after the eyecatching
woman he has been encountering
on the street for a while. In a few days both
of their lives are turned upside down and
a series of swift events take place around
the main themes of love, eroticism, and
existential worries.

TUHAF BİR KADIN
L E Y L A E R B İ L
Leyla Erbil is one of Turkey’s leading contemporary female writers, author of four
novels and three collections of short stories, a book of essays and a biographical text
about one of the best woman writers in the Turkish language, Tezer Özlü. Educated
in Istanbul, she has worked as a translator. In the 1960s she was involved in the
activities of the Turkish Labor Party, which was the most influential socialist party
at the time. Her stories are usually based on emotional and sociological conflicts of
individuals and their relationship to society. Whether it is a love story or the story
of a family or about the political and social developments of society, she usually
presents contradictory states and situations and motivates the reader to reflect
upon the matter more deeply. One of the author’s main principles is that her works
are not to be nominated for any of the literary contests or for any organizations that
distribute awards.
WORKS: Short Stories: Hallaç (Cotton Fluffer), Gecede (In the Night), Eski Sevgili
(Old Lover). Novels: Tuhaf Bir Kadın (A Strange Woman), Karanlığın Günü (The Day
of Darkness), Mektup Aşkları (Love Letters), Cüce (Dwarf), Üç Başlı Ejderha (The
Three Headed Dragon). Essays: Zihin Kuşları (Mind Birds). Letters: Tezer Özlü’den
Leyla Erbil’e Mektuplar (Letters from Tezer Özlü to Leyla Erbil).
Foreign Rights: Tuhaf Bir Kadın/A Strange Woman (Eine seltsame Frau,
Unionsverlag, German); Karanlığın Günü/The Day of Darknes (Actes-Sud, French)
A STRANGE WOMAN
Unionsverlag, Germany, 2005, 154 pages, Novel
Translated into German by Angelika Gillitz-Acar &
Angelika Hoch
ISBN: 9756287454
www.onkagency.com, www.turkishauthors.com
A Strange Woman is a novel which could
also be read as four short stories which are
independent of each other. The novel had
wide repercussions when it was published
and this has continued throughout the
subsequent decades. The novel was
considered a pioneer, as for the first time
in Turkish literature it was confronting
issues such as virginity, incest and sexual
and physical abuse. A Strange Woman was
published at a time when the word feminism
had not yet entered the Turkish vocabulary
and mindset; hence feminists consider the
novel to be a first of its kind. Leyla Erbil made
important headway in Turkish literature
with the distinctive style and format she
developed in this novel, paving the way for
others to follow.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
M A R İ O L E V İ
Mario Levi was born in 1957, in Istanbul and grew up in Şişli, Feriköy and Kadıköy,
districts of Istanbul, generally inhabited by religious minorities. In 1980, he
graduated from the French and Roman Philology Department at Istanbul University,
determined not to continue with any kind of academic study. He wrote his first short
story in 1975. After 1984, he wrote several articles, predominantly about music, in
newspapers and periodicals such as Şalom, Cumhuriyet, Cumhuriyet Dergi, Stüdyo,
İmge, Gösteri, Milliyet Sanat and Argos. His first book, Jacques Brel: Bir Yalnız Adam
(Jacques Brel: A Lonely Man) was published in 1986, to be followed by his first book
of short stories in 1990. The story, “Bir Şehre Gidememek” (An Inaccessible City) won
the Haldun Taner Award in the same year. In 1993, he started writing a novel, which
would take six years to complete. This novel, entitled İstanbul Bir Masaldı (Istanbul,
a Fairy Tale) won the Yunus Nadi Novel Award in 2000. At present he is a lecturer at
Yeditepe University.
WORKS: Bir Şehre Gidememek (An Inaccessible City), Madam Floridis
Dönmeyebilir (Madam Floridis May Not Return), En Güzel Aşk Hikâyemiz (Our
Exquisite Love Story), İstanbul Bir Masaldı (Istanbul, A Fairy Tale), Lunapark
Kapandı (The Fun Fair Is Closed).
Foreign Rights: İstanbul Bir Masaldı/Istanbul was a Fairytale (Istanbul war ein
Märchen, Suhrkamp, German), (Baldini Castoldi, Italian)
İSTANBUL BİR MASALDI
ISTANBUL WAS A FAIRY TALE
Baldini Castoldi Dalai, Italy, 2007
800 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9752930271
www.kalemagency.com
To be born a foreigner on the “peninsula
closest to the West” of Istanbul was not my
fault... Neither was experiencing Istanbul
like a fairy tale, nor trying to resemble the
people in other books or the heroes of the
stories, plays that have shaped my life...
My Istanbul, at the end of the day, has been
a fairy tale...

M A V İ S E L Y E N E R
Mavisel Yener was born in Ankara in 1962 and graduated from the Faculty of
Dentistry at Ege University. Her short stories, fairy tales, newspaper articles and
critiques have been published since 1978 and she has penned over thirty published
books. She won the Second Prize in the Tömer Fairy Tale Competition in 1999, Third
Prize in the Bu Publishing Humour Stories 2000 competition for her work called
Üşengeç (Couch Potato); in the Bu Publishing Children’s Novel 2001 competition she
won First Prize for her work entitled Kayıp Seslerin İzinde (Trailing Lost Sounds). In
the Tudem Literature Awards, she won the First Prize for her novel Mavi Zamanlar
(The Blue Times) in 2003. In the “Association for Children’s Book Writers” 23rd April
Children’s Poetry Awards, she shared the award with Aytul Akal for their joint work
Mavi Ay (The Blue Moon) in 2004. She is a member of PEN Writers, Literature Union,
Turkish Writers Union, and the Language Association. She still writes for children.
Her first book Mavi Elma (The Blue Apple) was published in 1999. She has had more
than forty children’s books published and children’s plays performed. She has also
worked as a trainer in children’s literature workshops.
Foreign Rights: Mavi Elma/Blue Apple (The Safeer, Egypt); Evinden Kaçan Masal/
The Fairytale That Ran Away From Home (Shtypshkronja Siprint, Kosovo)
EVİNDEN KAÇAN MASAL
THE FAIRYTALE THAT RAN AWAY FROM HOME
Shtypshkronja Siprint, Kosovo
72 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Nehar Şişko
ISBN: 9789752201156
www.maviselyener.com
Did the fairytale get caught after it ran away
from its creator because it did not want
to be like the other fairytales with witches
and giants? What happened when the aged
book met the computer? What about the
adventures of the talking armchair and the
magical socks? Mavisel Yener provides four
beautiful fairytales written in her simple and
entertaining style for children to enjoy. Each
and every child can leaf through the pages
of the book, pick his/her fairytales and delve
deep into a sea of dreams.
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1 1 4
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
M E H M E D N İ Y A Z İ Ö Z D E M İ R
Mehmed Niyazi Özdemir was born in Akyazı, in 1942. He graduated from the
Faculty of Law at Istanbul University in 1967. He completed his doctoral thesis on
Fundamental Rights in Turkish Public Law, at Marlburg, Bonn and Köln Universities
in Germany, where he lived for many years. He has written for Zaman and Tercüman
newspapers in Turkey. He has had his articles published in periodicals such as Ufuk
Çizgisi, Bayrak, Genç Akademi, Türk Yurdu, İnsan and Kainat. He is particularly
well-known for his novel, Mehmed Niyazi. He focuses on national issues in his works
and comments on the social structure of Turkey in his essays.
WORKS: Bayram Hediyesi (Holiday Present), Var Olmak Kavgası (Fight for
Existence), Çağımızın Aşıkları (Lovers of Our Age), İki Dünya Arasında (Between
Two Worlds), Ölüm Daha Güzeldi (Death Was More Beautiful), Yazılamamış
Destanlar (Unwritten Epics), Çanakkale Mahşeri (The Last Judgment in Çanakkale),
Dahiler ve Deliler (The Genius and the Insane).
ÇANAKKALE MAHŞERİ
THE LAST JUDGMENT IN ÇANAKKALE
Nun-r Dooel, Macedonia, 2007
542 pages, Novel
Translated by Seydula Halili
ISBN: 9754372764
otuken@otuken.com.tr
Mehmed Niyazi wrote his novel of the
Dardanelles War, neither in terms of a
place, nor a person. The novel starts with
the first bullet fired and continues the
account of all the fronts, until the end
of the conflict. According to the author,
the historical novel should be faithful
to reality and only, with the express aim
of recreating the atmosphere, should
fictional heroes be used. However,
Mehmed Niyazi had no need to create
fictional heroes, as there were so many
real ones in the Dardanelles War.

M E H M E D U Z U N
Mehmed Uzun (Siverek, 1953-Diyarbakır, 2007) was a multilingual, multicultural writer
who published books in Kurdish, Turkish and Swedish. Mehmed Uzun wrote seven novels
in Kurdish. He was tried for his novel Aşk Gibi Aydınlık Ölüm Gibi Karanlık (As Luminous
As Love, As Dark As Death) and for his collection of essays, Nar Çiçekleri (Pomegranate
Flowers) in spring 2001 and was acquitted. That same year he received the Freedom
of Thought and Expression award from the Turkish Publishers’ Association as well as
Scandinavia’s most important award, the Torngy Segerstedt Pen of Freedom Award for
the literature he produced and his stand for the freedom of expression.
Some of His Works: Ölüm Meleğiyle Randevu (Rendezvous With Angel of Death),
Dicle’nin Sesi I-Dicle’nin Yakarışı (Voice of Tigris I-Entreaty of Tigris), Dicle’nin Sesi
II-Dicle’nin Sürgünleri (Voice of Tigris II-Exiles of Tigris), Kürt Edebiyat Antolojisi
(Anthology of Kurdish Literature), Sen (You), Yaşlı Rind’in Ölümü (The Death of an
Old Rind), Yitik Bir Aşkın Gölgesinde (In The Shadow of a Lost Love), Kader Kuyusu
(The Well of Destiny), Nar Çiçekleri (Pomegranate Flowers), Kürt Edebiyatına Giriş
(An Introduction to Kurdish Literature), Bir Dil Yaratmak (Creating a Language),
Dengbêjlerim (My Dengbêjs), Zincirlenmiş Zamanlar Zincirlenmiş Sözcükler
(Chained Times Chained Words), Abdal’ın Bir Günü (One Day of the Abdal), Ruhun
Gökkuşağı (Rainbow of the Soul), Küllerinden Doğan Dil Ve Roman (A Language
and a Novel Born out of Its Ashes).
Foreign Rights: Aşk Gibi Aydınlık Ölüm Gibi Karanlık/As Luminous As Love, As
Dark As Death (Unionsverlag, German, Switzerland, 1998); Nar Çiçekleri/The
Pomagranate Flowers (Ortfrod, Sweden); Yitik Aşkın Gölgesinde/In the Shadow of
a Lost Love (Ortfrod, Sweden)
DİCLE’NİN SESİ I-DİCLE’NİN YAKARIŞI
VOICE OF TIGRIS I - ENTREATY OF TIGRIS
327 page, Novel
ISBN: 9752732283
ithaki@ithaki.com.tr
Mehmed Uzun takes us back to the ancient
times, to the land of everlasting love and
people from different religions who live in
peace together. Kurds, Yezidis, Assyrians,
Arabs, Jews, Armenians, Turks… Ester
and Biro’s broken, desperate love… Uzun
narrates the story of Mir Bedirhan, who
lives on the Tigris bank of Mesopotamia, his
achievement of taking over the throne when
he was only 16, his exile and death by using
Biro’s words and memory who is passionately
in love with words and considers them as
his palace. Biro is a word hunter. He always
narrates so that people can learn. And for
listeners to be able to narrate these to others.
“You want it, then I will tell. Burn the candle
and listen to the voices of the forgotten
ones.”
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1 1 6
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
M E H M E T A K İ F E R S O Y
Mehmet Akif Ersoy, was born in Istanbul in 1873 and died in the same city in
1936. He studied veterinary science at the university. Although his poems give the
impression of simplicity, due to their reliance on the spoken form of the language,
Mehmet Akif in fact, had an extremely meticulous approach to form. He displayed
his inclination towards a plainer form of language in all his poems. He improved the
expression in the verse, without destroying the natural structure of the language
and tempered the Divan rhythm, thereby illustrating the extensive possibilities of
the Turkish language in poetry writing. Mehmet Akif achieved a personal style in his
works by emphasizing the social identity of language.
WORKS: Safahat (Phases), Süleymaniye Kürsüsünde (On the Pulpit of
Süleymaniye), Hakkın Sesleri (The Sound of God), Fatih Kürsüsünde (On the Pulpit
of Fatih), Hatıralar (Memoirs), Asım, Gölgeler (Shadows).
SAFAHAT
PHASES
Logos-A, Macedonia, 2007
605 pages, Poetry
Translated by Mithat Hoxha
ISBN: 9789752693319
Safahat seems to consist of seven
separate sections. The parts of each
poem in this book, although entire in
themselves, seem also to be completely
separate entities. From this perspective,
Safahat is neither a book of verse stories,
nor a collection of poems, neither
novel, nor some other kind of work. It
is only Safahat. It is specific to itself
and unique; it is a literary work which
expresses Mehmet Akif’s thoughts and
feelings, desires, complaints, anguished
cries, sorrows, joys and ideals. Mehmet
Akif was a poet deeply attached to his
culture and climate; honest, responsible,
sensitive, sincere and full of patriotic
feelings.

M E H M E T C O R A L
Mehmet Coral was born in Izmir, in 1947. He graduated from Izmir Maarif
High School and from the Business Administration and Economy Department
at Amsterdam University. He obtained his Master’s degree from The Hague
International Law Academy. He started writing in the early 1990s, in Istanbul, to
where he had moved after completing his academic studies. In 1999, during the
Balkan people’s literary award, Balkanika, where he represented Turkey, the award
committee decided to support the translation of all his works into Balkan languages.
His books have been translated into English, French, Italian and Greek.
WORKS: Bizans’ta Kayıp Zaman (Lost Time in Byzantine), Konstantiniye’nin Yitik
Günceleri (The Lost Diaries of Constantine), Sonsuz Meltem (Undying Breeze),
Işıkla Yazılsın Sonsuza Adım (Write My Name in Light for Eternity), İzmir - 13 Eylül
1922 (Izmir - September 13, 1922), Zamanın ve Düşüncenin Sınırlarında Uçarken
(Flying on the Borders of Time and Thought), Paslı Güneş (Rusty Sun), Tımarhane
Adası (Mad House Island), Meryem Planı (The Maria Plan).
İZMİR - 13 EYLÜL 1922
IZMIR - SEPTEMBER 13, 1922
Kedros Publishers S.A., Greece, 2006
228 pages, Novel
Translated by Niki Stavrithi
ISBN: 9752931022
dk.rights@dogankitap.com.tr
Mehmet Coral, in İzmir - 13 Eylül 1922
(Izmir - September 13, 1922) makes his
hero recall through hypnosis, the factors
which created the hostility between the
Greeks and the Turks. İzmir - 13 Eylül
1922, through the astral voyage of its
hero, tries to untangle the complex
historical thread, answer questions
dating from the Byzantine period to
the present day that the hero himself
could not understand and shed light
on the strategic tussles played out on
Anatolian soil.
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1 1 8
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
M E H M E T K A R A S U
Mehmet Karasu was born in Antakya (Hatay) in 1950. He graduated from Antakya
High school and then the Department of Turkish Language and Literature in
the Faculty of Literature at Istanbul University. He continues to write for various
magazines.
WORKS: Eserleri: Doğu’ya Açılan Pencere (The Window Opening to the East),
Evvel Zaman İçinde Antakya Masalları (Antakya Fairytales from Ancient Times
- written in collaboration with Nebihe Karasu), Doğa ve Tarih Beldesi Harbiye
(Harbiye- a Place of Nature and History), Bir Tutam Işık (A Ray of Light), Nusayrilik
Alevilik ve Çokkültürlülük (The Nusayri, the Alawites and Multiculturism), Pembe
Yapraklı Utanç Şafak DAPHNE, (Pink Leafed Shame Dawn DAPHNE), Davud el
Antaki Sempozyumu Bildiriler Kitabı (The Proceedings of the Davud el Antaki
Symposium), Antiochos Orontes.
EVVEL ZAMAN İÇİNDE ANTAKYA MASALLARI
ANTAKYA FAIRYTALES FROM ANCIENT TIMES
Dar-ül Haris, Syria, 2009
96 pages, Tales
Translated by Süha Kıyak
ISBN: 9750068734
karasumehmet50@hotmail.com
This work, consisting of a nursery
rhyme and 21 fairytales, was written by
Mehmet Karasu and Nebihe Karasu. The
fairytales were collected from different
neighbourhoods and villages of Antakya.
These fairytales depict the regional
characteristics of Turkish language,
the unique storytelling methods of the
Turkish people, and regional phrases and
idioms. Each fairytale has a message,
either explicit or implicit. One such
message is that to fight that which is evil
and to champion the truth is a virtue.

M E H M E T M U R A T S O M E R
Mehmet Murat Somer was born in Ankara in 1959. He received his BA dagree in
engineering from Middle East Technical University. His career of working at a bank
outlived his career as an engineer. He gives seminars at companies concerning
personal development and is an executive adviser. He wrote scripts for movies and
television series and published essays on classical music in several periodicals. In
his own words, he still “enjoys being a twenty-seven-year old in Istanbul and the
Tropics.” He is the scriptwriter of several movies and TV series. He lives in Istanbul
and Rio de Janerio. His “Hop-Chiki-Yaya” crime series went hit number one on the
bestseller lists immediately after their release and stayed there for months. His new
series Champagne Trilogy (Holding, Podium and Backstage) takes the reader into
the glittering world of Istanbul’s fame, fashion, theatre, financial and publishing
scene where there is no shortage of power games and revenge...
Foreign Rights: Hop-Çiki-Yaya Polisiyeleri, Peygamber Cinayetleri/Hop-Ciki-Yaya
Thrillers, Prophet Murders (UK, France, Greece, Poland, Italy, Germany, Brasil);
Hop-Çiki-Yaya Polisiyeleri, Buse Cinayeti/Hop-Ciki-Yaya Thrillers, Kiss Murder
(USA, UK, France, Greece, Germany, Poland, Spain, Brasil, Italy); Hop-Çiki-Yaya
Polisiyeleri, Jigolo Cinayeti/Hop-Ciki-Yaya Thrillers, Gigolo Murder (USA, Brasil,
Italy, UK, France); Hop-Çiki-Yaya Polisiyeleri, Peruklu Cinayetler/Hop-Ciki-Yaya
Thrillers, Wig Murders (UK, France)
BUSE CİNAYETİ - KISS MURDER
Penguin, USA, 2008, 208 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9944 860 51 2
www.istanbultelifofisi.com, info@istanbultelifofisi.com
One evening Buse comes to see the uncrowned queen of the
night, - and the manager of the club which is the meeting
point and marketplace of vanities. For many years, Buse
holds compromising letters and photos of an old lover,
which she has never used for blackmail, though. As there
are people after her and her apartment got rummaged
through, she feels threatened. The papers she’s hidden
in her blind mother’s apartment. What begins as a small
investigation for a favour and out of curiosity, very quickly
leads into an unpredictable network of gloomy evil, with
different parties tugging at its ends. Powerful interests
seem to be in the game, and when Buse is found murdered
a few days later, it is clear that there are no punches
pulled. Her blind mother disappeared without a trace,
her apartment turned upside down and there is no trace
of the papers… Not only an arch-conservative politician
is involved, also the Mafia claims her wishes briskly and
insistant in an unpleasing way, but the worst is that
the lady boss must realise that even among her closest
confidantes in the club some were bought by the Mafia. In
such a constellation winners are rare, each and everyone
must try to get away unscarred while picking the attractive
flowers along the way
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1 2 0
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
M E H M E T Z A M A N S A Ç L I O Ğ L U
Mehmet Zaman Saçlıoğlu was born in 1955 in Bursa. He graduated from Ankara
College, and then from the School of Applied Fine Arts in 1977 in Istanbul. He worked
as a faculty member in various universities. His two collections of short stories, Yaz
Evi (Summer House) and Beş Ada (Five Islands) are considered as among the best
examples of contemporary short story in Turkey. Rüzgâr Geri Getirirse (If the Wind
Brings It Back, subtitle: Stories with a Threshold), the third collection of his short
stories, was published in 2002. With its visual and textual thresholds, the book is
the first of its kind in contemporary Turkish literature and possibly in the world
literature. Some of his short stories have been translated into German and English.
He won many short story awards such as the Yunus Nadi Award in 1993, the Sait
Faik Story Award in 1994, the Haldun Taner Award in 1998. He also has two books of
poetry, Sarkaç (Pendulum, 2002), and Günden Önce (Before the Day, 1985).
WORKS: Poetry: Günden Önce (Before the Day), Sarkaç (Pendulum); Short Stories:
Yaz Evi (Summer House), Beş Ada (Five Islands), Rüzgâr Geri Getirirse (If the Wind
Brings Back)
RÜZGÂR GERİ GETİRİRSE
IF THE WIND BRINGS BACK
Napkut Kiado, Hungary, 2008
116 pages, Short Story
Translated by Sallai Bence, Sipos Aron,
Szemerics Agnes, Szollossy
ISBN: 9789632630236
onk@onkagency.com
In order to get into the stories in this book,
the reader may have to pass through two
gates.At the beginning of each story are a
graphic statement and a threshold text.
A figure drawn within the usual page
decoration gives the reader the first clue
about the story . Then, a poetic threshold of
no more than two pages greets the reader.
This text contains various reflections
of the story. Readers may opt to read
the book following its original order or
choose to skip and read the threshold texts
separately. Such different readings of the
book can leave the reader with different
feelings each time.

M E L İ H C E V D E T A N D A Y
With his poems, novels, dramas and essays, Melih Cevdet Anday (1915-2002) is
one of the most versatile authors of the 20th century modern Turkish literature. He
graduated from the Faculty of Letters, History and Geography in Ankara. Due to his
work as an official for the state railway, he was unable to continue his studies. Later,
the institution he worked for sent him to Belgium to study sociology. He returned
to Turkey when World War II began and worked as an advisor at the Ministry
of Education, General Directorate of the Press, also as a librarian, journalist,
translator, teacher and freelance author. In 1941, he published a collection of poetry
Garip (Strange), together with Orhan Veli and Oktay Rifat. With this book the three
high school friends started the Garip movement, initiating an era of innovation
in Turkish poetry. Later on, Anday diverged from the Garip movement with his
collection Kolları Bağlı Odysseus (Odysseus Bound, 1963), and became the pioneer of
his own philosophical poetry movement. Anday did not believe that poetry had to be
dominated by emotion rather than reason, nor that it was obliged to serve a socialist
function. He rejected the hegemony of artistic reason. In his works every word and
concept is filtered by reason and logic.
WORKS: Poetry: Rahatı Kaçan Ağaç (The Disturbed Tree), Telgrafhane (The
Telegraph Office), Yanyana (Side by Side), Kolları Bağlı Odysseus (Odysseus Bound),
Göçebe Denizin Üstünde Teknenin Ölümü (Death of a Boat on the Nomadic Sea),
Sözcükler (Words), Ölümsüzlük Ardında Gılgamış (After Immortality: Gilgamish);
Novels: Gizli Emir (Secret Order), Aylaklar (The Futiles), İsa’nın Güncesi (The Diary
of Jesus), Raziye (A Love Triangle); Plays: İçerdekiler (Insiders), Mikado’nun Çöpleri
(Mikado Sticks), Dört Oyun (Four Plays).
Foreign Rights: Yağmurun Altında/Rain One Step Away, (Charioteer Press, USA, 1980)
ÖLÜMSÜZLÜK ARDINDA GILGAMIŞ
AFTER IMMORTALITY: GILGAMISH
Kelag-E Sefid, Iran, 108 pages, Poetry
Translated by Şehram Şeydaiy, ISBN: 9754184046
“The unknown poem, or should I
say unknowable? There is no other
subject so close to my heart and yet
so unknown. I can hear the poem, I
can even see it; it is almost as if I am
touching it. I have experienced this
many times over the years, yet every
time it leaves me feeling so confused.
Throughout all of world history a
poem exists and yet no one can work
out what it is. You try hard, you
struggle a lot, you see how it can make
you happy, you feel as though you are
acquainted, but then it is lost, only to
turn up on another occasion wearing
a different disguise. Lately I have
been much preoccupied with these
thoughts.”
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1 2 2
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
M E L İ K E G Ü N Y Ü Z
Melike Günyüz was born in 1968 in Erzurum. She completed her elementary,
secondary and high school education in Istanbul and graduated from Boğaziçi
University, the Department of Turkish Language and Literature in 1991. She worked
as an English teacher for the Ministry of Education from 1992 to 1994. She received
her master’s degree from Boğaziçi University in 1994 and her doctorate in 2003 from
Istanbul University, the Social Sciences Institute, the Department of Old Turkish
Literature with her dissertation Ahmedî Divanı’nın Tahlili (Analysis of the Ahmedi
Diwan). She has been an editor and publishing director at Erdem Publishing since
1994. She conducts academic research on children’s literature, prepares Turkish
course books for elementary education and writes tales for children. She is married
with two children.
Foreign Rights: Gakgukların Maceraları/The Adventures of GakGuks (Beijing
Yuanliu Classic Culture, China), (Wydawnctwo Uklad Anka, Poland), (Tanany Book
Services, Egypt), (Edition Orient, Germany)
GAKGUKLARIN MACERALARI
THE ADVENTURES OF THE RAVENS
Wydawnctwo Uklad Anka, Poland
16 pages, Children’s Book
Illustrated by Reza Hammetirad
ISBN: 9789755016085
info@erdemyayinlari.com
Books of The Adventures of The Ravens are Şarkıcı Gukki (Gukki The
Singer), Ses Yarışması (Singing Contest), Pamuk Karga (Cotton Raven),
Ay Nereye Kayboldu (Where Has The Moon Gone), Süslü Çikolata
(Decorated Chocolate), Ay Nereye Kayboldu (Gaki The Blue)
The Land of Caws is a place where tiny and cute crows live. These black
crows are adorable characters made up of fingerprints. Gukki the singer,
a baby crow with the voice of a nightingale, is looking for a place where
others will enjoy his songs and accept him. Is there such a place? Gaki
is good friends with their neighbors, the Blue Feathers. But he does not
want to be just a friend of theirs. He wants to be just like them. He even
wants to live with them. Could a Caw be like a Blue Feather? Decorated
Chocolate wants her beak to be just like the beak of a Magpie, so she
decides to have surgery. Could the beak of a Caw be turned into a Magpie
beak? What happens if it can be? How would you like to travel to the
Land of Caws where you can hear the music words played in a simple
and fun style?

M E M D U H Ş E V K E T E S E N D A L
Memduh Şevket Esendal (1886-1952) did not find a wide audience in his lifetime and
was only fully appreciated decades later as one of the first and most creative modern
Turkish short story writers. The stylish, uncluttered Turkish diction he forged 70 years ago
seems to have been written today. Along with Sait Faik, he was responsible for developing
the short story as a genre of Turkish literature and created opportunities for those who
followed him. Many of Memduh Şevket Esendal’s stories were published in journals
during the years 1908-1925. After the establishment of the Turkish Republic he took
an active role in politics, serving as General Secretary of the CHP (Republican People’s
Party) and Turkish Ambassador to various countries. In this period he used the initials
“M.Ş.E.” or pennames for his fiction. An edition of his collected stories was published in
two volumes in 1946, but his entire output was published only after his death. His formal
contribution to short story writing was well ahead of the conception of literature in his
time. An unforgettable collection of modern Turkish short stories could doubtless be
made with a selection from his books Otlakçı (Freeloader, 1983), Mendil Altında (Under
the Handkerchief, 1983), Bizim Nesibe (Our Nesibe, 1985), Gödeli Mehmet (Mehmet from
Göde, 1986) and Güllüce Bağları Yolunda (On the Road to Güllüce, 1992).
AYAŞLI VE KİRACILARI
AYASLI AND HIS TENANTS
Unionsverlag, Switzerland, 2009,
256 pages, Novel
Translated into German by
Carl Koß Nachwort and Monika Carbe
ISBN: 9754940517
bilgi@bilgiyayinevi.com.tr
Memduh Sevket Esendal, in his novel Ayaşlı
and his Tenants, considered to be one of his
most important works, portrays segments
from the everyday lives of nine households
each occupying a flat in a building after
the foundation of the Republic in the city of
Ankara. He narrates the lives of the “little
people” who are struggling with the tremors of
the transition from the collapsed order to the
new society order. He masterfully depicts the
relationships between these people who come
from different educational and occupational
backgrounds with a different outlook on life;
he reflects all the characteristics of the period
in their characters.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
M E T İ N C E N G İ Z
Metin Cengiz was born in Kars in 1953 and finished his elementary through high
school education in Göle, Kars. He studied at Atatürk University in Erzurum and
Marmara University in Istanbul. He was sentenced and jailed for his political views
after the 1980 military coup. He currently teaches French and has worked at various
publishing houses. He has translated French prose and poetry, and written books
on poetry. He participated in the poetic movement “Yenibütün” (New Whole) and
published his first poem in the newspaper Demokrat (1980). He has been published
in journals like Yazko Edebiyat, Varlık, Yeni Düşün and Broy. He has a modern vision
of poetry which nevertheless draws upon the traditional. His main themes are the
reality allowed to humans, the sensory world and fragmentation in modern life. His
poems have been translated into a number of languages including French, English,
German, Spanish, Italian, Bosnian, Russian, Romanian, Arabic, Hebrew, Azeri and
Kurdish.
WORKS: Bir Tufan Sonrası (The Aftermath of a Flood, 1988), Büyük Sevişme
(Great Lovemaking, 1989), Zehrinde Açan Zambak (The Lily that Blooms in its Own
Poison, 1992), İpek’a (To İpek, 1993), Şarkılar Kitabı (Book of Songs, 1995), Gençlik
Çağı (The Age of Youth, 1998), Aşk İlahileri (Love Hymns, 2006), Özgürlük Şiirleri
(Freedom Poems, 2007), Sonsuzluk Çiseler Büyük Sularda (Eternity Drops in Deep
Waters), Bütün Şiirleri I (Complete Poems I).
BİR TUFAN SONRASI VE DİĞER ŞİİRLERİ
AFTER A DELUGE AND OTHER POEMS
L’Harmattan, Fransa, 2006, Poetry
Translated by Metin Cengiz, Gerard Augustin,
ISBN: 2296012183
metcengiz@gmail.com
This book contains Metin Cengiz’s first
poetry book Bir Tufan Sonrası (After a
Deluge), and a translation of selected
poems from his books; Büyük Sevişme
(The Great Lovemaking), Zehirinde Açan
Zambak (The Lily that Blooms in its
Poison), İpek’A (Silk’A), Şarkılar Kitabı
(The Book of Songs) and Gençlik Çağı
(The Age of Youth).

M E T İ N K A Ç A N
Metin Kaçan is one of Turkey’s most eccentric writers. He was born in Kayseri in
November 1961, and came to Istanbul when he was 6 months old. He emerged
onto the literary scene with his short stories which were published in humorous
magazines, after which his first novel, Ağır Roman (Cholera Blues), was published.
He wrote the scenario for Chlore Blues in 1995, and it was adapted for film by
Mustafa Altıoklar in 1997. He also worked together with Kemal Aratan on a comic
book, Going Wherever They Want, about the lives of street children addicted to
sniffing turpentine and glue. The ballet version of Cholera Blues was produced in
December 2002 by the Turkish State Opera and Ballet, and it was also staged as a
play by the Eylül University Theatre Department in Izmir, in January 2003.
Foreign Rights: Ağır Roman/Cholera Blues (Dağyeli Verlag, Germany), (Actes Sud,
France); Fındık Sekiz/Hazelnut 8 (Dağyeli Verlag, Germany)
AĞIR ROMAN
CHOLERA BLUES
Dağyeli Verlag, Germany, 2003
153 pages, Novel
Translated by Michael Hes
ISBN: 9789750702709
international@canyayinlari.com
Gıli Gıli Salih, the protagonist of Metin
Kaçan’s popular novel Cholera Blues,
tries to gain a place for himself in the
world of gangsters, tough guys, whores
and pimps. He falls in love with a whore
named Tina. Her ex-lover spills nitric
acid onto her face in order to take his
revenge, and flees. Gıli goes after him
and when he catches the man he kills
him. This event makes him renowned
among the gangs, but it also signifies
the impossibility of his being a “good
boy” thereafter. One of the most striking
aspects of this novel is its language
use, enriched with Gypsy jargon and
mythical characteristics
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
M E V L A N A C E L A L E D D İ N R U M İ
M A W L A N A J A L A L A D - D I N M U H A M M A D R U M I
Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (known as Rumi in the English speaking
world) was a 13th century Sufi poet who founded the Mevlevi order of Sufism. He was
born in Balkh (now in Afghanistan) in 1207 and died in Konya (in Turkey) in 1278.
Rumi’s father Baha ud-Din Walad, also known as “Sultan of the Scholars” left Balkh
in 1212 and relocated to Anatolia where he was warmly welcomed by Ala’ ud-Din
Key-Qobad and he continued to preach here. Two years later, upon his death, Rumi
replaced his father as the Head of Madrassa. In 1244 Rumi met with the Dervish
Shams from Tabriz who was visiting Konya and it was through this friendship that
Rumi found his true identity and gave himself completely to Sufism and became
a poet. Rumi is now considered to be one of the greatest poets in the world. He
especially had wide spread influence in the Islamic world with his Masnavi (poetic
form) which is considered to be the essence of eastern Islamic culture, and his works
also cultivated the Sufism line of dervish lodge and divan poetry for many centuries.
Comprising of six volumes and around 26 thousand verses, Masnavi is a didactic
masterpiece full of stories, symbols and words of wisdom explaining the ways of
Sufism. His work Divan-i Kebir, where he uses Shams-e Tabrizi as his pseudonym,
contains over 2000 lyric poems and over 1750 rubaiyat (poetic form).
WORKS: Mesnevi-6 Cilt, (The Masnavi-6 Volumes), Divân-ı Kebir (5 Volumes), Fihi
Mâ Fih, Mektuplar (Letters), Rubailer (Rubaiyat), Mecâlis-i Seb’a (to the Council of
Sevens)
MESNEVİ
THE MASNAVI
Janet-45, Bulgaria, 2009
272 pages, Poetry
Translated by Hüseyin Mevsim
ISBN: 9789544915346
Rumi’s Masnavi is widely recognized as
the greatest Sufi poem ever written. The
thirteenth-century Muslim mystic Rumi
composed his work for the benefit of his
disciples in the Sufi order named after him,
better known as the whirling dervishes.
In order to convey his message of divine
love and unity he threaded together
entertaining stories and penetrating
homilies. Drawing on folk tales as well as
sacred history, Rumi’s poem is often funny
as well as spiritually profound.

M E V L A N A İ D R İ S Z E N G İ N
He was born in 1966. He is one of the most prominent writers of Turkish children’s
literature. He graduated from the Faculty of Law, at Istanbul University, in 1989.
His poems, short stories and essays have been published in many journals and
newspapers, such as İkindiyazıları, Diriliş, Dergâh, Albatros, Geniş Zamanlar and
Gerçek. He won the Gökyüzü Publishing House Children’s Literature Award for his
book of poetry, Kuş Renkli Çocukluğum (My Bird-Colored Childhood) and the Turkey
Writers’ Association Children’s Literature Award for Korku Dükkânı (Horror Shop) in
1998. Some of his books have been translated to German, Urdu, Persian and Arabic.
WORKS: Kuş Renkli Çocukluğum (My Bird-Colored Childhood), İyi Geceler Bayım
(Good Night, Sir), Sufi ile Pufi (Sufi and Pufi), Çınçınlı Masal Sokağı (Fairy Tale
Street), Dondurmalı Matematik (Maths with Icecream), Hayâl Dükkânı (Fantasy
Shop), Kirpiler Şapka Giymez (Hedgehogs Don’t Wear Hats), Korku Dükkânı
(Horror Shop), Sinir Dükkânı (Nerve Shop), Tehlikeli Bir Kitap (A Dangerous Book),
Ütüsüz Ayakkabılar (Unironed Shoes), Masal Alan Adam (The Man Who Bought
Fairy Tales), Para Dağıtan Adam (The Man Who Gave Away Money), Profesör
Haşır Huşur (Professor Rustler), Saçları Dökülen Adam (Bald Man), Televizyonları
Bozulan Şehir (The City of Broken Televisions), Tersine Adam (Back-to-Front Man),
Yağmurlu Şehirdeki Adam (The Man in the Rainy City), Uçan Eşek (Flying Donkey),
Vay Canına (Oh, My God).
YAĞMURLU ŞEHİRDEKİ ADAM
THE MAN IN THE RAINING CITY
Edition Lingua Mundi, Germany
20 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Monica Carbe
ISBN: 9759005069
yavuz@kipat.net
There was a man, who was fifty two years old and
who lived in a city plagued by heavy rain. Whenever
it rained that man would go out of his house
and say to whomever he met “I cough while I am
reading my newspaper and I hear the voice of a
deer from deep inside the forest”…
This book tells that even though a person may seem
to be an outcast in society, every human being has
a special value.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
DESTİNA - DESTINA
Editions Metailie, France,
189 pages, Novel
Translated by Valerie Gay-Aksoy
ISBN: 9789750404801
kenan@literatur.com.tr
M İ N E G . K I R I K K A N A T
Mine G. Kırıkkanat, is an Istanbullite born in Ankara. She graduated from Fevzi
Atlioglu Primary School, Notre Damme de Sion Highschool and the Department
of Sociology in the Faculty of Literature at the University of Istanbul. Her writing
career took off as she was the first female writer of satire and humour in Turkey and
she continued her career as Cumhuriyet newspaper’s Spain correspondent, Milliyet
newspaper’s France correspondent and as a columnist for Radikal newspaper.
Currently she works as a columnist for Vatan newspaper. Kırıkkanat is amongst the
foreign correspondents affiliated with TV5Monde channel and continues to hold her
place in the literary world through a number of novels, short stories and essays she
has written.
WORKS: Destina, Amerika Amerika (America America), Paris Paris, PandIspanya
(Sponge cake- travel writings on Spain), Allah Allah Bizim Kontesi Kim Sevdi (God
Knows who loved our Countess), Yalnız Kalem Unutmaz (The Lonely Pen Won’t
Forget), Her Şeye Rağmen (Despite Everything), Bir Gün Gece (One Day Night) ,
Carrissima Sevgilim (Carrissima My Love), The Palace of Flies (Sinek Sarayı), Aşk
Hikayeleri (Love Stories), Good Bad Woman (İyi Kötü Kadın), Gülün Öteki Adı (The
Other Name of Rose).
Mine G. Kırıkkanat portrays a near future that has
not yet taken place in her novel Destina and says
“Everything I wrote in this novel is correct, none of it
is real”. In this near future, Istanbul is ruled by the
Global Governance, and Turks have been assimilated
into the different countries to which they have
migrated. The war between the Cross and the Crescent
(referring to Islam) is over, and it has been replaced by
a war amongst Christian sects. The winner of this war
will depend on whether a descendant of Constantine
the Great, the first Christian emperor of the Roman
Empire who made Constantinople his capital and
gave it to the Christian world, can be found or else
whether he can be destroyed. Three Turkish spies are
appointed for this mission because of their expertise
on the subject and the region. They start this journey
back in time by retracing dreams and find themselves
in the middle of a tough struggle. Destina is the work
of a brilliant imagination, page after page it flows
like scenes from an action film. The reader will hold
their breath and will not be able to put the book down,
and the impact of the book will linger on long after it
has been read… But in the end the truth will always
prevail.

M İ N E S Ö Ğ Ü T
Mine Söğüt was born in 1968 in Istanbul. She graduated from the Latin Language
and Literature Department at Istanbul University and completed her MA in the
same department. In1990, she started working as a reporter for Güneş newspaper.
Subsequently she worked for Tempo and Yeniyüzyıl. In 1993, she received a
commendation for her journalism, from the Türkish Journalists Association. Between
1996 and 2000, she worked as a script writer for the television documentary series,
Haberci (Reporter). Since 2001, she has been working in a voluntary capacity as
editor for the local paper, Cihangir Postası (Cihangir Post).
WORKS: Beş Sevim Apartmanı (Five Sevim Apartment Block), Kırmızı Zaman
(Red Time), Sevgili Doğan Kardeş (Dear Brother Doğan), Adalet Cimcoz-Bir Yaşam
Öyküsü Denemesi (Adalet Cimcoz : A Biography), Şahbaz’ın Harikulade Yılı 1979
(1979: A Magnificent Year for Şahbaz), Aşkın Sonu Cinayettir-Pınar Kür ile Hayat
ve Edebiyat (Love Always End in Murder - Conversations with Pınar Kür on Life and
Literature).
Foreign Rights: Beş Sevim Apartmanı/ Five Apartment Buildings Named Sevim
(Cadmus,Syria), (Ruffel, Germany)
BEŞ SEVİM APARTMANI
FIVE SEVİM APARTMENT BLOCK
Ruffel Verlag, Germany, 2008
130 pages novel
Translated by Sabine Adatepe
ISBN : 9750805488
info@kalemagency.com
The cats in Pürtelaş Street were howling.
Something strange was going on in Five Sevim
Apartment Block. In five rooms, in the five
windowed apartment block, lived five weird
creatures. Those from the elves’ world, those from
the fairies’ world and those from the elf fairies’
world wrote five peculiar stories... Sorry, they wrote
six stories! I forgot to mention the story of Doctor
Samim and his diary. Mine Söğüt, with her first
novel Five Sevim Apartment Block, transports the
reader to a magical world of elves and fairies.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
M İ Y A S E S E R T B A R U T
Miyase Sertbarut was born in Adana. She graduated from the Department of
Turkish Studies at Gazi University. She is a teacher of Turkish Literature. She
writes short stories, novels, fairy tales and radio plays. She started writing radio
plays. She has written many works in different genres. She won the First Prize in
the Tudem Literature Awards with her two long stories Tuna’nın Büyülü Gemisi
(Tuna’s Magic Ship) and Kırmızı Kartal (The Red Eagle) in 2003. These books were
published separately as two books. She won the Second Prize in the Tudem Literature
Awards in 2004 with her novel Sisin Sakladıkları (Hidden in the Haze) and the
Honorary Mention with her work entitled Akvaryumdaki Deniz Kızı (The Mermaid
in the Aquarium). She won the First Prize in the 2006 Tudem Literature Awards
in the category Preteen Novels for her work Kapiland’ın Kobayları (Guinea Pigs of
Kapiland). Her first book, Fasulyem Bulutlara Çıkamaz (My Bean Cannot Climb up to
the Clouds), was published in 1996.
KAPİLAND’IN KOBAYLARI
GUINEA PIGS OF KAPILAND
Önel Verlag, Germany, 2008
124 pages, Children’s Book, Novel
Translated by, Angelika Gillitz-Avar and Angelika Hoch
ISBN: 9789944691260
elif@tudem.com
Scientists from Kapiland and Turkey claim that
children and teenagers’ inclination to violence is
a result of a virus and they develop an anti-virus
syrup. All the children between the ages of seven and
seventeen drink the syrup, which finally decreases
their inclination to violence and increases their
appetite as a side effect. Parents are happy, but
in time they have difficulty in meeting their need
for food and clothing. Kapiland now starts selling
food and clothing to Turkey. Later, however they
learn that food brought from Kapiland is made of
genetically modified organisms. In the meanwhile,
Hayri, a teenager who does not take the medication
but is also not aggressive, observes everyhing

M U R A T G Ü L S O Y
Murat Gülsoy was born in Istanbul, in 1967. He studied engineering and psychology.
At present he lectures on creative writing, in the Department of Western Languages
and Literature, at Boğaziçi University, as well as being the general editor of Boğaziçi
University Press. With a group of friends, he published a periodical called Hayalet
Gemi (Ghost Ship) between 1992 and 2002. He won the Sait Faik Short Story Award
for Steal This Book, in 2001 and the Yunus Nadi Novel Award for his novel, Bu Filmin
Kötü Adamı Benim (I’m the Villain in This Film) in 2004.
WORKS: Oysa Herkes Kendisiyle Meşgul (Whereas Everyone’s Busy with
Themselves), Bu Kitabı Çalın (Steal This Book), Belki de Gerçekten İstiyorsun
(Maybe You Really Want It), Binbir Gece Mektupları (A Thousand and One Night
Letters), Bu Filmin Kötü Adamı Benim (I’m the Villain in This Film), Bu An’ı Daha
Önce Yaşamıştım (Déjà Vu), Büyübozumu:Yaratıcı Yazarlık (Breaking the Spell:
Creative Writing), Sevgilinin Geciken Ölümü (The Belated Death of a Sweetheart),
Kâbuslar (Nightmares), İstanbul’da Bir Merhamet Haftası (A Charity Week in
Istanbul).
BU KİTABI ÇALIN - STEAL THIS BOOK
Literaturca Verlag, Germany, 2007
189 pages, Novel
Translated by Beatrix Caner
ISBN: 9789758440726
www.kalemagency.com
Murat Gülsoy’s second book, Bu
Kitabı Çalın (Steal This Book)
conveys a feeling of unity throughout,
although it does consist of seemingly
independent stories. Murat Gülsoy’s
short stories do not have the stillness
of contemporary story telling, quite
the contrary, they are based on
events. Gülsoy, assuming that the
border between reality and fiction is
completely blurred and that fiction
has filtered into every corner of life,
forces back the boundaries of fiction,
expecting the reader to interact with
the story. In many of his stories,
reality and fiction do indeed, evanesce
into each other, since by playing
around with the plot, he continually
surprises the reader, as the narrative
alternates between reality, the surreal
and the fantastic.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
M U R A T T U N C E L
Murat Tuncel was born in Kars-Hanak in 1952. He graduated from the Turkish
Department of the Atatürk Faculty of Education at the Marmara University in
Istanbul. His short stories and works are published in various literary journals
in Turkey. His first book Dargın Değilim Yaşama (I’m not Angry with Life) was
published in 1981. He currently lives in Holland and teaches Turkish language and
Literature at the Rotterdam Conservatory. Many of his short stories are published
in both Turkish and Dutch anthologies, and some in Russian and Polish. His novel
on a Hungarian’s life, Üçüncü Ölüm (The Third Death) has been adapted into a film
script and was awarded the Novel Prize of the “Halkevleri Culture and Art Contest” in
1997. He won the “Orhan Kemal Short Stories Award” in 2000 with his short stories
Gölge Kız (The Shadow Girl). His novelks are Dargın Değilim Yaşama (I’m not Cross
with Life), Mengelez, Güneşsiz Dünya (Sunless World), Beyoğlu Çığlıkları (Beyoğlu
Screams), Hollandaca (Dutch), Üçüncü Ölüm (Third Death), Yarımağız Anılar (Half-
Hearted Memoirs) and İnanna.
Foreign Rights: İnanna (Al Takwa, Syria), (Asia Publishing House, Korea); Maviydi
Adalet Sarayı/Court of Justise was Blue (3C, The Netherlands)
INANNA
Al-Taakwin Hause Publisher, Syria, 2007
240 pages, Novel
Translated into Arabic by Abdul Kadir Abdelli
ISBN: 975 434 324 1
varlık@varlık.com.tr, www.kalemagecy.com
The individual stories - separately but
enmeshed in each other - of an “Doğu
Devşirmesi” (Eastern Devshirme) taken
away from his mother at an early age
and raised in Janissary garnisons, and
the “Küçük Bey” (Little Chief) who was
banished by his feudal father because
he wanted to take an Armenian woman
as a second wife, intersect in İnanna,
a woman representing the goddess of
love. The search for identity and love
by these two protagonists is nourished
with Anatolian myths that reveal much
about the history and the Ottoman
customs and traditions.

M U R A T U Y U R K U L A K
Murat Uyurkulak was born in 1972 in Aydın. A university dropout, Uyurkulak worked
as a waiter, technician, translator, journalist and publisher. His first novel Tol: Bir
İntikam Romanı (Tol: A Revenge Novel) was published in 2002. It was received with
wide critical acclaim, immediately establishing him as a new and powerful voice in
contemporary Turkish literature. Tol was adapted for the theater and has enjoyed a
long and successful run. It is currently being translated to German to be published
by Unionsverlag in 2008 and also to Bulgarian. His second novel Har: Bir Kıyamet
Romanı (Har: An Apocalyptic Novel) was published in 2006.
Foreign Rights: Tol: Bir İntikam Romanı/Tol: A Revenge Novel (Unionsverlag,
Switzerland, German), (Balkani, Bulgaria), (Galaade, France, 2010); Har: Bir
Kıyamet Romanı/Har: An Apolcalyptic Novel (Balkani, Bulgaria), (Galata, Germany,
2010)
TOL: BİR İNTİKAM ROMANI
TOL: A REVENGE NOVEL
Unions Verlag, Germany, 264 pages, Novel
Translated by Gerhard Meier
ISBN: 9789753423721
rights@metisbooks.com
The long train journey of two
“defeated and exhausted” characters,
once targets of the sweeping rage
of the state and thus both marked
with the brutal side of the country’s
recent history. The Poet, a ‘68 political
activist, and Yusuf, a red diaper child
of the coup d’état, embark on an
intoxicated and tormenting process of
settling accounts with history, society
and themselves. Meanwhile outside
the train, all over the country, bombs
are set off by an “unknown power”,
destroying the most prominent
official institutions and buildings that
represent big money, state terrorism
and oppression. When The Poet
and Yusuf arrive at the last station,
they step out onto a land where “the
revolution is once again probable”.
In a fascinating move, this “revenge
novel” extends its vengeance on to the
language itself, creatively destroying
laws of syntax, semantics and
vocabulary.
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1 3 4
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
M U R A T H A N M U N G A N
Murathan Mungan (b. 1955, İstanbul) spent his early youth in Mardin. He holds an
MA degree in drama from Ankara University and has worked for the State Theater
as a dramaturge. One of the most prominent and prolific contemporary writers of
Turkey, he has published poetry, short stories, plays, novels, screenplays, radio plays,
essays, film and theater criticism, and political columns. He has over fifteen poetry
books, among them Osmanlıya Dair Hikâyat (Stories on the Ottomans, 1981), Metal
(1994) and Yaz Geçer (Summer Too Passes, 1992) which has attained the status of
a cult book. A selection of his poems were translated and published in Kurdish as Li
Rojhilatê Dilê Min (In the East of my Heart, 1996). Mungan’s trilogy of plays, “The
Mesopotamian Trilogy” has enjoyed successful theater runs across Turkey and in
various countries. Other books by him include his semi-autobiographical narrative
Paranın Cinleri (Money Djinns), novella Çador (Chador) and best-selling novel
Yüksek Topuklar (High Heels). His latest book is Kadından Kentler (Cities of Women,
2008), a best-selling book of short stories.
Foreign Rights: Çador (Chador Tchador, Actes Sud, France), (Kastaniotis, Greece),
(Giunti, Italy); (Blumenbar, Germany); (Giunti, Italy); Paranın Cinleri/Money
Djinns (Scripta, Greece), (Giunti, Italy); Kırk Oda/Forty Rooms (Exandas, Greece);
Üç Aynalı Kırk Oda/Forty Rooms with Three Mirors (Quarante chambres aux trois
miroirs, Actes Sud, France); Son İstanbul/The Last Istanbul (Exandas, Greece);
Geyikler Lanetler/Deer Curses (Exandas, Greece); Kadından Kentler/Cities of
Women (Blumenbar, Germany)
KADINDAN KENTLER - CITIES OF WOMEN
Blumenbar, Germany
266 pages, Short Story
ISBN: 9789753426657
rights@metisbooks.com
This book brings together 16 stories
taking place in 16 different cities
in Turkey, each telling about the
confrontation of two women confined
or cornered by their conditions. Each
story brings a close look at women
from different social strata, shedding
light on Turkey’s transformations
through the identity of women and
cities. “I tried to construct a structure
progressing with moments between
geography and identities,” says
Mungan. An immediate bestseller,
Cities of Women reads like a novel, with
its vivid characters and subtle details.

M U S T A F A K U T L U
Mustafa Kutlu was born in Erzincan, in 1947. He graduated from the Turkish
Language and Literature Department at Erzurum Atatürk University. After working
as a literature teacher for some time, he started working at Dergah publications. He
made his first appearance on the literary stage, with several articles published in
the periodical, Fikir ve Sanatta Hareket. From 1990 onwards, in addition to Dergâh,
where he became editor, he has had his short stories and articles published in many
other journals many other journals. He has also written scripts for movies and for
television.
WORKS: Ortadaki Adam (Man in the Middle), Gönül İşi (Affair of the Heart), Yokuşa
Akan Sular (Upstream), Yoksulluk İçimizde (Poverty Is Within Us), Ya Tahammül
Ya Sefer (Either Be Patient or Leave), Bu Böyledir (This Is How It Is), Sır (Secret),
Arka Kapak Yazıları (Back Cover Writings), Hüzün ve Tesadüf (Melancholy and
Coincidence), Uzun Hikaye (Long Story), Beyhude Ömrüm (My Wasted Life), Mavi
Kuş (Blue Bird), Tufandan Önce (Before the Storm), Rüzgarlı Pazar (Windy Sunday),
Şehir Mektupları (Letters from the City), Akasya ve Mandolin (Acacia and the
Mandolin), Yoksulluk Kitabı (The Book of Poverty).
Foreign Rights: Yıldız Tozu/Stardust (Sternenstaub, Önel Verlag, Germany);
(Ka Powder, MultiMedia Affairs, Pakistan); Mavi Kuş/Blue Bird (Honar Rasaneh
Ordibehest, Iran)
YILDIZ TOZU - STARDUST
Önel Verlag, Germany, 2007, 64 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Sabine Adatepe
ISBN: 9789755014159
melike@erdemyayinlari.com, info@erdemyayinlari.com
This story, set in a small town, portrays a child
facing the loss of his brother. On a clear summer
night, Kenan and his brother are lying on their
backs on the roof of their house, gazing at the
stars. They each choose a star to call their own.
Kenan’s brother tells him about stars and says
that when a star falls, the owner of that star dies.
Kenan becomes upset. One day their uncle arrives
from Germany. Now Kenan’s brother has a bicycle.
He loves his bicycle so much that he does not even
let Kenan go near it. Kenan begs and pleads,
but his brother refuses to share his bicycle. One
morning, there is a loud knock on their door. It is
Abdurrahman, a close friend of Kenan’s brother.
He says that Kenan has fallen off the shoulder of
the road with the bicycle, while everyone thought
that Kenan was at home. The brother feels
responsible for the accident. On the roof of their
house, he gazes at the stars, this time without
Kenan. He sees a falling star; it is Kenan’s star and
he runs as fast as he can to catch it..
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1 3 6
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
DÜNYAYA GÜLEN ADAM
M U S T A F A R U H İ Ş İ R İ N
THE MAN WHO LAUGHED AT THE WORLD
Safeer Publishing Company, 83 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Sabri Hamm
ISBN: 978754992489
kokbilgi@kokyayincilik.com.tr
Mustafa Ruhi Şirin was born in 1955 in Trabzon. He graduated from the School of
Journalism and Public Relations, the Department of Radio and Television in 1978.
He began working at TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation) in 1977. He
established the Children’s Foundation in 1990. During the 2007-2008 academic
year he taught children’s literature at Marmara University. He has served as a
member of juries, consulting boards, commissions and as a negotiator for the
Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education, State Planning Agency, the Turkish
Republic Government’s Ten Year Program on Human Rights, Ministry of Justice and
for universities. He was the spokesperson for the civil society organizations during
the Habitat II process in Turkey. He administered service, education and research
projects for children on city and national levels. He also served as a spokesperson
for the Turkish Action Group during the campaign “Say ‘Yes’ for Children” under
coordination of UNICEF in 2001. He prepared the First Istanbul Children’s Assembly
project organized in 2000 by the Istanbul Governorship, served as its general
coordinator and wrote the Istanbul Children Emergency Action Plan which is the
first city-scale text of social politics. He was one of the founding members of the The
Turkish Coalition of Children’s Rights in 2001 and has served as a spokesperson for
the coalition.
Foreign Rights: Aslan Kuş/The Lion Bird (Yalda Ghalam Publishing House, Iran);
Kuş Ağacı/The Bird Tree (Yalda Ghalam
Publishing House, Iran); Bülbül ile Leylek/
The Nightingale and the Stork (Yalda
Ghalam Publishing House, Iran); Dünyaya
Gülen Adam/The Man Who Laughed At The
World (Safeer Publishing, Egypt); Guguklu
Saatin Kumrusu/The Dove of Cuckoo Clock
(Önel Verlag, Germany)
The writer’s man who laughed at the World
is the folk hero of Anatolia, Nasreddin Hodja.
Nasreddin Hodja is friends with people of
any age. We get to know him as a small child.
As soon as we hear his name, we are ready
to laugh. However, rather than to make us
laugh, his purpose is to put us on the right
path which he does with much tact and
beauty. He makes us see our contradictions
through the mirror he holds for us. He is a
Wiseman. A Wiseman, who always knows
how to laugh at the world. In this book, he
tells his own anecdotes to children. As if he
was joking with the children.

M U Z A F F E R İ Z G Ü
Muzaffer İzgü was born in 1933 in Adana. His childhood was spent in poverty. As he
completed his education, he washed dishes, waited tables and sold sodas in movie
theaters. He graduated from the Diyarbakır School for Teachers. He worked as an
elementary school teacher for many years before becoming a Turkish teacher in
secondary schools. He settled in İzmir after retiring. One of the most productive
authors in Turkish literature, he has written one hundred and thirteen books, sixty
eight of which are for children, published by Bilgi Publishing. He received the second
place award in Turkey’s Most Successful Children’s Books competition held by
TÖMER (Turkish and Foreign Languages Research and Application Centre) in 1997.
EKMEK PARASI
DAILY BREAD
Onel Verlag, Germany, 2008
136 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Yüksel Pazarkaya
ISBN: 9754943389
bilgi@bilgiyayinevi.com.tr
ozlem@bilgiyayinevi.com.tr
The hardships a boy goes through to
earn his daily bread, the difficulties he
endures, hungry nights and cold winter
days with little clothing. With an
enduring love of life and for people. This
novel is the story of Muzaffer İzgü’s
own childhood. When you read it, you
will realize why the author loves
children so much.
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1 3 8
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
CEMRE
M Ü G E İ P L İ K Ç İ
HARBINGER
Müge İplikçi was born in Istanbul. She graduated from Istanbul University English
Language and Literature Studies Department. After her master’s degrees at Istanbul
University and at The Ohio State University, she worked as a teacher and lecturer
in a wide range of institutions including Kadıköy Girls High School and Istanbul
Bilgi University. She became famous initially with her stories. She has had four story
books published: Perende (Somersault, 1998), Columbus’un Kadınları (Columbus´
Women, 2000), Arkası Yarın (To Be Continued Tomorrow, 2001), Transit Yolcular
(Transit Passengers, 2002). Apart from her novels Kül ve Yel (Ashes, and the Wind,
2004) and Cemre (Harbinger, 2006) and Kafdağı (The Kaf Mountain, 2008), she
has also had two research studies, Yıkık Kentli Kadınlar (Woman of a Devastated
City) and Cımbızın Çektikleri (Plucked by Tweezers, together with Ümran Kartal)
published. Müge İplikçi recounts modern situations and portrays present day people
in a postmodern creative style. She focuses on human relationships and on the
position of women in these relationships. In almost all her writings, she emphasizes
the role of women and the so-called halo, ever so ludicrous, over their heads. Her
works have been translated into many languages.
Foreign Rights: Cemre/Harbinger (FanNoli, Albania), (Cadmus, Syria)
Fan Noli, Albania, 2009
130 pages, Novel
Translated by Jimi Lazri
ISBN: 9789752894723
www.kalemagency.com
Cemre is the story of women who stand
their ground against the brutality of the
world and they never give up questioning
why. Three generations: 1960s, 1980s and
2000s. They survive two significant political
earthquakes. The resonances these big jolts
cause in the lives and souls of these women…
With this book Iplikçi successfully brings to
light the corners of the female world that
remain hidden under the shadows. Yıldız,
Nimet, Hülya, Cemre and others. They are
our faces, our souls… “From the outside, the
world looked huge, and heavy. She had a
growing voice which swallowed life. Nimet
was the world that was spinning in the void.
From the outside, she took a glance and
she could make out the void, Nimet, I, was
astonished at her own speed. I saw Nimet
many times from the outside. That Nimet’s
brother threw large stones at Nimet. Nimet
never said a word. Her brother kept on
hitting Nimet with his belt covered in dust.
Nimet’s mother’s headscarf was covered in
the way…”

N A B İ Z Â D E N Â Z I M
Nabizâde Nâzim, one of the 19th century novelists, was born in Istanbul in 1893.
He studied at Besiktas Military Secondary School and High school. He graduated
from the Military Academy In 1886 and became a staff major. In his early years in
the army, he taught mathematics and military studies. He was then posted to the
general staff office, and worked in Syria for two years. He returned to Istanbul,
suffered from illness during the course of one year and he died in 1893 from bone
tuberculosis. He featured in several editorials with his poems and scientific articles
between 1880-1889 and he was also one of the first writers of Servet-i Fünun
magazine which was launched in 1891. Nabizâde Nâzım was one of the earliest
representatives of realism in Turkish Literature with his first full length story
Karabibik, which was based on a story taken from the villages of Antalya and his
novel Zehra, which portrayed a Turkish family living in Istanbul.
WORKS: Novels and Stories: Yadigârlarım (My Relics), Zavallı Kız (The Poor Girl),
Bir Hâtıra (A Memory), Karabibik, Sevdâ (Love), Hâlâ Güzel (Still as Beautiful),
Haspa (The Minx), Seyyie-i Tesâmüh (The Malignancy of Tolerance), Zehra.
KARABİBİK
KARABIBIK
Manzara Verlag, Germany
48 pages, Novel
Translated by Patrick Bartsch
ISBN: 97590880100
Karabibik depicts the story of a
village and is the first example of the
realist literary movement in Turkish
literature. Karabibik is a work which
takes a realistic look at an Anatolian
village and portrays the village and
the everyday living of the peasants
and their problems. The protagonist is
Karabibik and the novella depicts his
struggle with the land and his survival.
A few days in the life of Karabibik
are described through his physical
conditions as well as his mental well
being.
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1 4 0
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
N A L A N B A R B A R O S O Ğ L U
Nalan Barbarasoğlu was born in Adapazarı in 1961. She graduated from the
Department of Systematic Philosophy and Logic in the Faculty of Literature at the
University of Istanbul in 1982. She continues her career as a script writer and editor.
Her first article introducing Thomas Kuhn’s book which discussed the concept of
paradigm was published in Yazko Philosophy. She also wrote for Yazko Somut. She
started writing short stories in 1980s. Her first story was published in Argos. After
the stories published in Nar and Adam Öykü magazines, she published her first book
of short stories Ne Kadar da Güzeldir Gitmek (How Nice It Is To Go, 1996) containing
ten short stories. She wrote articles in Adam Öykü magazine and Radikal newspaper
on short story books. She is currently the editor in chief for Eşik Cini literary culture
magazine.
WORKS: Ne Kadar Da Güzeldir Gitmek (How Nice It Is To Go), Ayçiçekleri
(Sunflowers), Her Ses Bir Ezgi (Each Voice a Melody), Gümüş Gece (The Silver
Night).
GÜMÜŞ GECE
THE SILVER NIGHT
Dağyeli Verlag, Germany, 2008
129 pages, Short Story
Translated by Helga Dağyeli, Bohne ve Yıldırım Dağyeli
ISBN: 9756363428
alkım@alkım.com.tr
It is night time. We talk in whispers and
fate blends into life with fragile letters.
In the shadows, the sounds and colours
of the day multiply and grow. The day
obscures the moonlight and covers us
up like a net. It is at night time when we
rebel against our prescribed lives, it is at
night time when our fates can change.
Beginnings and endings are reshaped.
Life undergoes a change in the mirror of
the night: it is silver.

N Â M I K K E M A L
Nâmık Kemal, a poet of the Tanzimat (Ottoman reform movement) era, was born in
Tekirdağ in 1840. The poet spent his childhood in Kars and Sofia, and became a clerk at
the Interpretation Chamber after he came to Istanbul in 1857. He met with Şinasi, the
publisher of Tasvir-i Efkar newspaper and started writing for the paper. When Şinasi had
to leave for Paris, he started publishing the newspaper himself, but later had to escape
with Ziya Pasha to Paris after the Young Ottomans fighting against despotism were
declared exiled. In London he published Hürriyet newspaper with Ziya Pasha. When he
returned to Istanbul, he started publishing Ibret newspaper, and after a while he was sent
to Gelibolu as a Governor. After he was dismissed he returned to Istanbul, and staged his
play Vatan Yahut Silistre (Fatherland or Silistria) which caused a stir and he was exiled
to Famagusta dungeon in Cyprus. He was then pardoned and appointed as Governor to
Rhodos and Chios islands. Nâmık Kemal, known as the poet of liberty, became one of the
most distinguished poets and artists of the Tanzimat reform era with his works which had
repercussions across almost every genre of literature. He passed away in 1888.
WORKS: Plays: Vatan Yahut Silistre (Fatherland or Silistria), Zavallı Çocuk (The Poor
Child), Gülnihal, Celaleddin Harzemşah, Karabela; Novels: İntibah (Awakening), Cezmi;
History and Biographical Works: Kanije, Silistire Muhasarası (Battle of Silistria),
Osmanlı Tarihi (Ottoman History), Büyük İslam Tarihi (The Big History of Islam),
Yavuz Sultan Selim (Selim the Grim), Critical Writings: Tahrib-i Harabat (in response
to Ziya Pasha’s anthology Harabat), Takib (Second volume of Tahrib-i Harabat), Renan
Müdafanamesi (The Defence against Renan).
Foreign Rights: Vatan Yahut Silistre/Fatherland or Silistra (Inner Mongolian Cultural
Publishing House, China); İntibah/Awakening
(Inner Mongolian Cultural Publishing House,
China)
Awakening is one of the first novels marking the
history of Turkish literature, it portrays the dangers
of the extravagance, prodigality and ignorance of life
characteristic of the rich kids from the Intibah era in which
the author lived as well as depicting the ways in which
corrupt, deceitful femme fatales collaborate with certain
criminal organisations to poison the lives of innocent
people. The novel also deals with the historical
facts of the era and the novelist seems to
take a particular interest in some of the
İNTİBAH - AWAKENING
protagonists. The reader will feel as though
Inner Mongolian Cultural, China, 158 pages, Novel Mehpeyker, Dilaşup, and even Sergüzeşt-i Bey
still continue to live amongst us and will learn
Translated by Zhang Shi Ming
a lesson from their experiences.
ISBN: 9756841966
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1 4 2
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
N A Z A N B E K İ R O Ğ L U
Nazan Bekiroğlu was born in Trabzon in 1957. She gained a degree in Turkish
Language and Literature at Atatürk University in the Faculty of Arts and
subsequently worked as a high school teacher for four years. Upon completing her
doctorate in 1985, she entered the Department of Turkish Language and Literature
as a tutor in Karadeniz Technical University’s Faculty of Education. She became an
associate professor in 1995 with a thesis on the poet Nigar Hanım. She continues to
teach as a full professor. Bekiroğlu, who has written numerous scientific articles,
essays, and short stories for various periodicals, has also published collections of
short stories and a variety of research studies. Her first novel, İsimle Ateş Arasında
(In Between Name and Fire) was published in 2002.
WORKS: Mavi Lale (The Blue Tulip), Cam Irmağı Taş Gemi-Eski Mısırdan Aşk
Hikayeleri (Glass River Stone Boat-Love Stories from Ancient Egypt), Yusuf ve
Züleyha: Kalbin Üzerinde Titreyen Hüzün (Yusuf and Zuleyha:A Love Classic),
Cümle Kapısı (The Gateway)
İSİMLE ATEŞ ARASINDA
IN BETWEEN NAME AND FIRE
TPG, UK, 2009, 304 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9753627181
info@timaspublishing.com
In her novel In Between Name and Fire, Nazan
Bekiroğlu questions both official history and
the status of love in gender relationships as
she tells a story of the final days and eventual
annihilation of the Janissary Corps. Bekiroğlu
has composed a poetic narrative using “old”
Turkish. “Chronology is transgressed” in this
story, as topics and the narrator’s identity often
change. At times it is a janissary who speaks,
representing various eras in the history of the
corps; at times it is the tale of a devshirme’s
recruitment. Bekiroğlu has drawn history from
the voice of the oppressed. Consequently, we
witness the enslavement of janissaries, the
abduction of young children to the ranks of the
Sultan before they have left the laps of their
mothers, learned their mother tongues, lived
their childhood.

N Â Z I M H İ K M E T
Nâzım Hikmet Ran was born in 1901 in Salonica and died in 1963 in Moscow. He
is an internationally acclaimed Turkish poet. He attended the Naval Academy
in Istanbul for five years but had to leave due to poor health. Influenced by his
grandfather, he started to write poetry in high school and would soon be be known
among poets of the syllabist movement “Hececi Şairler” as a young voice. In 1920,
the Alemdar newspaper organised a contest where the jury consisted of famous poets
and Nâzım was selected for the award. Between 1925 and 1951 he was in and out of
jail several times and upon his release under the 1950 amnesty, he left the country
and spent the rest of his life in exile. He was a member of the Communist Party of
Turkey (TKP) and died in exile in Moscow. He wrote numerous plays and novels as
well as a vast corpus of lyric and epic poetry. He wrote a series of poems collected in
five volumes under the title Memleketimden İnsan Manzaraları (Human Landscapes
from My Country). His works have been translated into all major languages.
Foreign Rights: Memleketimden İnsan Manzaraları/Human Landscapes from My
Country (New York Persea Books, English), (Gallimard, French), (Uitgeverij De
geus, Dutch); Seçme Şiirler/Selected Poems (Anvil Press Poetry, English), (French),
Biyografi ve Şiirler/Biography and Poems (Editions Turquise, French); Şeyh
Bedrettin Destanı/The Epic of Sheikh Bedrettin (Uitgeverij Douane, Dutch)
MEMLEKETİMDEN İNSAN MANZARALARI
HUMAN LANDSCAPES FROM MY COUNTRY
New York Persea Books, USA, 544 pages, Poetry
Translated by Randy Blasing,
Mutlu Konuk, Edward Hirsch
ISBN: 9789750803779
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr, yky@ykykultur.com.tr
Despite writing his first poems in syllabic
meter, Nâzım Hikmet distinguished
himself from the “syllabic poets” in
concept. With the development of his
poetic conception, the narrow forms of
syllabic verse were not able to satisfy his
needs anymore. Breaking the boundaries
of the syllabic meter, he changed his
form and preferred writing in free verse
which harmonized with the rich vocal
properties of the Turkish language.
Nâzım has been compared by Turkish
and non-Turkish men of letters to figures
such as Lorca, Aragon, Mayakovsky,
and Neruda. Although his work bears
a resemblance to these poets and owes
them occasional debts of form and
stylistic device, his literary personality is
unique in terms of the synthesis he made
of iconoclasms and lyricism, of ideology
and poetic diction
1 4 3

1 4 4
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
N A Z L I E R A Y
Nazlı Eray was born in Ankara, in 1945. After graduating from Istanbul Arnavutköy
American High School for Girls, she studied at the Faculty of Law and in the
Philosophy Department at Istanbul University. She did not complete her studies
and worked as a translator at the Ministry of Tourism, between 1965 and 1968.
She started writing stories during her high school years. She was visiting lecturer
at Iowa University, for one term in 1977. She is an honorable member of the USA
International Pen Association.
WORKS: Ah Bayım Ah (Alas, Sir, Alas), Geceyi Tanıdım (I Met the Night), Hazır
Dünya (Ready Made World), Eski Gece Parçaları (Old Night Songs), Yoldan Geçen
Öyküler (Stories Walking in the Street), Aşk Artık Burada Oturmuyor (Love Doesn’t
Live Here Anymore), Kuş Kafesindeki Tenor (Tenor in the Bird Cage), Elyazması
Rüyalar (Manuscript Dreams), Aşkı Giyinen Adam (The Man Dressed in Love),
Arzu Sapağı’nda İnecek Var (Let Me off at the Desire Detour), Kız Öpme Kuyruğu
(Girl Kissing Queue), Aşık Papağan Barı I-II (The Lovestruck Parrot Bar I -II), Farklı
Rüyalar Sokağı (Street of Disparate Dreams), İmparator Çay Bahçesi (The Emperor
Tea Garden), Kapıyı Vurmadan Gir (Come in Without Knocking), Sis Kelebekleri
(Fog Butterflies), Uyku İstasyonu (Sleep Station), Ay Falcısı (Lunar Soothsayer),
Deniz Kenarında Pazartesi (Seaside Monday), Düş İşleri Bülteni (Dream Works
Bulletin), Ekmek Arası Rüya (Sandwich Dreams), Örümceğin Kitabı (The Spider
Book), Yıldızlar Mektup Yazar (Stars Write Letters), Orpheus.
ORPHEUS
The University of Texas, USA, 2006
114 pages, Novel
Translated by Robert Finn
ISBN: 9780292714090
nazlieray@hotmail.com
This book introduces the legend of
Orpheus to its readers, re-written from
Eurydice’s perspective. The novel, with its
allusions to the film, Last Tango in Paris,
relates a mysterious, irony-tinged story.

N E C A T İ T O S U N E R
Necati Tosuner was born in 1944. He became disabled at the age of four. His
first short story was published in 1963 and he graduated from Pertevniyal High
School in Istanbul in 1966. He worked at the Press Advertising Council and then
lived in Germany for some years. Necati Tosuner writes stories naturalistic
about painful emotions, frustrations and depressive inner worlds. He is adept at
depicting the complexities of inner life in a plain, economical diction. His stories
are often very short. Their apparent simplicity belies a masterful craftsmanship.
He has constructed a smooth diction of short sentences in which the connotations
and associations of single words carry the meaning of a whole sentence. Necati
Tosuner’s style can be compared with that of Sait Faik or Orhan Kemal. His works
are reminiscent of the great masters of contemporary Turkish story writing while
interwoven with a profoundly personal originality and flair. His diction is his most
widely noted feature of his high-quality stories and novels.
WORKS: Short Stories: Özgürlük Masalı (Freedom Tale), Çıkmazda (In the Deadlock),
Kambur (Hunchbacked), Sisli (Foggy), Necati Tosuner Sokağı/Necati Tosuner
Street, Çılgınsı (Loony), Bir Tutkunun Dile Getirilme Biçimi (The Way a Passion is
Articulated), Güneş Giderken (While the Sun was Going), Yakamoz Avına Çıkmak
(Going out Seasparkle Hunting). Novels: Sancı.. Sancı... (Ache.. Ache.., 1978 Türk Dil
Kurumu Novel Prize), Yalnızlıktan Devren Kiralık (Rent from the Solitude), Bana Sen
Söyle (You Tell Me). Essays: Elde Kitap (Book in the Hand). Children’s Book: Keleş
Osman Evden Kaçıyor (Bald Osman is Running away from Home), Keleş Osman’ın
“Tarih”le Başı Dertte (Bald Osman is in Trouble with ‘History’), Dayım Balon Olmuş
(My Uncle Became a Balloon). Play: Fareli Sokağın Kızı (The Girl of Mouse Street)
SHORT STORY COLLECTION
Sardes Verlag, Germany, 2008
164 pages, Short Story
Translated by Yüksel Pazarkaya
ISBN: 9783941025028
kanatktp@gmail.com
www.kanatkitap.com
His stories based on personal observation
are some of the best in the Turkish
language. He created an authentic style
with autonomous, transparent language
and short sentences. His rich, sensitive
narratives make him one of the most
powerful masters of the contemporary
Turkish short story.
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1 4 6
B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
N E C İ P F A Z I L K I S A K Ü R E K
Necip Fazıl Kısakürek was born in Istanbul in 1904 and passed away in 1983. He
graduated from the Naval School of Heybeliada and then completed a degree in
Philosophy in the Department of Literature at Istanbul University. He was one of
the first group of students sent by the Republic to be educated in Europe where he
studied in the Department of Philosophy at the Sorbonne University in Paris . His first
poems were published in 1922 in Yeni Mecmua. He worked at various banks where
he rose in rank to an auditor. He taught History and Geography at Ankara School
of Languages, the National Conservatory of Arts, the Istanbul National Academy of
Arts, and Robert College. He published the magazines Ağaç Ağaç (1936) and Büyük
Doğu (1943-1978). He produced more than 100 works in many genres, including
Çile (Suffering), a complete collection of his poems. Some of his works include Çöle
İnen Nur (The Light Leading to the Desert), İdolocya Örgüsü (İdolocya Structure),
Bir Adam Yaratmak (Creating a Man), Ulu Hakan II. Abdülhamid (Great Emperor
Abdulhamid II). Kısakürek’s only novel is Aynadaki Yalan (The Lie in the Mirrow).
Foreign Rights: Bir Adam Yaratmak/Creating a Man (Masud Akhtar Shaikh,
Pakistan); Para/Money (Masud Akhtar Shaikh, Pakistan); Çile/Suffering (Adiloğlu
Publishers, Azerbaijan); Reis Bey (Tamga, Tatarstan)
ÇİLE
SUFFERING
Adiloğlu Publishers, Azerbaijan
512 pages, Poetry
ISBN: 9789758180127
emrah_kisakurek@buyukdogu.com.tr
A Masterpiece... Stating that his poetry
books Örümcek Ağı (Spider Web, 1925),
Kaldırımlar (Pavements, 1928), Ben
ve Ötesi (Me and the Other, 1932),
Sonsuzluk Kervanı (Caravan of Eternity,
1953) and Şiirlerim (My Poems, 1969)
failed in many ways at adequate self
expression, Necip Fazıl Kısakürek
filtered, selected, edited and compiled
all his poems starting with his first
published poem in the magazine Yeni
Mecmua in 1923. And the Poetika... This
book represents an interplay of poetry
and artistic understanding.

N E D İ M G Ü R S E L
Nedim Gürsel began his career at a very young age at a surprisingly profound level
of achievement with Uzun Sürmüş Bir Yaz (A Long Summer, 1975), which received
well-deserved attention. He wrote about the attitudes of young intellectuals living
in the oppressive conditions of the country at the time. He established a fluent
and poetic style. He took up residence in Paris for a long while and wrote about his
experience as an intellectual abroad, his longing for Turkey and Istanbul, and the
psychological effects of being an expatriate. Even while living abroad he participated
in the lively Turkish literary scene and the possibilities provided by Turkish as a
literary language. The contribution of his high-quality literary criticism should not
be overlooked. Nedim Gürsel uses abstractions when thinking about literature, but
his creative writing is grounded in the concrete. He is always contemporary due to
his unceasing search for new topics for his stories, novels and travel writing. The
author has received many awards for his books which have been translated into 12
languages, especially into French.
Some of His Works: Short Stories: Kadınlar Kitabı (The Book of Women), Uzun
Sürmüş Bir Yaz (A Long Lasting Summer), Sevgilim İstanbul (Istanbul My Love),
Sorguda (In an Interrogation), Son Tramvay (The Last Tram), Cicipapa (The
Stepfather), Toplu Öyküler (Collected Short Stories), Yedi Dervişler (Seven
Dervishes) Novels: Boğazkesen, Fatih’in Romanı (Fatih’s Novel), Öğleden Sonra
Aşk (Love in the Afternoon), İlk Kadın (The First Woman), Allah’ın Kızları (God’s
Daughters) Poems: Uzun Bir Ayrılık İçin Kırk Kısa Şiir (Forty Short Poems for a Long
Separation)
ALLAHIN KIZLARI - GOD’S DAUGHTERS
Seuil Editions, France, 228 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9789959916510
dk.rights@dogankitap.com.tr
In his new novel God’s Daughters,
Nedim Gürsel depicts the story of
the land where Islam was born, the
pre-Islamic era, and portrays Prophet
Muhammad as a protagonist. Gürsel
says that his novel questions the
concepts of belief and violence in Islam
and some of the revelations regarding
Prophet Mohammad’s private life. The
story tells the story of child and his
grandfather who defended Medina in
the battle of Harb-i Umumiye.
The child grows up to become an adult
who loses his faith and questions it all
and then acquires a vast knowledge of
Islam and the Quran.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
N E Z İ H E M E R İ Ç
Nezihe Meriç (1925-2009) is one of the most important contemporary short story
writers. She was noticed when her first stories were published in the journal Seçilmiş
Hikâyeler Dergisi (Selected Stories Journal, 1950-52). She is particularly successful
when describing women and their social sensibilities. She writes from a woman’s
perspective, meticulously describing events and characters in poetic language.
Her stories revolve around issues important to women intellectuals. She examines
the inner wounds of women oppressed in a male-dominated society, confined by
tradition, in defeat and in rebellion. She is one of the best when it comes to exploiting
the possibilities of the Turkish language. She is also among the strongest at bridging
traditional and progressive story writing movements in Turkish literature. The critic
Asım Bezirci described her as “an important author skilled at reflecting female
psychology and rebellion in a beautiful descriptive style with a smooth sensibility,
strong observation, and an interesting choice of themes.
Some of Her Works: Short Stories: Bozbulanık (Misty) ,Topal Koşma (Running
Crippled); Menekşeli Bilinç (Violet Consciousness), Dumanaltı (Foggy), Bir Kara
Derin Kuyu (A Dark Deep Well). Novels: Korsan Çıkmazı (Pirate Deadend), Boşlukta
Mavi (Blue in the Void), Alacaceren. Children’s Books: Alagün Çocukları (Children of
Alagün), Küçük Bir Kız Tanıyorum Altı Yaşında (I Know a Six Year Old Girl), Ahmet
Adında Bir Çocuk (A Boy Named Ahmet), Dur Dünya Çocukları Bekle (Stop World,
Wait for the Children).
ALACACEREN
Inventaire, France, 2005, 76 pages, Novel
Translated by Noemi Cingöz
ISBN: 9789750805325
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
Bengi and Gün...Two young members of
a broken family trying to stick together
at all costs. Bengi hugs her sister, home,
mother and whatever is left of her father
with her small body and big heart and
puts up a roof of love and commitment on
their lost family. She succeeds in making
every morning of her life, a morning
filled with happiness with the help of her
beloved grandfather.

N U R İ Ç Ö Z Ü
Nur İçözü was born in 1948. She has worked as a publication director and editor for
several leading periodicals and has written articles on art in Milliyet and Radikal
newspapers. She writes a column on children’s and adolescent books for Radikal
Literature Supplement. She entered the world of children’s and adolescent literature
with her two-part book, Kar Masalları (Snow Tales) in 1997 and won second prize in
the Children’s Humoristic Literature competition, in 2000, with her book, Bugün Ne
Cadılık Yaptım (How Witchy I was Today).
WORKS: Şiirli Hayvan Öyküleri Dizisi (Poetic Animal Stories Series - 6 Books),
Sevginin Mırnavcası (Love Mewling), Güneşe Tırmanan Çocuk (The Kid That
Climbed to the Sun), Çikolata Öyküler Dizisi (Chocolate Stories Series - 10 Books),
Sevecen Öyküler Dizisi (Caring Stories Series - 10 Books), Altındoğa Öyküleri
(Golden Nature Stories - 2 Books), En Güzel Kimin İşi? (Who Did the Best Job?),
Sihirli Düşler Kesesi (Magical Dreams Bag), En Güzel Kimin İşi? II (Who Did the
Best Job? II), Yüreğimin Kıyısında (On the Shores of My Heart), Bana Derler Küp
Cadısı (They Call Me Jar Witch), Masal Bahçesi Dizisi (Garden Stories Series - 5
Books), Farafarafilli (Farafarafili - 2 Books), Siz Olsaydınız Ne Yapardınız? (What
Would You Do in My Shoes?), Artık Okuyorum Dizisi (I Am Reading Series - 10
Books), Bugün Ne Cadılık Yaptım? (How Witchy I was Today!), Cadılık Parayla
mı? (Witchcraft Is not Sold), Dönemeç (The Bend), Reyhan (Reyhan), Bizim Aile
(Our Family - 2 Books), Badem Çocuk Dizisi (Almond Child Series - 6 Books), Öykü
Yağmuru Dizisi (Story Rain Series - 5 Books), Korku Tüneli (Ghost Train), Gökten
İnen Üç Yıldız (Three Shooting Stars), Zamanda Yolculuk Dizisi (Time Travelling
Series - 10 Books), Tospik Kaplumbağa (The Chubby Tortoise), En Güzel Çiçek
Yarışması (The Most Beautiful Flower Competition), Tatile Gidiyoruz (We’re Going
on Holiday).
BUGÜN NE CADILIK YAPTIM
HOW WITCHY I WAS TODAY
120 pages, Children’s Book, Novel
ISBN: 975892642X
info@altinkitaplar.com.tr, nuricozu@yahoo.com
Bugün Ne Cadılık Yaptım is the story of
a child who tries to do good but is often
misunderstood.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
N U R A N T U R A N
Nuran Turan was born in 1938. After graduating from Kandilli Girls High School,
she finished Communications Faculty and Management Economy Institute at
Istanbul University. She worked for newspapers such as Turan and Milliyet and local
papers Yeşilköy and Yeşilyurt. Subsequently, she worked as a nursery teacher, as a
director in a private company and finally, as a member of the Advisory Board for the
Publication of Children’s Books at the Ministry of Culture.
Some of Her Works: Serdar’ın Öyküleri (Serdar’s Stories), Sevgi Kitabı (Love
Book), Nasreddin Hoca ve Serdar (Nasreddin Hodja and Serdar), Atatürk ve Serdar
Yalova’da (Atatürk and Serdar in Yalova), Atatürk ve Serdar Dolmabahçe’de
(Atatürk and Serdar at Dolmabahçe Palace), Nur Ana (Mother Nur), Atatürk
Mersin’de (Atatürk in Mersin, with Doğan Akça), Atatürk ve Serdar Anıtkabir’de
(Atatürk and Serdar at Atatürk’s Mausoleum), Atatürk’ün Dönüşü (The Return of
Atatürk), Babaannemin Öykü Sepeti (My Grandma’s Story Basket), Beyaz Yalan
Balonları (White Lie Balloons), Denizkızıyla Denizdelikanlısı (The Mermaid and the
Sea Boy), Işık Melekleri (Light Angels), Serdar’ın Zaman Yolculuğu (Serdar’s Trip
in Time), Kediler Yaz Okulu (Cats’ Summer School), Mevlâna İnternette (Mevlana
on the Internet), Kaya ile Sinan Yunuslarla (Kaya and Sinan with the Dolphins),
Trigotlar (Trigoths), Çocuk Sevgidir (Child Is Love), Gılgamış (The Epic of Gilgamis),
Ata’ya Armağan (A Present for Atatürk), Kaya ile Sinan Masal Dünyasında (Sinan
and Kaya in Fairy Tale Land), Zaman Çadırı (Time Tent).
Foreign Rights: Kapadokya’nın Sırları/The Secrets of Cappadocia (Önel Verlag,
German); Nasreddin Hoca ve Serdar/Nasreddin Hodja and Serdar (Önel Verlag,
German); Nur Ana/Mother Nur (Anadolu Verlag, German)
NUR ANA
MOTHER NUR
Schulbuchverlag Anadolu, Germany, 2007
109 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Sabine Adatepe
ISBN: 9754581053
info@erdemyayinlari.com
White haired and wise, Nur Ana is a
born story teller. She tells stories about
Mevlana to the kids around her.

N U R D A N G Ü R B İ L E K
One of the foremost cultural critics in Turkey, Nurdan Gürbilek is the author of
Vitrinde Yaşamak (Life in the Shopwindow, 1992), an analysis of the cultural
dynamics of the 1980s in Turkey. Her other publications include Yer Değiştiren
Gölge (Shifting Shadow, 1995) and Ev Ödevi (Homework, 1999), collection of essays
on modern Turkish writers. She is also the author of Kötü Çocuk Türk (Bad Boy
Turk, 2001), an analysis of some of the significant images and tropes in modern
Turkish literature and popular culture, and Kör Ayna, Kayıp Şark (Orient Lost, 2004)
which explores the sexual anxieties accompanying the Ottoman-Turkish literary
modernization. In her last book Mağdurun Dili (The Language of the Downtrodden,
2008) she brings a critical look at some “downtrodden” figures in Turkish and
Russian literature.
Foreign Rights: Denemeler/Selected Essays (Selected Essays from Living In the
Shopwindow and Bad Boy Turk, Zed Books, UK)
SELECTED ESSAYS
Zed Books, UK
Translated by Victoria Holbrook
rights@metiskitap.com
A collection of essays on Turkey’s cultural climate
in the last decades from a most insightful literary
and cultural critic. The first half of the volume
attends to the 1980’s – a period of radical
economic, political and cultural change following
the coup d’état of 1980. The following essays on
Turkishness and evil explore the rather sinister
cultural climate of the 1990’s and 2000’s when the
efforts to redefine Turkish identity predominated
the cultural scene. Gürbilek takes some of the
significant images and tropes in modern Turkish
literature and popular culture as her point of
departure. With utmost care and justice Gürbilek
weaves these into a keen understanding of
their political, social and cultural significance,
exploring Turkishness not as an autonomous and
essentialist local truth but rather as an impasse
always already shaped in relation to the modern
world, as a double-bind that has always produced
oppositional sentiments in the cultural sphere.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
N U R S E L D U R U E L
Nursel Duruel (1941) is a short story writer who has left her mark on Turkish
literature, although she has only written a few books. She graduated from Istanbul
Girls’ High School and majored in Archaeology at Istanbul University. She was
among the first producers of the TRT (Turkish State Broadcasting Company), and
for many years she produced radio programmes on various topics, particularly
literature and arts. Besides having worked as a copywriter, she has also written
scripts for TV channels, articles for encyclopedias, and worked as Assistant Director
for BRT (Bayrak Radio and Television Corporation) Radio. She won the 1981 Akademi
Bookstore Story Award with her story Geyikler Annem ve Almanya (Deers, My Mom
and Germany), she won the Sait Faik Short Story award in 1983. Deers, My Mom and
Germany was made into a film by TRT (Turkish Radio Television). Duruel’s second
short story book Yazılı Kaya (The Inscribed Rock) was published 1992. Her short
stories have been translated to English, German, French, Greek.
Foreign Rights: Geyikler Annem ve Almanya/Deers, My Mom and Germany
(Kultura Publishing House, Macedonia, 1989)
GEYİKLER, ANNEM VE ALMANYA
DEERS, MY MOM, AND GERMANY
Kultura Publishing House, Macedonia, 1989
117 pages, Short Story
Translated by Selma Elmazoviç
ISBN: 9789750706592
international@canyayinlari.com
Nursel Duruel enriched Turkish literature with
her first book Deers, My Mom and Germany that
placed her among the masters of contemporary
Turkish short story writers. The book comprises
of eight short stories which go back and forth
between the distant history of the lands of Anatolia
and the modern day. Individual lives against the
backdrop of society are embroided with unique
cultural motifs. The original, sharp and simple
narrative, and the characters in the story she
creates, are deeply effective. The short story, which
gave its name to the anthology, tactfully deals with
the problems of immigration caused by Turkish
migrants who travelled to Germany to find work.

O Ğ U Z A T A Y
Oğuz Atay’s depictions of characters stranded on the margins of society make him
one of the most masterful writers of modern literature anywhere. In the wake of a
literary era dominated by social realism and stories of the working class, Atay stands
out as the first Turkish novelist to turn his attention to urban, educated characters
who are social misfits, and to employ a modernist, experimentalist style drawing
upon contemporary Western literary developments, but within distinctly Turkish
settings. With his impeccable grasp of the intricacies of the art of novel writing and
his linguistic acrobatics, Atay’s literary works are a challenge to any translator.
A keen observer of the dilemmas faced by intellectuals and the society at large,
Atay approaches Turkish realities with a refined sarcasm and profoundly critical
eye. He brandishes an unparalleled sarcastic wit as he unveils the hollowness and
shallowness of conventional petit bourgeois values and lifestyle, the futility and
fragility of which are made obvious to the reader. Though his works are tinged with
a dark comedic element, Atay’s (always anti-)heroes are portrayed in a uniquely
endearing light, thanks to his authorial generosity, thus setting him apart from
many of his Western contemporaries.
Foreign Rights: Tutunamayanlar/The Disconnected (Athenaeum-Polak & Van
Gennep, The Netherlands); Korkuyu Beklerken/Waiting for Fear (Edizione
Lunargento, Italy), (Galata Verlag, Germany)
TUTUNAMAYANLAR - THE DISCONNECTED
Edizione Lunargento, Italy
724 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9754700117
iletisim@iletisim.com.tr
According to Berna Moran, The Disconnected,
one of the most important works in Turkish
literature, “is a revolt by both what it says
and how it says it”. Further, “Oğuz Atay’s
successful use of the satire, his sensitivity and
the various stylistic techniques he employs
makes The Disconnected a manifestation of
literary talent”. Atay cunningly makes fun
of the petty bourgeoisie world and thus, the
novel becomes “an attack that the connected
can not understand or simply would reject”.
The Disconnected won the 1970 Novel
Prize of TRT (Turkish Radio and Television
Corporation).
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
POEMS OF OKTAY RIFAT
O K T A Y R İ F A T
Anvil Press, UK, 2007, 254 pages, Poetry
Translated by Ruth Christie, Richard Mckane
ISBN: 9780856463709
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
Oktay Rifat (Trabzon, 1914 - Istanbul, 1988). The poet studied at the Faculty of
Political Sciences in Paris. The writer worked at the General Directorate of Press and
Publications and later as a legal advisor for the State Railways in Istanbul. Oktay
Rifat started writing poetry while still a student at high school in Ankara. His first
poems, written in syllabic metre, were published in the literary magazine Varlık
(Existence) from 1936 to 1944. Later he started to use free verse. With Orhan Veli
Kanık and Melih Cevdet Anday he published a collection of poetry entitled Garip
(Strange) in 1941, and became one of the pioneers of the Garip literary movement,
that changed the course of Turkish poetry. Rifat’s poetry from this period approaches
the everyday life of urban dwellers with an ironic and surprising point of view. In his
later collection Perçemli Sokak (The Curled Street) the poet turned to a new poetic
concept, the movement of İkinci Yeni (Second New). Rifat wrote unforgettable poems
that skillfully employed the vocal richness of Turkish and its ample vocabulary. He
is regarded as one of the poets who influenced the general course of Turkish poetry
most; each book presenting a completely different approach. He also wrote plays,
novels, and theoretical works on poetry.
WORKS: His Major Poetry Collections: Yaşayıp Ölmek (To Live and Die, 1945), Aşağı
Yukarı (More or Less, 1952), Elleri Var Özgürlüğün (Freedom Has Hands, 1966)
Koca Bir Yaz (A Great Summer, 1987). Novels: Bir Kadının Penceresinden (From a
Woman’s Window/1976), Danaburnu (Snapdragon/1980), Bay Lear (Mr Lear,1982)
Rifat’s poetry contributed to political diversity.
Starting with the Garip, and followed by the
Second New, his poetry defines one of the most
important stages in Turkish poetry. As a pioneer
of many movements, Rifat also significantly
influenced today’s poetry with his imagery,
his use of language and his expertise in the
depiction of landscapes, from his first to his last
poem. Neither in the aftermath of the Garip
period, nor in the years following Second New
did he ever lose focus or did his poetry stagnate.
Prominent poet and writer Gülten Akın’s
words profoundly characterize him: “When
universality, the inclination to integrate
the human being in a broader philosophy,
and poetical creativity are combined, such
interesting drifts result. In our opinion, Oktay
Rifat will last due to his poems accompanied
from afar by a bright, clear and scientific
worldview.”

O R H A N K E M A L
Orhan Kemal ( Adana, 1914- Sofia, Bulgaria, 1970) was influenced by the socialist
ideas of Nâzım Hikmet, whom he met in Bursa, in 1940. He studied French, philosophy
and politics with Nâzım Hikmet, who, in fact, advised him to write novels and short
stories, instead of poems. In 1958, he won the Sait Faik Award with his story entitled
Kardeş Payı (A Fair Share). In 1967, he was selected as Best Playwright by the Ankara
Sanatseverler Derneği (Ankara Art Lovers Association) with his 72. Koğuş (Ward 72)
and won both the Türk Dil Kurumu (Turkish Language Association) and the Sait Faik
Short Story Awards with Önce Ekmek (Bread First), in 1969. He wrote the stories of poor
people, workers, students and “the man in the street.” He analyzed the relationship
between man and society and reflected it in his stories in a realistic style. When he
died in 1970, he left 51 works, of which 27 are novels and 19 are short stories. Many
of Kemal’s works have been adapted to stage and screen with great success, helping
to make Orhan Kemal a well-liked household name throughout Turkey. Since 1972,
Orhan Kemal’s family has been holding a novel competition in order to introduce his
humanist approach to new generations, and to honor new Turkish novelists.
Some of His Works: Ekmek Kavgası (Scratching For a Living), Sarhoşlar (The
Drunkards), 72. Koğuş (Ward 72), Grev (The Strike), Önce Ekmek (Bread First),
Yağmur Yüklü Bulutlar (Rain Laden Clouds), Baba Evi (My Father’s House), Avare
Yıllar (The Idle Years), Murtaza (Murtaza), Cemile (Gemile), Bereketli Topraklar
Üzerinde (On the Fertile Soil), Suçlu (Guilty), Devlet Kuşu (Windfall), Gavurun Kızı
(Infidel’s Daughter), Küçücük (Tiny), Dünya Evi (Marriage), El Kızı (Somebody Else’s
Daughter), Hanımın Çiftliği (Lady’s Farm), Eskici ve Oğulları (The Rag-and-bone-man
and his Sons), Gurbet Kuşları (Migrant Birds), Kaçak (The Fugitive), Tersine Dünya
(Reversed World), İspinozlar (Snowbirds), Nazım Hikmet’le Üç Buçuk Yıl (Three and a
Half Years with Nazım Hikmet).
Foreign Rights: Baba Evi/My Father’s House (Sifriat Maariv, Israel), (Anatolie,
English); El Kızı/Somebody Else’s Daughter (Al-Mada, Syria); Baba Evi-Avare Yıllar /
My Fathers House-The Idle Years (Kastaniotis, Greece, Peter Owens, UK); Dünya Evi/
Marriage (Kastaniotis, Greece)
EKMEK KAVGASI
SCRATCHING FOR A LIVING
Lunargento, Italy, 2008
248 pages, Novel
Translated by
Barbara La Rosa Salim
ISBN: 9752894624.
everest@alfakitap.com
amy@anatolialit.com
Orhan Kemal always wrote about people
who lived in particularly tough conditions,
who always had to fight just to earn their
daily bread. While expressing this distress in
the most elaborate way, he never becomes
dismayed and always shows the way to reach
a brighter and more hopeful tomorrow. He
continually reminds the reader that mankind
is worthy of a more beautiful, radiant and a
hopeful life. It is for this reason that Orhan
Kemal’s writings awaken such a spirit of
resistance in his readers.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
MASUMİYET MÜZESİ
MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE
O R H A N P A M U K
Orhan Pamuk was born in Istanbul in 1952. In 2006, he achieved the dual distinction
of becoming, not only the first Turk to have ever won the Nobel Prize for Literature,
but also, one of the two youngest ever winners of the Nobel prize. His books have
been translated into more than fifty languages and have been published in over
one hundred countries. In 2005, Prospect magazine included him in their list of
the world’s top one hundred intellectuals, while in 2006, he was chosen as one of
the world’s one hundred most influential people by Time magazine. He has won
numerous national and international awards.
WORKS: Cevdet Bey ve Oğulları (Cevdet Bey and His Sons), Sessiz Ev (The Silent
House), Beyaz Kale (The White Castle), Kara Kitap (The Black Book), Gizli Yüz
(Secret Face), Yeni Hayat (The New Life), Benim Adım Kırmızı (My
Name is Red), Öteki Renkler (Other Colors), Kar (Snow), İstanbul: Hatıralar
ve Şehir (Istanbul: Memories and the City), Babamın Bavulu (My Father’s
Suitcase), Masumiyet Müzesi (The Museum of Innocence)
Random House, UK, 2008, 554 pages, Novel
Translated by Maureen Freely
ISBN: 9789750506093
iletisim@iletisim.com.tr
“It was the happiest moment of my life,
though I didn’t know it at the time.” This is
the opening line of the latest magnificent
romance novel of Orhan Pamuk, Turkey’s
Nobel prize winning author, who spent 6
years writing this novel. As you read through
The Museum of Innocence you will see
how it deeply affects your thoughts on not
only love, but also marriage, friendship,
sexuality, passion, family and happiness
and you will not want to leave behind the
fascinating world in the book. The story
starts on a spring day in 1975 and follows
the story of a rich kid from Istanbul, Kemal,
and his distant and poor relative, Fusun, up
to the present day. The story’s accelerated
pace, flow of events, and the diversity of the
protagonists, the sense of humour and its
power in making the reader experience the
storms deep inside the human spirit, makes
it worthwhile to read the book over and
over again. With The Museum of Innocence,
Pamuk tells the readers a haunting
story that will stay in our minds like an
unforgettable dream.

O R H A N V E L İ
Orhan Veli (1914-1950) left Istanbul University in 1935 without having completed
his studies. He worked in the Ankara Post Office until he was called up during World
War II. On his discharge in 1945 he obtained a post as translator in the Ministry
of Education but left his job after less than two years to lead a bohemian life. His
first poems were published journals when he was a high school student. In 1941, he
published a poem book entitled Garip (Strange) with his high school friends, the poets
Oktay Rifat and Melih Cevdet Anday, which launched a major poetry movement in
the Turkish poetry tradition. Orhan Veli was more influenced by the sketch image of
the Japanese haiku. His legacy was that free verse, and an unlimited range of themes
became the rule, while traditional meter became an anachronism. While discarding
rhyme and meter, Orhan Veli expresses an almost nihilistic world view that placed him
firmly in the company of the modern western man.
Foreign Rights: Seçme Şiirler/Selected Poems (Editions Bleu Autource, French),
(Orhan Veli: Poems, Hanging Loose Press, English, 1989), (Listening to Istanbul,
Selected Poems of Orhan Veli Kanık, Autumn Press, English, 2002); Garip/The
Stranger (Fremdarting, Dağyeli Verlag, German)
SELECTED POEMS
Editions Bleu Autour, France, 2009
240 pages, Poems, Translated by Elif Deniz
ISBN: 9782358480086
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
If in a short period of ten years, Orhan Veli was
able to draw all of the young poets of his time into
a new style, it is clearly because he discerned the
need before anyone else. To leave behind a style
that already promised to earn him a place among
the masters and to search for a new approach to
poetry was an act of self-sacrifice, and to embark
upon an adventure into the unknown. His aim
was to abandon the rules of form and to change
the very foundations of the work… From the time
his book Garip/The Stranger completely shook up
Turkish Poetry in 1940 until his death in 1950 as
the result of a brain hemorrhage, he contributed
poems of unforgettable beauty to Turkish poetry.
During his short lifetime, he became one of the
best loved poets in Turkey.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
KAYIP SÖZ
LOST WORD
Editions Phebus, France
456 pages, Novel
O Y A B A Y D A R
Translated by Valerie Gay-Aksoy
ISBN: 9752930271
info@kalemagency.com
One of the most widely read writers of contemporary Turkish literature, Oya Baydar
has received perhaps more attention, and prompted more debate, than any other
Turkish author in our time. While bringing literature to the intense and turbulent
political environment of Turkey, she also exposes hidden issues and uses her novels
to place them on the agenda. She was one of the founders of the Turkish Socialist
Labor Party in 1964 and later joined the Turkish Communist Party. In 1965, she
became a member of the Turkish Labor Party. She was arrested in 1971 after the
March 12th military coup. Following the military coup in 1980, she was forced to go
abroad after being sentenced to 27 years in jail because of her writing. She lived as a
refugee first in Germany, then in different countries and cities of Europe for twelve
years. Between 1981 and 1982 she lived in Moscow. She witnessed the collapse of the
socialist system and the fall of the Berlin Wall in Frankfurt, where she lived in exile.
WORKS: Sıcak Külleri Kaldı (Hot Ashes Remain), Kedi Mektupları (Cat Letters),
Hiçbiryer’e Dönüş (Returning to Nowhere), Elveda Alyoşa (Farewell Alyoşa),
Erguvan Kapısı (The Gate of Judas).
Foreign Rights: Kayıp Söz/Lost Word (Ullstein,German), (Phebus, French), (Lettera,
Bulgaria); Sıcak Külleri Kaldı/Hot Ashes Remain (Kastaniotis, Greek)
Ömer Eren, a famous best-selling author,
frustrated for not being able to write
anymore, witnesses the accidental shooting
of a young pregnant Kurdish woman
whereby she loses her baby. Zelal (the young
woman) became pregnant after being raped
in the mountains and has been sentenced
to death by her family; but she manages to
escape. Mahmut is a PKK guerilla who has
been wounded in a clash with soldiers. As he
“no longer wants to kill or be killed”, he is
trying to flee the organization. The two meet
in the mountains and a love reminiscent of
Oriental legends is born. However, tradition,
the organization, and the state are opposed
to their starting a brand new life together.
In order to help these fugitives from violence
and perhaps to save himself from the abyss
he has fallen into, the writer Ömer Eren
leaves for the most eastern part of Eastern
Turkey.

Ö M E R S E Y F E T T İ N
Ömer Seyfettin (1884-1920) was a well-known Turkish short story writer. Trained in
military school, he began his writing career after fighting in the Balkan War. In his
early works, he wrote in the elegant style of the Servet-i Fünun tradition. However,
his later collaboration with Ali Canip Yöntem and Ziya Gökalp in the Genç Kalemler
(Young Pens) marked the start of a new movement calling for the simplification of
the Turkish language and Turkish literature. He wrote a famous article “The New
Language,” which was published under the pseudonym “question mark”. He not only
defended the idea of a new language, but also used this new style in his own work, some
of which drew on his own personal history. His penetrating style is marked by a simple,
ironic language and a bitter conception of reality. Due to his untimely death, he was
unable to publish his stories and articles in a book format. Thanks to the efforts of his
devoted friend Ali Canip, and the support of his readers, he became one of the most
popular Turkish authors.
PRİMO TÜRK ÇOCUĞU
THE TURKISH CHILD PRIMO
Manzara Verlag, Germany
96 pages, Children’s Book
ISBN: 9753628678
The story starts in Thessaloniki with the
opinions of a Turk, who is member of the
Italian Mason Lodge, about Westerners.
In actual truth, ever since the days of
his arrival in Thessaloniki, Kenan Bey
who never embraced being Turkish and
Turkish traditions, attempts to live like
a Westerner. One day he marries an
Italian lady who does not like Turks at
all. From this marriage a child, called
Primo, is born. The growing dislike of
Turks in the family and his concerns
regarding Primo’s future, awakens the
Turk in Kenan Bey.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
BÜTÜN ŞİİRLERİM
ALL MY POEMS
Cum Ltd., Bulgaria, 2008
390 pages, Poetry
Ö Z D E M İ R İ N C E
Translated by Kadriye Cesur Özgür
ISBN: 9754186960
Özdemir İnce (1936, Mersin) graduated from the Department of French at Ankara
Gazi Institute of Education. He studied French literature and phonetics in Paris
(1965-66). He worked as a teacher and retired from TRT/Turkey Radio Television
(1982). He worked as an editor in various publishing houses and is currently a
newspaper columnist. He has published poetry translations and books on poetry.
His poetry has been translated into many languages, primarily French. His first
poem was published in the journal Yağmur in Adana (1954), and later in journals
like Pazar Postası, Türk Dili, A and Değişim. Although with his first poems he was
considered to be part of the “Second New” movement, he mostly emphasized the
relationships of society, man, politics and history from a socialist viewpoint. He
values innovation and universality in the form and essence of his poetry.
Some of His Works: Kargı (Lance, 1963), Kiraz Zamanı (Cherry Time, 1969), Rüzgâra
Yazılıdır (Written on the Wind, 1979), Elmanın Tarihi (History of the Apple, 1981),
Siyasetnâme (Book of Politics, 1984), Hayat Bilgisi (Social Studies, 1986), Başak ile
Terazi (Virgo and Libra, 1989), Gürlevik (Gürlevik Waterfalls, 1990), Yazın Ses (The
Sound of Summer, 1994), Mani Hayy (Ah, Shackle, 1998), Evren Ağacı (The Tree of
the Universe, 2000), Keskindoreke Fındınfalava (2006) and Magma ve Kör Saat
(Magma and the Blind Hour, 2007).
“Özdemir İnce’s poetry holds an important
place in international, contemporary poetry.
The existentialist depth of his poems sheds
light on the upper strata of words; daily facts
of life and objects become clearer under
that light.” - Gennadi Aygi (Hıbar, from
the preface of the translation to Chuvas)
“Özdemir İnce’s voice from the far coast of
the Mediterranean Sea moves us.” - Venus
Kboury - Ghata (Europe magazine, March
1994).
“Selected Poems, (1998), displays the most
striking themes of Özdemir İnce’s poetry:
The Mediterranean Sea, women, the misery
of the city, layers of history and mystics and
running throughout, a vein of fierce criticism
towards traditional society.” - Timour
Muhidine (Poesie 2002/93).

Ö Z E N Y U L A
Özen Yula was born in Eskişehir and his plays have been translated into English,
German, French, Bulgarian, Finnish, Polish and Japanese, and staged on tour in
countries including Germany, Austria, Britain, the Netherlands, Japan and Egypt.
His play Ay Tedirginliği (Lunar Confusion) was staged at the Bonn Biennial in 2002
and he represented Turkey as a writer at the “Kontext: Europa” festival in Vienna. His
play Gayri Resmi Hurrem (The Inofficial Hurrem) has been staged in Berlin by the
Tiyatrom Company, and performed as a reading in Bulgaria. Aşk Evlerden Uzak (Love
is Far Away) has been translated into Polish and published in Dialog magazine. A
comparative translation of Sahibinden Kiralık (For Rent) was carried out at Sorbonne
University. One of his stories has been translated into English and published in the
Canadian Descant magazine devoted to Turkey. Eksik Kitap, Tuhaf Defter (The Missing
Notebook, The Peculiar Book) has been published in English, French and Turkish.
He currently lives in Istanbul and Ankara, working as a freelance writer and theatre
director.
SAHİBİNDEN KİRALIK
FOR RENT
Escape 34, France, 2009
Translated by Okan Urun
ISBN: 9758648024
ozenyula@hotmail.com
A segment from the lives of people
found in the metropolis who have been
marginalized from society. The story
depicts the love between a young Kurdish
man by the name Adnan, who works
in a big park in the city as a rent boy or
older men, or as a sex “toy” for married
couples, and a girl- by the name of Simay
who builds her life around lies and starts
working as a prostitute. Not surprisingly,
the fight for survival at the park and the
hierarchy of evil will not let their love
flourish. An old man called Sadık, who
has been the head of the hierarchy in
the park for many years, will not allow
them to have a relationship. Simay will
have no choice but to take revenge, and
then move on to a different city under a
different name where she will grow old
doing the same job. The men in the park
will continue their relationships with
other men in the same brutal manner.
Generations change but the rules
remain the same, ensuring that the new
generation turns out just like the old one.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
İKİ GENÇ KIZIN ROMANI
TWO GIRLS
P E R İ H A N M A Ğ D E N
Perihan Mağden was born in Istanbul, in 1960. She graduated from Robert College
and from the Psychology Department at Boğaziçi University. She traveled extensively
through Asia for 3 years and lived in different countries like India, Japan and USA
before starting to write newspaper columns. Between 1997 and 2005, she wrote in
Radikal and in the autumn of 2005, started writing in Yeni Aktüel. Since February
2007, she has been writing for Radikal. Her novel, İki Genç Kızın Romanı (Two Girls)
has been made into a film called Two Young Girls.
WORKS: Haberci Çocuk Cinayetleri (Messenger Boy Murders), Refakatçi
(Companion), Mutfak Kazaları (Kitchen Mishaps), Pazartesi Yazıları ya da Hiç
Bunları Kendine Dert Etmeye Değer mi? (Monday Articles or Is It Worth Bothering
About These?), Kapı Açık Arkanı Dön ve Çık!/Habaset Yazıları (Go on Now, Walk
Out the Door/Wicked Writings), Radikal Yazıları ya da Fakat Ne Yazık ki Sokak
Boştu (Radikal Articles or But Unfortunately the Street Was Empty), Herkes Seni
Söylüyor Sahi Mutsuz musun? (Everybody’s Talking About You; Are You Really
that Unhappy?), Dünya İşleri (Worldly Business), İki Genç Kızın Romanı (Two
Girls), Topladım Dağılan Kalbimin Herrr Köşesini (I Glued Back the Pieces of My
Broken Heart), Korkma Bu Akşam Gelip Çalmam Kapını (Don’t Worry; I Won’t Be
Knocking on Your Door Tonight), The Best of Perihan Mağden, Aktüel Yazıları ya
da Hangimiz Uğramadık ki Haksızlıklara? (Aktüel
Articles or Is There Anyone Out There Who Hasn’t
Faced Injustice?), Politik Yazılar (Political Writings),
Biz Kimden Kaçıyorduk Anne? (Mom, Who Were We
Escaping From?).
Serpent’s Tail, UK, 2005, 265 pages, Novel
Translated by Brendan Freely
ISBN: 9750707919
international@canyayinlari.com
Foreign Rights: İki Genç Kızın Romanı /Two Girls
(German, English, Italian, Hungarian); Haberci
Çocuk Cinayetleri/Messenger Boy Murders (French,
Dutch, English, German)
Perihan Mağden, who holds an eminent
place amongst contemporary Turkish
literature novelists, is renowned for her
skilful use of language. The main theme of
The Girls is the relationship between two
girls of contrasting personalities and their
struggle with life. Fascinating narrative,
sharp portrayal of life and consummate
mastery of language are some of the striking
features of her fiction.

P E Y A M İ S A F A
Peyami Safa is one of the most important writers in Turkish literature. He was born
in Istanbul in 1899 and died in 1961. His father İsmail Safa, was one of the most
well-known poets of his generation. Peyami Safa, because of the deterioration in
his family’s economic situation and the war years, had to give up school at 13 and
started working in a printer’s. At 14 years old, he published his first short story Bir
Mektepli’nin Hatıratı - Karanlıklar Kralı (Memoirs of a School Boy - King of the
Darkness). In 1918, he and his brother started publishing an evening paper called
20. Asır (20 th Century) for which Peyami Safa wrote short stories entitled, The Short
Stories of the Century. He wrote for various newspapers during his life and in fact,
wrote in every literary genre, apart from poetry. Many of his works bear the pen
name, Server Bedii. Many of his published works are considered to be classics of
Turkish literature.
WORKS: Bir Genç (A Young Man), Gençliğimiz (Our Youth), Siyah Beyaz
Hikâyeler (Black and White Stories), İstanbul Hikâyeleri (Istanbul Stories), Aşk
Oyunları (Love Games), Süngülerin Gölgesinde (In the Shadow of the Bayonet),
Ateşböcekleri (Fireflies), İki Öküz Arkadaş (Two Vulgar Friends), Havaya Uçan At
(Flying Horse), Mahşer (The Last Judgment), Bir Akşamdı (One Evening), Bir Genç
Kız Kalbinin Cürmü (The Crime of a Young Girl’s Heart), Sözde Kızlar (So-called
Girls), Canan (Canan), Şimşek, (Lightning) Dokuzuncu Hariciye Koğuşu (Ward
Nine), Atilla, Fatih-Harbiye, Bir Tereddüdün Romanı (The Story of a Hesitation),
Biz İnsanlar (Us Human Beings), Matmazel Noraliya’nın Koltuğu (Miss Noraliya’s
Chair), Yalnızız (Alone).
Foreign Rights: Fatih- Harbiye (Mehd-I Temeddün, Iran, 2006), Dokuzuncu
Hariciye Koğuşu/The Ninth Ward (Mehd-I Temeddün, Iran, 2006)
DOKUZUNCU HARİCİYE KOĞUŞU
THE NINTH WARD
Mehd-I Temeddün, Iran, 2006
144 pages, Novel
Translated by Musa Rahimi
ISBN 964818428-3
The novel tells the story of a sick, lonely
child’s sufferings, his childish love and
jealousy, the desire of a young girl to
know pure love, his search for happiness,
the delusions and the sobbing inside
the bare, hospital walls, of a person who
desperately wants to believe.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
P I N A R K Ü R
Pınar Kür was born on the 15 th of April, 1945 in Bursa. She graduated from a high
school in New York and completed her university studies in New York and in
Istanbul. She completed her PhD at Sorbonne University, in France, with her thesis
on Realism and Illusion in Twentieth Century Theatre. She worked as a literary
advisor at Ankara State Theatre. At present, she is a lecturer at Bilgi University.
WORKS: Yarın Yarın (Tomorrow Tomorrow), Küçük Oyuncu (Young Actor), Asılacak
Kadın (Woman to Be Hanged), Bitmeyen Aşk (Eternal Love), Bir Cinayet Romanı (A
Murder Novel), Sonuncu Sonbahar (Last Autumn), Bir Deli Ağaç (An Insane Tree),
Akışı Olmayan Sular (Stagnant Waters).
BİR DELİ AĞAÇ
AN INSANE TREE
Literaturca Verlag, Germany, 2006
192 pages, Short Story
Translated by Beatrix Caner
ISBN: 9752891594
everest@alfakitap.com
Bir Deli Ağaç (An Insane Tree) based on love stories
where solitude and melancholy predominate,
encourages the reader to question their own lives. Is
love a branch to which one clings, in order to avoid
plummeting into the emptiness of life? This book,
which introduces us to the early short stories of
Pınar Kür, proves that good literature

R A S İ M Ö Z D E N Ö R E N
Rasim Özdenören was born in Kahramanmaraş in 1940 and graduated from
the Faculty of Economics, the Institute of Journalism (1964) and the Faculty of
Law (1967) at Istanbul University. He completed his MA degree on “Development
Economics” in the USA. His first short story was published in the Varlık review
and 2007 was the 50th anniversary of his literary life, and has been celebrated
with cultural activities, conferences and special editions. Some of his stories were
adapted to film and won the Special Jury Award in the International Television Films
Contest in Prague (1978). He received the Thought Award 1978 from the Turkey
National Culture Foundation as well the Writers Union of Turkey Short Story Award
in 1978 and the Essay Award in 1986 from the same Union. Özdenören is one of the
most skillful writers of his generation in the short story genre. Moreover he reached
a true fame with his specific identifications and literary style. He told the stories of
a Muslim individual who tries to set up his own world in a world where the bridges
between the past and the present collapsed. He told today’s people of the deformity of
the conditions in which people live but which many are not aware of.
Some of His Works: İmkansız Öyküler (Impossible Stories), Müslümanca Düşünme
Üzerine Denemeler (Essays on Islamic Ways of Thinking), Aşkın Diyalektiği
(Dialectics of Love), Yüzler, Ben ve Hayat ve Ölüm (Faces, I and Life and Death),
Ansızın Yola Çıkmak (Suddenly On the Road), Eşikte Duran İnsan (A Person
Standing on the Doorstep), Denize Açılan Kapı (The Door Opening to the Sea),
Hastalar ve Işıklar (The Patients and Lights), Gül Yetiştiren Adam (The Man Who
Grew Roses), Çarpılmışlar (The Twisted).
Foreign Rights: Kirli Camlar/Dirty Windows (Selected Stories, Azerbaijan).
KİRLİ CAMLAR - DIRTY WINDOWS
Adiloğlu Publications, Azerbaijan, 2006, Short Story
Translated by Rasim Karaca
izyayincilik@yahoo.com
Rasim Özdenören brought a new appearance and
a new dimension to modern Turkish story telling.
His stories travel deep into the unconscious of
the individual to conduct a spiritual analysis
and in his agreeable style, the stories tell of the
human tragedies arising from repressed feelings
impossible to reconcile with the reality of the
outside world as well as providing the reader
with the sociological, historical and economic
backgrounds of the event.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
R E C A İ Z A D E M A H M U T E K R E M
Recaizade Mahmut Ekrem (1847-1914), is one of the Tanzimat era poets and writers.
He was a clerk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mektubi Kalemi (Writing and
Correspondence Office) and met Namik Kemal. He started writing for the Tasvir-i
Efkar newspaper. After Namik Kemal escaped to Europe, he started publishing the
newspaper. He became a member of the State Council in 1877, and taught literature
at the Civil Service and Galatasaray Highschool and for a few months he became
Minister for Education and Foundations. He was a member of the Senate until his
death. His works included poetry, novels, short stories and critical writings which
reflected his principle that art is for art’s sake. With the death of his three children,
he expressed his pain by analysing people within the framework of nature, love and
death. His real success was in making Tanzimat and European opinions and values
widely available in literature and hence paving way for the reforms brought in by the
Servetifunun movement. His novel Araba Sevdası (Love of Cars) was one of the first
examples of the realist movement in Turkish literature.
Some of His Work: Poems: Tan Vakti Ezgileri (Melodies from the Break of Dawn),
Gençlik Yadigarı (Relics of Youth), Zemzeme (The Chant), Nijad Ekrem (Nijad
Ekrem), Short Stories: Muhsin Bey Yahut Şairliğin Hazin Bir Neticesi (Muhsin Bey
or a Pitiful Consequence of being a Poet), Şemsa; Plays: Afife Anjelik, Vuslat yahut
Süreksiz Sevinç (Union with the Beloved or Ending Joy), Çok Bilen Çok Yanılır (One
Who Knows a Lot Errs a Lot).
ARABA SEVDASI - LOVE OF CARS
Inner Mongolian CPH, China, 2009
200 pages, Novel
Translated by Zhang Shi Ming
ISBN: 9756070455
Love of Cars, considered to be one of the earliest examples of
a realist novel in Turkish literature, focuses on the erroneous
westernisation process of the Ottoman Empire which was
opening up to the West during the Tanzimat era under the
framework of the Reform movements, and tells the story of
Bihruz Bey and his romantic love. Bihruz Bey, with his broken
French, chooses to communicate with hairdressers, shoemakers,
tailors and waitresses in French and is proud of the way he
drives a car and dresses elegantly, all of which lands him in
comical circumstances. The novel depicts stories of the ignorant
behaviour and hedonistic lives in Istanbul during the Abdulhamit
period which lasted for 33 years.

R E F İ K A L G A N
Refik Algan was born in Ankara in 1953 and completed his primary school education
in Ankara and Istanbul, then graduated from the Kadıkoy Maarif College and
Cerrahpaşa School of Medicine. He later worked as a medical consultant. His hobbies
include chess, water color painting and classical lute. His short stories and writings
were published in Yazı and Oluşum periodicals from 1978 to 1980. He also worked as
a translator for English and Turkish. After 2003, he returned to literature when his
stories were published in Geceyazısı and Kitap-lık. His first book, Saat Kulesi (Clock
Tower) was awarded the 2006 Sait Faik Story Prize. His second short story collection,
Umursamaz Uykucu (The Indifferent Sleeper), was published in 2007.
SAAT KULESİ
THE CLOCK TOWER
Editorial Cuarto Propio, Chile Argentina
111 pages, Short Story
Translated by Gaston Fontaine
ISBN: 9750809114
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
Refik Algan became well known in Turkish short
story telling during the period 1978-1980 as a
innovative writer who experimented with the “short
text” or “short bytes” which have become popular
today. After a twenty year old period of silence and
retreat, he started to dish out new stories. In The
Clock Tower, short texts each equipped with the
mainspring of a novel are intertwined with moving
and masterful stories.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
R E H A Ç A M U R O Ğ L U
BİR ANLIK GECİKME - A MOMENTARY DELAY
UkladANKA, Poland, 2008, 146 pages, Novel
Translated by Anna Sobczak
ISBN: 9789752892248
everest@alfakitap.com
Reha Çamuroğlu was born in Istanbul on August 20, 1958. He completed his primary
and secondary education in Ankara and Istanbul, where he graduated from the
History Department at Boğaziçi University. He worked as publication director for
the periodicals Kara, Efendisiz, Cem and Nefes and was a contributor to the history
section in several encyclopedias. His first article was published in Kara in 1986,
but he made his name with his articles in the journals Cem, Efendisiz and Defter.
When he was a student he was interested in “center-periphery relations,” within the
Ottoman Empire and more precisely, in the economic, social and political aspects of
this center - namely, periphery tension and its intellectual basis and proliferation.
This interest led him to focus on the history of thought, in particular, Islamic
heterodoxy.
WORKS: İkiilebir (One and Two), Son Yeniçeri (The Last Janissary), Bir Anlık
Gecikme (A Momentary Delay ), Sabah Rüzgârı (Morning Breeze), Kalem Efendisi
(Master of the Pen), “Enelhak” Demişti Nesimî (And Nesimi Said, “I Am God”),
Dönüyordu, (It Was Turning), Bektaşîlikte Zaman Kavrayışı (The Concept of Time in
Bektashism), İsmail (Ismail), Tarih (History), Heterodoksi ve Babaîler (Heterodoxy
and Babaism), Değişen Koşullarda Alevîlik (Alevism Under Changing Conditions).
Foreign Rights, Bir Anlık Gecikme/ A Momentary Delay (FanNoli, Albanian),
(UkladANKA, Poland); Son Yeniçeri/ The Last Janissary (Dosteyevski, Russian),
(Steno, Bulgarian)
Istanbul, 1904... Monsieur Charles, who escapes to Istanbul
with his wife after saving his neck in Belgium, starts earning
a living in the city as a technician. During meetings with
his revolutionist friends, he shares with them his expertise
on explosives. They ask him to take part in the planned
assassination of the Red Sultan, Abdulhamid II. He accepts
the offer because of the money. The money can give them
a calm and carefree existence. However, assassinating
the Sultan is not an easy job. The bomb planted in the
Sultan’s car explodes right on time but the Sultan escapes
the attempted assassination without the slightest injury
because of a momentary delay in his program. Charles is
seized and arrested. When his wife is threatened with death,
he turns whistleblower on his accomplices. One day, the
Sultan visits Monsieur Charles in prison. Charles tells him the
whole story that had led him to attempt to assassinate the
Sultan. The Sultan, pleased about what he has heard, pays
Monsieur Charles the money he had been promised to realize
the assassination. Moreover, the Sultan assigns Monsieur
Charles the duty to act as a special intelligence agent abroad
on behalf of the Sultan and the Ottoman State…

R E Ş A T N U R İ G Ü N T E K İ N
Reşat Nuri Güntekin (1889-1956) is the author of 19 novels and 7 collections of
short stories. One of his most famous novels entitled Çalıkuşu (Goldcrest)is about
the dynamism and hardship a young girl experiences in a rural town, (both as an
educated person and as a woman), and about the role she plays in the development
of the mutual understanding of the two classes, namely the uneducated rural and
the educated urban. His novels are often based on strong female characters and his
works are typical examples of the Turkish enlightenment of the revolutionary and
post revolutionary era. Reşat Nuri Güntekin left us novels that occupy an important
position in the literature of the period, such as Çalıkuşu (Goldcrest, 1922), Anadolu
Notları (Notes From Anatolia, 1922), Yeşil Gece (The Green Night, 1928).
Foreign Rights: Çalıkuşu/Goldcrest (Mlade Ieta, Slovak), Pitulicea (Editore Minerva,
Rumanian), ( Magyar-Török Barati, Hungarian), (Alma Lettera, Lituvanian), (Mir
Knigi, Russian), (Uniscorp, Bulgarian)
ÇALIKUŞU
GOLDCREST
Mir Knigi, Russia, 2008
408 pages, Novel
Translated by Igor Pechenev
ISBN: 975 10 0012 2
www.onkagency.com
Feride, a young girl nicknamed
“Goldcrest” for her naughty behavior at
the French School in Istanbul, falls in
love with Kamuran, but finds out three
days before her wedding that he has
promised marriage to another woman
in Switzerland as well. She leaves
everything behind and takes off to the
rural areas of Western Anatolia as a
teacher, which is the beginning of a new
era in her life.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
BACAKSIZ SİGARA KAÇAKÇISI
LITTLE DEVIL CIGARETTE DEALER
Edition Orient, Germany, 2007
96 pages, Children’s Book, Novel
ISBN: 9753480059
cinar@cinaryayincilik.com.tr
R I F A T I L G A Z
Rıfat Ilgaz (1911-1993) was one of the pioneering socialist-realist poets of the
1940’s, his poems and articles appearing in the regional press of small towns. He
graduated from Ankara Gazi Institute of Education in 1938 and was appointed as a
Turkish teacher to various schools. In 1940, he entered the department of philosophy.
Together with Ömer Faruk Toprak he published the magazine Yürüyüş (Walking) in
1942 and worked with such literary notables as Orhan Kemal, Sait Faik, Cahit Irgat,
A. Kadir, and Nâzım Hikmet (İbrahim Sabri). His first book, Yarenlik (Chit Chat)
was published in 1943. His poetry was received with extraordinary interest. His book
of poetry Sınıf (Class, 1944) was withdrawn from circulation upon the declaration
of martial law and he was sent to prison under Article 142 of the Penal Code for six
months. Ilgaz joined the staff of Markopaşa (periodical), published by Sabahattin
Ali, Aziz Nesin and Mim Uykusuz, in 1947. He later became the editor-in-chief of
this magazine, which was frequently banned by the government and continued its
publication under different names. He began to work as a journalist in the 1950’s but
since he was a politically “dangerous” writer, magazines and newspapers did not use
his name. He worked as a typesetter, proofreader and a reporter for the newspaper
Tan from 1952 to 1960. He wrote articles under the pen name of Stepne (Spare Tire)
for Dolmuş (Shared Taxi), a magazine published by Turhan Selçuk and İlhan Selçuk.
His works Hababam Sınıfı (Outrageous Class, 1957), Pijamalılar (The Pajamas Ward,
1959), and Don Kişot İstanbul’da (Don Quijote in Istanbul, 1957) were published as
serials in this magazine. His book of poetry Devam (Continuing), published in 1953,
was also withdrawn from circulation. Ilgaz succeeded in every kind of writing he
attempted, producing notable works in all genres. His Outrageous Class was widely
read, staged, and filmed. He has produced over hundred books.
Foreign Rights: Karartma Geceleri/The Blackout Nights (Greek); Bacaksız Kamyon
Sürücüsü/Little Devil Truck Driver (Edition Orient, German); Bacaksız Sigara
Kaçakçısı/Little Devil Cigarette Dealer (Edition Orient, German) Dördüncü Bölük/
Fourth Company (Milet, English); Hababam Sınıfı/The Crazy Class Kopasz Mahmut
diákjai (Móra, Hungarian)
Bacaksız Sigara Kaçakcısı, (Little
Devil Cigarette Dealer) which
forms part of the series, Bacaksız
Kamyon Sürücüsü (Little
Devil Truck Driver), Bacaksız
Okulda (Little Devil at School),
Bacaksız Paralı Atlet (Little Devil
Professional Athlete), Bacaksız
Tatil Köyünde (Little Devil at
Holiday Village), relates the
amusing adventures of a naughty
little boy.

S A B A A L T I N S A Y
Saba Altınsay was born in 1961 in Çanakkale. He completed his secondary education
in Ankara and Izmir, graduating from the Journalist and Broadcasting School in the
Political Sciences Faculty at Ankara University. After leaving university, he started
work and published his short stories and travel articles in several newspapers and
journals. His first book Kritumu was published in 2004.
KRİTİMU: GİRİT’İM BENİM
KRITIMU: MY CRETE
Globosino, Serbia, 2007
288, pages, Novel
Translated by Mirjana Marinkoviç
ISBN 9789750704093
www.kalemagency.com
Kritimu, is Saba Altınsay’s first book. The
author, who is from a family of Cretan
origin, relates the story of the compulsory
population exchanges between Greece and
Turkey and the events leading up to it on
Crete. In a period when the Ottoman Empire
was weakening and beginning to lose its
influence, there is a heightening of tension
which flares up into hostility between the
two populations in Crete, despite the close
relationship, traditions and language mix
which had existed hitherto. Kritimu tells the
story of the sad departure of the Turkish-
Cretan family Yarmakamakis from the
island. However the real hero of the book is
Crete itself, with its incomparable natural
beauty and soul soothing fragrance.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
S A B A H A T T İ N A L İ
Sabahattin Ali (1907-1948) is one of the leading Turkish authors of the early years of
the Turkish Republic. Educated in Turkey and Germany, his literary output consists
of three novels, five collections of short stories, one collection of poems and one
posthumous collection of political articles and numerous translations. He was the
owner and editor of a very popular weekly periodical called “Markopaşa” which, with
its political and satirical editorials, became a target of the establishment during the
second part of the 1940s. His works are focused on the rural, social and psychological
realities of Anatolia as well as on the urban pseudo-intellectual circle of Istanbul and
Ankara. He was a strong believer in socialism and was imprisoned more than once
for his political views and writings. Sabahattin Ali was assassinated while allegedly
secretly crossing the border to Bulgaria. Why, where, and by whom he was really
murdered and where he was buried is still a mystery.
WORKS: Dağlar ve Rüzgâr (Mountains and Winds), Kurbağanın Serenadı (The
Serenade of the Frog), Öteki Şiirler (Other Poems), Değirmen (The Mill), Kağnı (The
Oxcart), Ses (Voice), Yeni Dünya (New World), Sırça Köşk (Glass Palace), Kuyucaklı
Yusuf (Yusuf of Kuyucak), İçimizdeki Şeytan (The Devil Within), Kürk Mantolu
Madonna (Madonna in a Fur Coat).
Foreign Rights: Kürk Mantolu Madonna/The Fur Coated Madonna (Le Serpent à
Plumes, French), (Dörleman , German); Kuyucaklı Yusuf/Yusuf from Kuyucak
(Le Serpent à Plumes, French); İçimizdeki Şeytan/The Devil Within (Le Serpent à
Plumes, French), (Unionsverlag, German)
KÜRK MANTOLU MADONNA
MADONNA IN A FUR COAT
Le Serpent Á Plumes, France, 2007
160 pages, Novel
Translated by Jean Descat
ISBN: 9753638029
www.onkagency.com
Some passions overwhelm us and guide our lives.
We follow them, knowing that we will never regret
it. In this book, Sabahattin Ali, who is the master of
drawing out people’s unseen faces, describes such
a passion. He poses challenging questions about
personalities subdued by society, on the lightness of
being and the impossibility of love.

S A D I K Y A L S I Z U Ç A N L A R
Sadık Yalsızuçanlar was born in Malatya in South East Turkey in 1962 and attended
Hacettepe University, where he majored in Turkology. He has since worked in
publishing and teaching, and currently acts as a producer for TRT Ankara Television.
He has received several awards for his stories and essays, as well as for a number of
television documentaries.
WORKS: Gezgin (The Wanderer), Yakaza, Garip (The Stranger), 40 Gözaltı Öyküsü
(40 Surveillance Stories), Kuş Öyküsü Güzeran (Guzeran the Story of the Bird),
Şey (The Thing), Hiç (Nothing), Cam ve Elmas (Glass and Diamond), Ayan Beyan
(Obvious), Halvet der Encümen, Varlığın Evi (The Home of Existence), Bir Yolcunun
Halleri (Conditions of a Traveller), Öyküler Kitabı (The Book of Tales), Sırlı Tuğlalar
(Vitrified Bricks), Yolcu (The The Traveller), Kerem ile Aslı (Kerem and Aslı) .
GEZGİN
THE WANDERER
Literaturca Verlag, Germany, 2006
256 pages, Novel
Translated by Beatrix Caner
ISBN: 975263074X
www.kalemagency.com
The Wanderer is about the spiritual
life of the great philosopher, poet and
sage Muhammad Ibn’ Arabi, one of the
world’s great spiritual teachers, who
was born into the Moorish culture of
Andalusian Spain. The story begins
with the encounter of Ibn’ Rusd, later
known as Averroes and Ibn’ Arabi.
During this interesting encounter, the
two great philosophers spend on hour
together yet exchange only two words:
“yes” and “no”. The novel, written by
a new approach to storytelling and
fiction, does not contain any dramatic,
tragic or absurd elements.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
S A D I K Y E M N İ
Sadik Yemni was born in the Kurtuluş (Tatavla) neighborhood of Istanbul in
1951; his family moved to his mother’s hometown of Izmir in 1954. In 1975, Yemni
abandoned his studies in Chemical Engineering at Ege University with plans to spend
some time in Amsterdam. He worked at several different jobs in the Netherlands; the
last of these was as a bridge constructer for the state railway (1981-1989). He took
advantage of his time off in the winters to read, contemplate, and write in a secluded
rural area. His first book, a collection of short stories entitled De ljzeren Snavel (Iron
Beak), was published in the Netherlands and Yemni still lives in Amsterdam.
WORKS: Novels: Muska (Amulet, 1996), Amsterdam’ın Gülü (The Rose of
Amsterdam, 1997), Öte Yer (The Beyond, 1997), Metros (Metros, 2002), Çözücü
(Dissolvent, 2003), Ölümsüz (Immortal, 2004), Yatır (Sacred Tomb, 2005),
Muhabbet Evi (Chat House, 2006). Memoir: Durum 429 (Situation 429, 2007).
Foreign Rights: Öte Yer/The Beyond (Foremost Press, USA), Muhabbet Evi/Chat
House (Ruffel Verlag, Germany)
MUSKA
AMULET
372 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9789752893924
everest@alfakitap.com
Amulet is a story based on evil: Evil stretching
all the way from the occupied “infidel Izmir” to
the cosmopolitan, easygoing Izmir of the 1960s…
Wise and good-hearted witches who oppose this
evil with magic, prayers, and fortunetelling;
Halit Duman, a wizened intellectual of means;
Mecnun, the bum of 94th Street; Crazy Hadiye,
who vanquishes her enemies with artfully hurtled
potatoes; one of the last of his kind, the stripling
swashbuckler Ziya; our twelve year old hero, Sarp
Sapmaz, who can see what others cannot see, and
hear what others cannot hear… Just to name a few
of the characters… They are all behind the mirrorthe
mirror that you are looking into…

S A F İ Y E E R O L
Safiye Erol was born in 1902, went to Germany in 1917 and returned to Istanbul after
finishing high school, university and completing her PhD in 1926. She published
articles in various newspaper and magazines. She has written eight books two
of which are translations. The elements of eastern and western cultures she had
gathered since her childhood and the perfect ability to analyse and combine different
perspectives which she owned from birth brought out a Turkish intellectual in her
personality. The most important feature of her books is that they are archival sources
conveying vivid portraits from the old neighbourhood lives and traditions of Istanbul.
Her wording is extremely sound, her descriptions and psychological analyses
are precise. Meeting great Sufi thinker Ken’an Rifai when she was middle-aged
constituted a milestone in her life and books. She passed away in 1964.
WORKS: Ciğerdelen/The Heartbreaker, Kadıköyü’nün Romanı (Novel of Kadikoy),
Ülker Fırtınası (Storm of the Pliades), Dineyri Papazı (King of Diamonds), Çölde
Biten Rahmet Ağacı (The Tree of Divine Grace Growing in the Desert) ve Makaleler
(Articles).
CİĞERDELEN
THE HEARTHBREAKER
Connectum, Bosnia-Herzegovina
272 pages, Novel
Translated by Amina Şilyak
ISBN: 9757663549
info@kubbealti.org.tr
In this novel Safiye Erol narrates a
love story which took place in the
20th century and combines it with a
Rumelian myth (originating from the
European part of the Ottoman Empire)
filled with heroism. She recounts in
vibrant and impressing language
the adventure of the ancestors of the
Turkish nation
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
S A İ T F A İ K A B A S I Y A N I K
Sait Faik lived between1901 and 1954. He lived a bohemian life that forced him to
quit his education in France and return to Turkey. He devoted his life to writing. In
1953 he became an honorary member of the International Mark Twain Society of
St. Louis, Missouri for his “services to modern literature.” Workers, retired people,
fishermen, deserted children, and poor and idle folk constitute the subjects of his
works. His love for people and his affinity to Greeks and Armenians in Istanbul
allowed him to convey the cultural richness of the first decade of the Turkish
Republic. The Sait Faik foundation is still run by his legal heir Darüşşafaka School,
maintaining his Burgaz House as the Sait Faik Museum and since 1954 giving the
annual Sait Faik Literature Prize to the best collection of short stories. Some of his
works has been translated to English, German and French.
WORKS: Semaver (Samovar), Sarnıç (The Cistern), Şahmerdan (The Hammer),
Lüzumsuz Adam (Useless Man), Mahalle Kahvesi (Neighborhood Coffee House),
Havada Bulut (Cloud in the Air), Kumpanya (Theatre Company), Havuz Başı (The
Poolside), Son Kuşlar (Last Birds), Alemdağ’da Var Bir Yılan (There’s a Snake in
Alemdağ), Az Şekerli (Just a little Sugar), Medar-ı Maişet Motoru (The Honorable
Breadwinning Boat), Kayıp Aranıyor (Searching for the Missing), Şimdi Sevişme
Vakti (It’s Time for Romance), Tüneldeki Çocuk (Kid in the Tunnel), Mahkeme
Kapısı (In Court), Balıkçının Ölümü-Yaşasın Edebiyat (Death of the Fisherman-Long
Live Literature), Açık Hava Oteli (Open Air Hotel), Müthiş Bir Tren (An Incredible
Train), Sevgiliye Mektup (Letters to a Lover).
ALEMDAĞ’DA VAR BİR YILAN
THERE IS A SNAKE IN ALEMDAĞ
Editions Bleu Autour, France, 95 pages, Short Story
Translated by Rosie Pinhas Delpuech
ISBN 978 9750805046
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
“Sait Faik wrote the way he lived – spontaneously, sensually,
impressionistically, experientially, always stressing the
authentic touch and the ring of truth. He probably felt that
a story is a microcosm or slice of life and cannot be, should
not be, any more perfect than life itself. Above all, he was
conscious of human frailty, foibles, and follies. In exploring
human situations, his stories reflected, not only in substance
but in form as well, the flaws of life.”
Talat Sait Halman

SERGÜZEŞT
S A M İ P A Ş A Z A D E S E Z A İ
Sami Paşazade Sezai (1836-1936), a Tanzimat era writer, worked as a clerk at the
Ministry of Foundations (at the Writing and Correspondence Office) and then as 2nd
Chancellor at the Turkish Embassy in London. In 1901 he escaped to Paris during
the Istibdat (despotism)era and started writing feature articles and articles for
Şûrâ-yı Ümmet newspaper which was the press arm of the Committee for Union and
Progress (Ittihat ve Terakki Cemiyeti). He returned to Istanbul after the declaration
of Constitutional Monarchy (Meşrutiyet). He became Ambassador to Spain, and lived
in Switzerland during World War I, and then returned home. The author started his
writing career with articles, interviews, and theatre plays; he became famous for his
novel Sergüzeşt (An Adventure) and his short stories Küçük Şeyler (Small Things). He
is considered a remarkable writer in terms of portraying scenes from everyday life
and dialogues between his characters. He became one of the realist storytellers and
novelists of the Tanzimat era with his novel An Adventure which drew its characters
from the public domain and his twelve short stories which were comparable to those
of his contemporaries in the West.
AN ADVENTURE
Inner Mongolian CPH, China
140 pages, Novel
Translated by Ye Jian Xin
ISBN: 9789754686395
The author portrays significant segments of the
way of living and everyday lives of the 1880s with
An Adventure, a novel about love, questioning
the concepts of slavery and liberty,that has
now become a classic. An Adventure traces the
marks of a love between the Circassian slave girl
Dilber, and the rich mansion owner Celal Bey,
who fall in love as quickly as they fall out of love.
The author successfully conveys to the reader,
within a strong emotional platform, the natural
behaviour that the human spirit exhibits when
faced with desperation. He emphasises the bitter
relativity of the valid approach to concepts such
as self-sacrifice, trust, honesty and patriotism
during the period, resulting in unfairness. The
novel passionately cultivates the innocent love
of a slave girl and is remarkable in the way it
particularly portrays the irresistible supremacy
of love.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
S E L Ç U K A L T U N
Selçuk Altun was born in 1950, in Şavşat-Artvin. Upon earning his degree at Boğaziçi
University in the Department of Management, he completed a Master‘s in the same
department and began working in the field of finance. Altun, who has written essays
on books and bookselling for periodicals and newspapers, and whose translations
have appeared in various compilations, is the author of Yalnızlık Gittiğin Yoldan
Gelir (Desolation Comes From The Road You Took, 2001), Bir Sen Yakınsın Uzakta
Kalınca (When Far, Only You Are Near, 2002), Ku(r)şun Lezzeti (The Savor of B(ullet)
ird’s, 2003), Annemin Öğretmediği Şarkılar (The Songs My Mother Didn’t Teach,
2005) and Senelerce Senelerce Evveldi (It was Years, Years Ago, 2008).
Foreign Rights: Annemin Öğretmediği Şarkılar/Songs My Mother Never Taught Me
(Telegram, English, 2008), Senelerce Senelerce Evveldi/Many and Many A Year Ago
(Telegram, English, 2009)
ANNEMİN ÖĞRETMEDİĞİ ŞARKILAR
THE SONGS MY MOTHER DIDN’T TEACH
Telegram, USA, 2009
Translated by Ruth Christie, Selçuk Berilgen
176 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9755702285
www.selyayincilik.com
Those who have read Selçuk Altun’s previous novels
will not be unfamiliar with the characterizations,
intense portrayalsof setting, progressive pace
particular to detective novels, and the writer’s
unique style in the probing tale of The Songs My
Mother Didn’t Teach. Exploiting the enigmatic
thrill common to the detective genre, The Songs My
Mother Didn’t Teach presents the reader with an
estranged member of a family, a family to which life
has been generous, even perhaps cruelly so - in the
material sense. Not inclined to protract his story,
Altun uses language as economically as possible,
yet does not forsake the visual in writing. Whether
old or new, rich or poor, known or overlooked, a
strong atmosphere is created through the portrayal
of Istanbul’s byways, streets, buildings, houses, and
historical locations in a novel intense in imagery,
metaphor, and simile.

S E L İ M İ L E R İ
Selim İleri was born in Istanbul in 1949. He completed Ataturk High School in 1968.
For a time he attended the Faculty of Law at Istanbul University. Giving up his
studies, he devoted himself to writing. His first piece was published in Yeni Ufuklar
magazine in 1967. He gained fame with publications in the period’s foremost
magazines. His first book of stories was published in 1968, his acclaimed first novel,
Her Gece Bodrum (Halicarnassus Every Night) in 1973. Selim İleri, who has written,
alongside novels and stories, scenarios, essays, literature-related surveys, and a
book of poetry, has also won numerous literary awards and published the following
(out of his overall 21 novels) after 1990: Mavi Kanatlarınla Yalnız Benim Olsaydın
(If You Were Only Mine With Your Blue Wings, 1991), Kırık Deniz Kabukları (Broken
Seashells, 1994), Gramafon Hâlâ Çalıyor (The Gramophone is Still Playing, 1994),
Cemil Şevket Bey, Aynalı Dolaba İki El Revolver (Cemil Şevket Bey, Firing the Revolver
Twice at the Mirrored Cabinet, 1997), Solmaz Hanım ve Kimsesiz Okurlar İçin (For
Ms. Solmaz and Forlorn Readers, 2000), Bu Yaz Ayrılığın İlk Yazı Olacak (This
Summer will Be the First One of Separation, 2001), Yarın Yapayalnız (Tomorrow All
Alone, 2004), Kapalı İktisat (Closed Economics, 2007), Hepsi Alev (It’s All Flame,
2007), and Daha Dün: Geçmiş, Bir Daha Geri Gelmeyecek Zamanlar (Only Yesterday:
The Past Times That Will Never Come Back, 2008).
HEPSİ ALEV
IT’S ALL FLAME
Uklad Anka, Poland
192 pages, Novel
Translated by Mikolaj Sobczak
ISBN: 9789752935303
www.kalemageny.com
Selim İleri presents a historical novel on the 40th
anniversary of his literary career. It’s all a flame...
This historical novel tells the story of the
Byzantine Empress Irene, her ambition to rule,
her lack of faith in love and family, her passion
for art, her cruel ways and loneliness. We find out
that strangely enough nothing has changed since
those times in this complex city called Istanbul.
Even though It’s all a flame is facing the past, it is
telling us about the present. It’s all a flame is the
fascinating story of a strong and lonely woman
who had a vision to unite the East and the West.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
S E M A K A Y G U S U Z
Sema Kaygusuz was born in Samsun in 1972 and graduated from the Department of
Public Relations at Gazi University in 1994. During her university education, she was
interested in the art of dancing and theatre. Her early stories have been published in
various literature magazines and have received awards. Sema Kaygusuz still writes
for Atlas magazine and holds workshops on creative writing. She is one of Turkey´s
most prestigious short story writers.
WORKS: Short Stories: Ortadan Yarısından (From the Middle, From Halfway, 1997),
Sandık Lekesi (Hope Chest Stain, 2000), Esir Sözler Kuyusu (Well of Enslaved
Words, 2004). Novel: Yere Düşen Dualar (Prayers Falling to the Ground, 2006).
Foreign Rights: Yere Düşen Dualar/The Fallen Prayers (Actes Sud, France),
(Surkamp, Germany)
YERE DÜŞEN DUALAR
THE FALLEN PRAYERS
Shurkamp, Germany, 2008
336 pages, Novel
Translated by Barbara and Hüseyin Yurttaş
ISBN: 9752934374
vesper@club-internet.fr, dk.rights@dogankitap.com.tr
Yere Düşen Dualar (The Fallen Prayers) is a
polyphonic novel that relates the malaise of
existence in the context of a family tragedy. Offering
multiple levels of reading, the work has such a
complex narration that it is not easy to embrace all
of its aspects at once. The Fallen Prayers is written
in a vigorous and daring style. In its concentrated
and intricately detailed prose, the identities of
the personages constantly change, all characters
inscribe themselves in the universe of the plot with
their own particular language and voice, and the
omniscient author is entirely omitted. This novel
stands out as one of the best singular works in
contemporary Turkish literature.

S E R D A R Ö Z K A N
Serdar Özkan, who was born in Izmir in August 1975, graduated from Robert College
and studied Management and Psychology at Lehigh University in the USA.
After graduating, he returned to Turkey and worked in the field of public relations.
He lives in Istanbul and has been writing novels since 2002. His first book, Kayıp Gül
(Lost Rose), became a bestseller abroad. It has been translated into 17 languages
and published in more than 20 countries.
KAYIP GÜL
LOST ROSE
Hena Com, Croatia, 2007
200 pages, Novel
Translated by Veja Vujovic
ISBN: 9786051140193
www.timas.com.tr
“How extraordinary to devote
some space to the golden jewel
we know as philosophy and to
the epic values of a tradition...
Just as it is extraordinary, it is
astonishing, exciting and joyful...
The seeker in Kayıp Gül (Lost
Rose), guided by philosophy,
absorbs us in an adventure which,
as well as educating the reader,
gives extreme pleasure and
gorgeous images.”
Ayşe Şasa – Writer
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
S E R P İ L U R A L
Serpil Ural was born in 1945 and after graduating from Üsküdar American High
School, Bradford Junior College and from the Graphics Department of the Fine Arts
Academy, worked for publicity companies as a graphic artist and script writer. In
1978 she started writing and illustrating books for pre-school children. Some of
her books have been adapted for TV and broadcast, notably, children’s television
programs for TRT in Turkey and Swedish Television. In 1986, at the 5 th Noma
International Children’s Book Illustrations Competition she received an Incentive
Award. In 1987, at the Rıfat Ilgaz Humoristic Story Competition she was awarded
first prize and in 1997, Serpil Ural won the Turkiye İş Bankası Children’s Literature
Award. Her book illustrations have been presented in several exhibitions and
competitions at home and abroad.
WORKS: Şafakta Yanan Mumlar (Candles Lit at Dawn), Ağrı’dan Zelve’ye Anadolu
Anlatıyor (From Agri to Zelve - Anatolia Speaks), Ali Baba’nın Çiftliği (Ali Baba’s
Farm), Bahar Nevruz’la Başlar (Spring Starts with Newroz), Cabula Mabula,
Armağan (Present), Güle Güle Nereye? (See You, Where Are You Going by the
Way?), Gürültücü Ali (Noisy Ali), Mikrobun Ettikleri (Microbe’s Misbehaviour), Tako
Eğitsel Öyküler Dizisi (Tako Educational Stories Series, 4 Books), Tek Gözlü Kedi
(The One Eyed Cat), Onbaşı Nezahat (Sergeant Nezahat), Eşek ve Berk (The Donkey
and Berk), Yasaklı Pansiyon (Forbidden Guesthouse), Sabiha, Köprü Olan Deniz
(The Sea That Turned into a Bridge), Armağan 4-7 Yaş Çocukları İçin Eğitsel Öyküler
Dizisi (Present - Educational Stories for 4-7 Age Group Children, 32 Books), Kedi-
Fare (Cat and Mouse) Müzik 5-6 Yaş Çocukları İçin Eğitsel Öyküler Dizisi (Music-
Educational Stories for 5-6 Age, 36 Books) Pazarda Neler Var Neler... (What do they
Sell at the Market?) Aksak Ali (Crippled Ali).
AĞRI’DAN ZELVE’YE ANADOLU ANLATIYOR
FROM AGRI TO ZELVE: ANATOLIA SPEAKS
Schulbuchverlag Anadolu, Germany, 2008
56 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Sabine Adatepe
ISBN: 9751704308
www.serpilural.net
There are so many stories, beliefs and legends
passed down from one generation to the next in
Anatolia. In this book, the most important stories
are presented, in alphabetical order, so that
children can be introduced to Anatolian culture.

TANTE ROSA
Buntbuchverlag, Germany, 1981
135 pages, Novel
S E V G İ S O Y S A L
Sevgi Soysal was born in 1936 in Istanbul and studied Archeology at Ankara and
Göttingen Universities. Her first novel Yürümek (Walking) was published in 1970.
Her political career marked her life as well as her artistic work, and her work entitled
Yenişehir’de bir Öğle Vakti (High Noon at Yenişehir), which was written during her
imprisonment in Yıldırım Regional Women’s Prison, was awarded with the Orhan
Kemal Novel Prize 1974. Her memoirs and observations from her imprisonment were
published in Yıldırım Bölge Kadınlar Koğuşu (Yıldırım Regional Women’s Prison).
She passed away in 1975 after a long period of illness and her articles were collected
posthumously in Bakmak (Looking).
WORKS: Tutku Pencerem (The Passionate Bangs), Tante Rosa, Yürümek (Walking),
Yenişehir’de Bir Öğle Vakti (High Noon at Yenisehir), Barış Adlı Çocuk (The Child
Called Peace), Şafak (Dawn), Yıldırım Bölge Kadınlar Koğuşu (Yıldırım Regional
Women’s Prison), Bakmak (Looking)
Translated by Aliye Yenen
ISBN: 975050092X
iletisim@iletisim.com.tr
Sevgi Soysal never wearied of pursuing
her own unique literary quest. She
strove to develop a method that she
called “new realism,” in order to reveal
reality in its multiple facets. Tante
Rosa is the product of that quest.
Sevgi Soysal treats the misfit Rosa’s
individual destiny with such a delicate
literary touch that the social reasons
behind what makes up the individual
are always right there in from of us.
Despite the pain so acutely described
in Tante Rosa, it ultimately remains an
ebullient novel, enriched by humorous
elements - a modern fairytale of odd
incidents, oddly true to life.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
S E V İ M A K
Sevim Ak, who has been writing children’s stories since 1985, won the Akademi
Kitapevi Story Award with her first book, Uçurtmam Bulut Şimdi (My Kite’s Turned
into a Cloud), published in 1997. Her books and short stories have been published
in many children’s magazines, such as Kırmızı Fare, Doğan Kardeş, Bando, Milliyet
Kardeş, Başak Çocuk, Vakıf Çocuk and Kırmızı Bilye. Sevim Ak has also written
stories and scripts for children’s programs on television. Her play Düşlere Sobe (Hide
and Seek/Home Free) has been staged at Istanbul City Theatre.
WORKS: Uçurtmam Bulut Şimdi (My Kite’s Turned Into a Cloud), Karşı Pencere
(Opposite Window), Pembe Kuşa Ne Oldu (What Happened to Pink Bird),
Penguenler Flüt Çalamaz (Penguins Don’t Play Flute), Toto ve Şemsiyesi (Toto and
His Umbrella), Puf Pufpuf, Cuf Cufcuf ve Cino (Puf Pufpuf, Cuf Cufcuf and Cino),
Babamın Gözleri Kedi Gözleri (My Dad’s Eyes Are Like Cat’s), Kuşlar Kralı Nikola
(Nikola, The King of Birds), Vanilya Kokulu Mektuplar (Vanilla Scented Letters),
Domates Saçlı Kız (Tomato Haired Girl), Dalgalar Dedikoduyu Sever (Gossip
Waves), Sakız ve Aytaşı (Sakız and the Moonstone), Sakız ve Haftanın Öyküsü
(Sakız and the Story of the Week), Sakız ve Rüzgar Adam (Sakız and the Wind
Man), Gemici Dedem (Grandpa the Sailor), Dörtgöz (Four Eyes), Çilekli Dondurma
(Strawberry Icecream).
Foreign Rights: Babamın Gözleri Kedi Gözleri/My Dad’s Eyes Are Like Cat’s
(Germany, 2008), Perguenler Flüt Çalamaz/Penguins Don’t Play Flute (Germany,
2008), Toto Ve Şemsiyesi/Toto And His Umbrella (Germany, 2008), Uçurtmam
Bulut Şimdi/My Kite’s Turned Into a Cloud (Germany, 2008)
UÇURTMAM BULUT ŞİMDİ
MY KITE’S TURNED INTO A CLOUD
Schulbuchverlag Anadolu, Germany, 2008
84 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Sabine Adatepe
ISBN: 9750702824
international@canyayinlari.com
Uçurtmam Bulut Şimdi (My Kite’s Turned Into a Cloud)
consists of a number of captivating, thought provoking
stories; the story of a child whose first kite, made by
his father, drifts away, the adventures of two kids who
open a bookstore, the story of a girl trying to discover
the secret of rain, the earthquake fears of two brothers
and the story of a pretty girl trying to buy a mother’s
day present...

SAHİBİNİN SESİ - EVEREST MY LORD -
İŞTE BAŞ İŞTE GÖVDE İŞTE KANATLAR
HIS MASTER’S VOICE - EVEREST MY LORD -
HERE IS THE HEAD, THE BODY AND THE WINGS
L’espace D’un Instant, France, 2006, 96 Pages, Play
Translated by T. Muhidine, Marie - Christine Varol
ISBN: 9750810481
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
S E V İ M B U R A K
Sevim Burak was born in Istanbul in 1931 and died in 1983. After finishing the Junior
High Division at the German High School, she started work. She became a model
and subsequently, the director of her own fashion house. She died of heart disease
at Haseki Hospital in Istanbul. Her first short story was published in the daily paper,
Yeni İstanbul (New Istanbul). Her other stories have been published in literary
journals and daily papers such as Yenilik, Türk Dili, Ulus and Milliyet. Her stories are
considered to be sophisticated examples of the ‘’stream of consciousness’’ technique.
She uses poetic language in her works, in which she usually takes up women’s issues.
WORKS: Afrika Dansı (African Dance), Everest My Lord - İşte Baş İşte Gövde İşte
Kanatlar (Everest My Lord - Here is the Head, the Body and the Wings), Ford Mach
I, Sahibinin Sesi (His Master’s Voice), Yanık Saraylar (Burned Palaces).
In her most important works, His Master’s Voice
and Here is the Head, the Body and the Wings, the
individual defines himself according to the “Social
Other.” The other, who is devious and unreliable,
is the one from the other religion, other sex, other
culture and other language. In these texts, every
individual has a second identity. While reading
these texts, which are in a perpetual state of
deconstruction , we are confronted several times,
on an inter-societal and inter-cultural level, with
the fundamental questions that a child asks, in the
process of becoming an individual, namely, “ who
am I ?’’ and “ where do I come from ?”. In Here is the
Head, the Body and the Wings, after the first act,
repeated sentences and photos saturate the pages,
making the reader focus more on their own process
of getting lost in the schizophrenic disorder, rather
than what is actually related in the story.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
S E V İ N Ç Ç O K U M
Sevinç Çokum was born in Istanbul in 1943 and went to Beşiktaş High School. She
graduated from the Department of Turkish Philology in the Faculty of Literature at
Istanbul University and obtained an additional qualification from the Department of
Sociology. Starting in her years at university, she channeled her efforts into literature
by writing poems and short stories and she got the support of the people around her.
In February, 1972; Bir Eski Sokak Sesi (A Voice of an Old Street), which was among
her first stories, was published in Hisar, the newspaper belonging to Mehmet Çınarlı.
Television films were made from the scenerios of Beyaz Sessiz Bir Zambak (A White,
Silent Lily) and Yeniden Doğmak (Rebirth), in which she wrote about the Bulgarian
Turks. The writer has won many prizes and made a variety of radio programs; her
works are still published in various literature periodicals. She is a member of the
Writers Union of Turkey, ILESAM (The Professional Union of Turkish Science and
Literature Academicians), MESAM (Musical Work Owners’ Society of Turkey) and the
Turkish Authors Association. The writer has written eighteen books.
BİZİM DİYAR
OUR LAND
Gençlik Publishing House, Azerbaijan, 1992
258 pages, Novel
Translated by Azize Caferzade
ISBN: 975437192X
ötüken@ötüken.com.tr
Our Land was published in Turkey for the first
time in 1978 and depicts the Balkan Wars and the
mass immigration from the Rumeli region with
the collapse of the Ottoman State. The author has
adopted the events and personalities found in the
book from the stories she was told by her elderly
relatives who lived through these events and who
were deeply affected. Our Land is an interesting
novel which provides an account of recent history,
weaving the cultural heritage from Rumeli to
Istanbul in a poetical and detailed way.

S E Y H A N E R Ö Z Ç E L İ K
Seyhan Erözçelik (1962, Bartın) completed his elementary school education in
Bartın. He finished Kadıköy Maarif College. He studied psychology at Boğaziçi
University and Arab and Persian languages at Istanbul University. Currently in
advertizing, he is also among the founders of the journal Şiir Atı (1986). His first
poem, “Düştanbul” (DreamIstanbul) was published in the journal Yazko Edebiyat
(1982). He also was published in journals such as Gösteri, Gergedan, Varlık and
Sombahar. He is a poet of the 1980’s generation. Focusing on objects, situations
and images, he plays with the language, dividing words to create new images, thus
developing his own poetic language.
His Books of Poetry: Yeis ile Tabanca (Despair and Pistol, 1986), Hayal Kumpanyası
(The Company of Illusion, 1990), Kır Ağı (Hoarfrost, 1991), Yeis (Despair, 1995), Gül
ve Telve (Rose and Coffee Grinds, 1996), Şehirde Sansar Var (There Is a Weasel in
Town, 1999), Yağmur Taşı (Rain Stone, 2004) and Vâridik, Yoğidik (Once We Were,
Once We Weren’t, 2007).
Foreign Rights: Gül ve Telve/Rose and Coffe Grinds (Talisman House Publishers,
English)
VÂRİDİK, YOĞİDİK
ONCE WE WERE, ONCE WE WEREN’T
81 pages, Poetry
ISBN: 9789757172901
www.simurg.com.tr
Seyhan Erözçelik described his purpose in this book
as “I tried to use all shared words from all Turkic
languages. Still, this is more than an experiment,
it is a sign. I always said that I love my language. I
am trying to discover the secrets of this language.
I would also like this book to be understood in
different Turkic languages.” We do not have many
shared words with other Turkic languages. Because
of this, these poems are written with very few
words. The poet overcomes this difficulty with the
sound and music he creates. His point of view tends
toward mysticism: when thinking about existence
and non-existence, thinking about “I” and “you”
suffice.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
S E Z A K U T L A R A K S O Y
Seza Kutlar Aksoy was born in Gaziantep. Upon graduation from Istanbul
Girls’ High School, she has attended Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters, the
Department of English Language and Literature but did not graduate. She has been
writing novels and short stories for children and young adults since 1980. Her stories
have been published in magazines such as Milliyet Çocuk and Kırmızıfare. Her
books Büyülü Bahçe (The Magic Garden) and Küçük Prenses ve Kardelen (The Little
Princess and Snowdrop) became the subject of studies that aim to improve children’s
thinking skills. These studies were also carried out with other books of the author.
For three years, she was in charge of education as a volunteer in a civil society
project. She is currently involved in reading projects in civil society organizations.
TOMURCUK VE PEMBE KEDİ
TOMURCUK AND THE PINK CAT
Önel Verlag, Germany
67 pages, Children’s Book
Translated by Sibylle Cizenel
ISBN: 9753635648
morpa@morpa.com.tr
Tomurcuk could make impossible
things real with his imagination. He
was oblivious to rules and the limits
of his wishes, and he left home with
his imaginary pink cat. However, good
things were not to last long. Tomurcuk:
both an ordinary and an extraordinary
protagonist.

S İ B E L K . T Ü R K E R
Sibel K. Türker (1968) attracted attention with her first book Kalp(Y)azan (Writer
of the Heart/Swindler, 2003). It is characteristic of her to display more and more
of the world behind the people in her stories. Her language and writing style reflect
the approach of a mature author who filters the situations and relationships
she describes with refinement. She writes about common dissatisfactions and
dissonance, and about the non-conformism of people who have no doubts about
their subjectivity. Her attention to the telling detail creates dramatic effects which
catch readers by surprise. Her subtle humour is a pleasure, as is her seriousness
about crafting a perfect language for the Turkish short story. Her questioning of
life and the place of women in it appears in all her stories. She has published three
collections, including Öykü Sersemi (Story-Silly, 2005) and Ağula (Poison, 2007), as
well as a novel titled Şair Öldü (The Poet Is Dead, 2006)
ŞAİR ÖLDÜ
THE POET IS DEAD
Paradox Publishing Group, Bulgaria
254 pages, Novel
Translated by Aziz Shakir
ISBN: 9752934307
dk.rights@dogankitap.com.tr
Human nature has a deficiency which accompanies us from
birth. As humans we are aware of this and we try to make
up for it throughout our lives. Our fatigue and weariness
stems from this as well as our tenderness and disagreement.
The absurd thing in this is also how our hopes come to life.
When the only reflection we see on the mirror is ourselves,
we know that we have to run to escape. Inadequacy also
keeps us under its spell. We stand there and stare at our
starved beings for which further improvements are out of
the question. Our being awaits and surrounds us, not letting
go-it is already paid for-we are unable to buy it a bit of extra
sense, depth, love, emotion or talent. Our sense of slavery
is ancient; we are born expecting to be freed. Continent,
country, family, gender, language, religion, skin, eyebrows,
eyes, nose and even the city we live in. None out of choice, but
we find ourselves thrown into them for no apparent reason.
It is as ambiguous and without any sense as when a bud held
by a bird’s beak falls on a piece of ground.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
KİRÂZE
KIRAZE
S O L M A Z K A M U R A N
Solmaz Kamuran was born in Istanbul in 1954. After completing her secondary
education, she graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry at Istanbul University. She
has written scripts for television and many of her travel articles have been published.
WORKS: Kiraze, Minta, Bir Kadın - Bir Erkek (A Woman - A Man), Bir Levrek İskeleti
(Skeleton of a Fish), Çanakkale Rüzgârı (Çanakkale Wind), Gecenin Yakamozu
(Shimmering of the Night), İpek Böceği Cinayeti (Silkworm Murder), Devlet Çete
Olmasın Dediğinizde (When You Said Mafia-free State…).
Foreign Rights: Kiraze/Ester Kyra (Okeanida, Greece), (Partvonal, Hungary), (Via
Magna, Spain), (Narodna knija, Serbia), (Casadasletras, Portuguese), (Dialog,
Poland), (Mondodori Harleguine, Italy); Minta (Greece), (the Netherlands), (Italy),
(Portuguese)
Casa das Letras, Portugal, 2007
390 pages, Novel
Translated by Ana Lourenço
ISBN: 9751025340
sdiker@inkilap.com, solina@inkilap.com
Solmaz Kamuran tells the story, set
over a hundred year period, of the
plight of the Sefarad Jews, deported
from Spain in 1492. The Jews were
trying to reach several destinations,
Holland, North Africa and since they
had been invited by Sultan Beyazid the
Second, the Ottoman lands. Ester Kira
(also known as Kiraze), is the daughter
of a Sefarad Jew who arrives in Istanbul
after a horrendous journey. Kiraze, in
quite a short time, becomes a Jew who
is able to enter the Ottoman palace,
due to her determination, intelligence
and beauty. This novel, while shedding
light on the sufferance of the Sefarad
Jews, also explains how Ottoman
and European palaces controlled
and influenced religious, social and
political life. The book is a moving
portrayal of the period.

S U A T D E R V İ Ş
Suat Derviş is one of Turkey’s leading female authors (1905-1972). She was educated
in Berlin, Germany and wrote various articles for German newspapers and journals
during her time there. After the rise of fascism in Germany, unable to continue
writing, she returned to Turkey in 1932. She is the author of 12 novels and her novels
are usually about the tragic lives of lost, lonely and struggling people in the urban
centers of Turkey. She was a dedicated socialist and a childhood friend of the world
famous Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet, who was the first person to help her works
be published. After a change of government in Turkey and following pressure and
imprisonment, she was forced to emigrate for a second time, this time to France. She
lived in exile in France during 1953-1963. She was the first Turkish female author to
have a novel published in Europe: Ankara Maphusu (The Prisoner of Ankara) was
published in France in 1957, 11 years before it was first published in Turkish.
WORKS: Kara Kitap (The Black Book), Ne Bir Ses Ne bir Nefes (Not a Sound, Not
a Breath), Ahmet Fendi, Behire’nin Talipleri (Behire’s Suitors), Ben Mi (You Mean
Me), Fatma’nın Günahı (Fatma’s Sin), Gönül Gibi (Something Like A Heart), Emine,
Hiç (None), Çılgın Gibi (Madly), Fosforlu Cevriye (Flashy Cevriye), Aksaray’dan Bir
Perihan (A Perihan From Aksaray), Yalı’nın Gölgeleri (The Shadows of Mansion),
Ankara Mahpusu (The Prisoner of Ankara).
Foreign Rights: Ankara Mahpusu/The Prisoner of Ankara (Editeurs Reuins, France);
Çılgın Gibi/Madly (Aventurine, France)
ANKARA MAPHUSU - PRISONER OF ANKARA
Editeurs Reuins, France, 139 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9756719095
www.onkagency.com
Vasfi is a medical school student who
murders one of his friends in a quarrel and
fight at a night club. He is imprisoned for
12 years, and after his release cannot find
a job, neither in Ankara nor in Istanbul. All
he can do is find out the address of Zeynep,
his lover during his student years. However
Zeynep is now a shop owner, a bad-tempered
and stingy woman. Vasfi never shows his
face, he just follows her around and hesitates
to contact her. One day, while sleeping in
cold weather in one of the train stations,
an old woman, who likens Vasfi to her lost
son, gives him shelter in her house and
Vasfi starts living there. After a while he
also meets a friend from prison, who helps
him find a job as a construction worker; the
tragic story of a young idealistic man whose
life turns into ruins but who still succeeds in
surviving.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
Ş E B N E M İ Ş İ G Ü Z E L
Şebnem İşigüzel was born in 1973 and studied Anthropology at Istanbul University.
Her first book, entitled Hanene Ay Doğacak (Moon Will Rise On Your Abode), was
published in 1993. The same year she received the Yunus Nadi Short Story Award.
Her published works include, Öykümü Kim Anlatacak (Who Will Tell My Story?,
Short Stories, 1994), Eski Dostum Kertenkele (Lizard, My Old Chap, Short Stories,
1996), Neşeli Kadınlar Arasında (Among Merry Women, Essays, 2000), Kaderimin
Efendisi (The Master of my Destiny, Short Stories, 2001), Sarmaşık (The Ivy, Novel,
2002), Çöplük (The Dump, Novel, 2004) and Resmi Geçit (Parade, Novel, 2008).
ÇÖPLÜK
THE DUMP
Berlin Verlag, Germany
376 pages, Novel
Translated by Christopher K. Neumann
ISBN: 9750502787
iletisim@iletisim.com.tr
In 1993, Şebnem İşigüzel entered the
literary scene as a 19-year old author
with her first novel Moon Will Rise On
Your Abode. She acquired a solid place
in Turkish literature during the nineties
thanks to her later works. The Dump is
the story of the homeless Leyla, who is
seen as the queen of the dump by the
homeless brigade. One day, Leyla finds
a half-dead man among the garbage.
She takes him to her hovel where she
cures him in the subsequent weeks.
This exciting novel reveals the secret
miseries which lurk behind luxurious
lives. The reader is also invited to
explore the dark and dirty underbelly
of Istanbul.

Ş E Y H M U S D İ K E N
Şeyhmus Diken was born in Diyarbakır. He graduated from Diyarbakir High school
and the Faculty of Political Studies at Ankara University. His short career of being
a civil servant abruptly ended with the military coup of 12 September 1980. His first
book was published in 1997. His articles and texts were published in newspapers
such as Radikal, Yeni Yüzyıl, Yeni Binyıl, Evrensel, Taraf, BirGün, Özgür Gündem and
magazines such as Notos, Virgül, Radikal Books and Radikal İki. He is the Diyarbakır
representative of International Pen’s Turkish Headquarters and a member of the
Turkish Writers Union.
WORKS: Kürdilihicazkâr Metinler (Kürdilihicazkâr Texts), Güneydoğu’da Sivil
Hayat (Civil Life in the Southeast), Sırrını Surlarına Fısıldayan Şehir Diyarbakır
(Diyarbakır- the City that Whispers Her Secret to Her City Walls), Diyarbekir
Diyarım Yitirmişem Yanarım (Diyarbekir I’ve Lost My Country and I Burn Inside),
Tango ve Diyarbakır (Tango and Diyarbakır), İsyan Sürgünleri (Rebellion Exiles),
Türkiye’de Sivil Hayat ve Demokrasi (Civil Life and Democracy in Turkey),
Amidalılar Sürgündeki Diyarbekirliler (Amidalians - People from Diyarbakır in
Exile), Taşlar Şahit (Stones are the Witness), Zevalsiz Ömrün Sürgünü Mehmed
Uzun (Mehmed Uzun- Exile of the Everlasting Life).
SIRRINI SURLARINA FISILDAYAN ŞEHİR, DİYARBAKIR
DIYARBAKIR- THE CTY THAT WHISPERS
HER SECRET TO HER CITY WALLS
Editions Turquoise, France
Translated by Françosi Skvor
ISBN: 9750500105
iletisim@iletisim.com.tr
Diyarbakır, an eternal city, whose essence
has been moulded with pain and sadness, but
her hope is always kept alive…Diyarbakır, the
wounded city with deep wounds in her body…
Diyarbakır the city that since ancient times
has been able to withstand numerous disasters
and catastrophes caused by time and people.
Diyarbakır, the city whose pain, sadness and
hope has not yet been adequately voiced…”
This is how novelist Mehmet Uzun explains
the silence of Diyarbakır and the wealth of life
hiding underneath in the foreword of this novel.
With this book in your hands, Şeyhmus Diken
takes a step towards breaking the silence of a
city that whispers her secret to her city walls.
Şeyhmus Diken is the voice of Diyarbakır.
A soft, friendly flowing voice; a meaningful
and refreshing voice. Şeyhmus Diken depicts
Diyarbakır as a city, as a way of life in itself,
instead of seeing her as a strategic location, a
symbol or an abstract declaration of identity.
He does it with a sense of humour, with a soft,
friendly flowing and refreshing voice.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
T A H S İ N Y Ü C E L
GÖKDELEN - THE SKYSCRAPER
Uniscorp Publishing, Bulgaria
252 pages, Novel
Tahsin Yücel, who was born in Elbistan in 1933, is not only known for his stories
and novels, but for his translations, essays, and criticism. His two stories were
published in Varlık magazine’s annual “New Stories” book (1950) when he was still
a student at Galatasaray High School. He completed his higher education in the
field of literature. Yücel, who became Professor of French Language and Literature
at Istanbul University, has won numerous literary awards for his short stories and
novels. Beginning with his work entitled Mutfak Çıkmazı (Kitchen Impasse) in
1960, he continued writing with Vatandaş (Compatriot, 1975), Peygamberin Son Beş
Günü (The Prophet’s Last Five Days, 1992), Bıyık Söylencesi (The Moustache Myth,
1995), Yalan (Lie, 2002), Kumru ile Kumru (Kumru and Kumru, 2005) and Gökdelen
(Skyscraper, 2006).
Foreign Rights: Gökdelen/The Skyscraper (Uniscorp, Bulgarian), (Kedros, Greek);
Peygamberin Son Beş Günü/The Last Five Days of the Prophet (Rocher, French);
Vatandaş/Citizen (Rocher, French), (Fan Noli, Albanian), (Uniscorp, Bulgarian)
Translated by İmren Murad Tasinova
ISBN: 9789750706615
internationa@canyayinlari.com
info@kalemagency.com
Can Tezcan, the protagonist of the
novel that begins on the morning
of 17 February 2073, is one of the
most prominent lawyers in Turkey.
He devises a plan to solve the legal
predicament of his wealthy client,
Temel Diker, who aims to turn Istanbul
into a city of skyscrapers in a style that
will surpass New York City in beauty
and modernity. Can Tezcan wants
to privatize the judicial system. The
Skyscraper, the latest novel written by
Tahsin Yücel, the renowned master of
satire, is a feast of literature involving
breath-taking surprises, and tells the
story of the last house with a garden
in the district of Cihangir, squeezed in
between skyscrapers, of the stray cats
that are viciously killed, of miserable
men who have to survive in wild and
remote places in destitution, of the
wealthy who roam the city in one-seat
planes called shuttles, of self-seeking
politicians and media tycoons who do
not fail to flatter them

T E Z E R Ö Z L Ü
Tezer Özlü was born 1943 and died in1986 at a very young age. She was one of
Turkey’s most original writers, with three “different” books published during her
lifetime. Her first book, Eski Bahçe (Old Garden), comprising of short stories was
published in magazines. Her first novel Çocukluğun Soğuk Geceleri (The Cold Nights
of Childhood) tells a life story, a life full of abuse that is sometimes physical and
sometimes passive-aggressive, and of how the protagonist suffered from being
rejected for being both different and unusual. It is told in a touching and sensitive
way, from the bottom of her heart, or, in her words, “feeling it in her flesh.” She wrote
a narrative in German under the title Auf den Spuren eines Selbstmords (Journey
to The Edge of Life). The narrative, which is a search for the meaning of life that
takes the form of following the traces of her three favorite authors Svevo, Kafka and
Pavese, won the Marburg Literature Prize in 1983. Later she translated this work
into Turkish under the title Yaşamın Ucuna Yolculuk (Journey to the Edge of Life),
rewriting it to a certain extent.
WORKS: Yaşamın Ucuna Yolculuk (A Journey to the Edge of Life), Eski Bahçe-Eski
Sevgi (Old Garden- Old Love), Kalanlar (Those Left Behind), Zaman Dışı Yaklaşım
(Life Timed Out).
ÇOCUKLUĞUN SOĞUK GECELERİ
THE COLD NIGHTS OF CHILDHOOD
Berlin, Express-Edition, Germany, 1985
65 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9789753632607
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykutlur.com.tr
The first novel of Tezer Özlü reflects
a childhood that not only marks the
beginning of life but also one that you
always keep coming back to, perhaps
one that you can never escape. The
writer opposes the world of adults who
just like in their childhood do not give a
chance to those who are different, and
she takes refuge in the bare reality of
memories.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
SELECTED STORIES
Literaturca Verlag, Germany, 2001
233 Pages, Short Stories
ISBN: 9783935535021
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
T O M R İ S U Y A R
Tomris Uyar (1941-2003) was born in Istanbul and educated at the Arnavutköy
American College for Girls until 1961. She then graduated from the Faculty of
Economics at the Journalism Institute of Istanbul University in 1963. She is one of the
founders of Papirüs Literary Review. Her works, including essays and critiques have
been published in Yeni Dergi, Soyut and Varlık that are the most well-known journals
of the time. Tomris Uyar is one of the masters of Turkish short story writing from
the post-1960 period. She has 10 story collections and two of them, Yürekte Bukağı
(A Choke in the Heart, 1979) and Yaza Yolculuk (A Journey to Summer ,1986), have
won very prestigious story awards which carry the name of the well-know short story
writer Sait Faik. She has also translated more than 60 books. Her diaries, recounting
a period of 5 years in her life, have been published in 5 volumes.
WORKS: Short Stories: İpek ve Bakır (Silk and Copper) Ödeşmeler (Payback),
Dizboyu Papatyalar (Daisies knee high), Yürekte Bukağı (A Choke in the Heart), Yaz
Düşleri/Düş Kışları (Summer Dreams and Winters of Dreams), Gece Gezen Kızlar
(Girls Who Go Out at Night), Yaza Yolculuk (A Journey to Summer), Sekizinci Günah
(The Eighth Sin), Otuzların Kadını (Woman of the Thirties), Aramızdaki Şey (The
Thing Between Us), Güzel Yazı Defteri (A Lovely Notebook). Diaries: Gündökümü
(Breakdown of a Day), Sesler (Voices), Yüzler (Faces), Sokaklar (Streets), Günlerin
Tortusu (The Sludge of Days), Tanışma Günleri/Anları (Days/Moments of
Acquaintance), Yüzleşmeler (Confrontations).
Tomris Uyas is known for her strong observational power, for
her thoroughly refined language, and for her characters that
unearth what is underneath big cities. Generally, Uyar wrote
about the monotonous daily lives of high society, of the life-styles
of the spoiled wealthy, of their relationships and make-believe
happiness.She was a relentless examiner of the details of the
real life, the small pieces that escape the eye, its weaknesses,
and the wretchedness that makes people human. Tomris Uyar
writes to capture real life. She does not adopt a condescending
or presumptuous attitude, but she has the air of having lived it
all. In her stories, there is the threadbare joy, the nervousness
of monotonous lives, and the never-ending war between the
conscious and the subconscious. In momentary depictions,
sketched in an economy of words, Uyar gives a cross-section of
characters so powerful that the reader perceives their entire lives.
Due to her power of description, her work achieves its mastery.
Her irony is a tragedy on the brink of a smile, and serves the
purpose of better describing her characters, giving a full reflection
of human being, and reducing the loss in explanations, in fact
eliminating excessive description altogether. Uyar’s stories carry
the richness of the search for last shards of happiness, longings,
and the satisfaction that smothers it.

T U N A K İ R E M İ T Ç İ
Tuna Kiremitçi was born in Eskişehir in 1973. His first poems were published in
Varlık magazine during his Galatasaray High School years. His book entitled
Ayabakanlar (Moon Watchers), that also won him the Nabi Nayır Award for Poetry
was introduced to his readers in 1994. In 1997 he shared the Erguvan Balkan Poetry
Award with the Bosnian poet Izzet Saraylic. This was followed by his second book of
poems Akademi (Academy) in 1998. His first novel Git Kendini Çok Sevdirmeden (Go
Before You Make Me Love You Too Much) was published in 2002 and brought him a
great deal of success and wider readership. His other novels are; Bu İşte Bir Yalnızlık
Var (Way of Loneliness, 2003), Yolda Üç Kişi (Three People on the Way, 2005), Dualar
Kalıcıdır (Prayers are Everlasting, 2007)
Foreign Rights: Dualar Kalıcıdır/Prayers are Everlasting (Radio play, WDR,
German) (Trud, Bulgaria), (Koolibri, Estonian), (Tritonic-Romanian); Bu İşte Bir
Yalnızlık Var/Way of Loneliness (Kritiki, Greek)
DUALAR KALICIDIR
PRAYERS ARE EVERLASTING
Trud Publishing House, Bulgaria, 2008
180 pages, Novel
Translated by Paulina Mateeva
ISBN: 9789752935921
dogankitap@dogankitap.com.tr
www.kalemagency.com
Prayers Are Everlasting tells the story of the
friendship of a woman who had taken refuge in
Istanbul during World War II and a young girl
who tries to survive against the odds of life in
the present day. The lives of Rosella Galante, for
whom this life will soon come to pass,,and young
Pelin intersect in an “over-civilized” Central
European country. Other than heartbreaks and
past sorrows, there is one other thing that builds
a bond between the two women: the Turkish
language. Rosella and Pelin find themselves in
the middle of a long conversation that gradually
becomes more interesting. This breath-taking
story reflects the interaction of two different
generations, two different women and two
different perspectives on life
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
ÇIĞ-ÇIKMAZ SOKAK - LAWINA-DEAD END
L’espace D’un İnstant, France, 2008
Translated by Murat Aykaç Erginöz
Valérie Gay-Aksoy
ISBN: 9782915037289
T U N C E R C Ü C E N O Ğ L U
Tuncer Cücenoğlu was born in 1944. After completing his secondary education in
Çorum, he graduated from the Department of Documentation and Librarianship at
Ankara University. He worked for the Ministry of Education until his retirement in 1983.
Cücenoğlu is at present, a member of the Turkish Writers Union Executive Committee,
the Ethics Committee of the State Theatres General Management and the PEN Writers
Association. He is carrying out several jobs concurrently, which include, teaching
“dramatic writing” at MSM private conservatoire, working as publication director for
the Theatre section at Papirus publications and writing for the newspaper Cumhuriyet.
His plays have been translated into Russian, English, German, French, Bulgarian,
Greek, Macedonian, Swedish, Georgian, Urdu, Japanese, Rumanian, Azerbaijani, Polish,
Chuvas, Serbian, Spanish, Arabic and Persian and have been staged in those countries.
Some of His Works: Aşk ya da Elmas ile Servet’in Hikayesi (Love or The Story of Elmas
and Servet), Kiralık Gelinlik (Rented Wedding Gown). Arthur Miller’ın Ölümü (The
Death of Arthur Miller), Atatürk ve Sanat (Atatürk and Art), Matruşka Romanya’da
(Matrushka in Rumania), Bu Dünyadan... (From This World...), Gergedan’laşan Dünya
(World Turning into a Rhinoceros), Polonya İzlenimleri (Impressions from Poland),
Devlet Tiyatroları’na Öneriler (Suggestions to State Theatres), Repertuar Politikaları
Değişmelidir (Repertory Politics Must Change), Uğur Uludağ’ın Önlenemeyen
Tırmanışı (The Rise and Rise of Uğur Uludağ), Cumhuriyetimizin 80. Yılında Oyun
Yazarlığımız (Play Writing on the 80 th Anniversary of the Republic), Yazın ve Tiyatro
(Literature and Theatre). Yurtdışında Yaşayan Türklere Düşen Görevler (2) (The Task
of Turks Living Abroad 2), Yurtdışında Yaşayan Türklere Düşen Görevler (The Task
of Turks Living Abroad 2), Sabahattin Ali Dosyası Açılmalıdır(The Sabahattin Ali File
Should Be Reopened).
Lawina, tells the harrowing story of a village living
under the imminent threat of an avalanche. This
tense, atmospheric play, while giving an account of the
atrocious crimes committed and the abuse of power
perpetrated by a repressive village council, set up
under the pretext of dealing with the avalanche, it also
sends the message that, unless people raise their voices
against injustice, any one of them could be the next
victim.
Dead End is clearly a political play. The play shows the
transformation of an authoritarian state into a “police
state” and focuses on one of the torturers, a policeman,
later questioned by the woman that he has tortured.
The author asks the audience to consider whether it
is morally just for a torture victim to torture their own
torturer and urges them to stand firm against torture.

ŞU ÇILGIN TÜRKLER
THE CRAZY TURKS
San-İcai, Japan
752 pages, Historical Novel
ISBN: 975220127X
bilgi@bilgiyayinevi.com.tr
T U R G U T Ö Z A K M A N
Turgut Özakman was born in Ankara in 1930 and graduated from the School of
Law at Ankara University. Afterwards, he worked as a lawyer for some time. After
attending the Institute of Theatre Science at Cologne University, he was employed as
a literary reporter by the State Theater. He occupied the positions of the head of the
Department of Central Programming, and Vice-general manager for Turkish Radio
and Television, as well as head vice-general manager and General Manager for four
years at the State Theaters. He was also a member and Vice-manager of the Turkish
Radio and Television Supreme Council between 1988 and 1994. He taught dramatic
writing in the Faculty of Letters at Ankara University for 30 years. Turgut Özakman
is a well known novelist who, in addition to his novels, writes non-fiction books. He
developed a remarkable skill at writing stage plays and screenplays, exhibiting his
uniquely smooth style also evident in his novels, which became extremely successful.
WORKS: Novels: Şu Çılgın Türkler (Those Crazy Turks), Korkma İnsancık Korkma
(Don’t Be Afraid Little Man), Diriliş Çanakkale 1915 (Resurrection - Dardanelles
1915), 19 Mayıs 1999-Atatürk Yeniden Samsunda (19 May 1999-Atatürk is back in
Samsun), Play: Bütün Oyunları (Complete Plays-6 Volumes).
The Crazy Turks is the only book that recounts
the Turkish War of Independence in the form of
a novel. Özakman decided to write a novel about
the National Combat when he walked with 10
friends from Polatlı to Dumlupınar in 1948. The
Crazy Turks is the product of a study that took
him 57 years to complete. The Crazy Turks is the
story of the most legitimate, most ethical, most
sacred and most just war. It tells of the first
war of independence fought and won against
Imperialism, the revolution of nationalization,
and the unique story of how the Turks won
their independence despite the hidden and
continuous threats of imperialism.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
YABAN - THE STRANGER
Bibliotech Suhrkamp, 2008, German
246 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9789754703696
iletisim@iletisim.com.tr
Y A K U P K A D R İ K A R A O S M A N O Ğ L U
Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu (Cairo, 1889-Ankara, 1974) is the author of nine novels,
as well as several volumes of short stories, memoirs, prose poetry, monographs,
and theatrical plays. One of the most important and prominent authors of the
early republican era, Karaosmanoğlu’s most important works -such as the novels
Nur Baba, Yaban (The Stranger), and Kiralık Konak (Mansion for Rent)- deal with
the problematic relationships between the people and intellectuals, religion and
modernity, idealism and reality, and the imperial legacy and the republican renewal.
Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu is a must-read for everyone who wants to become
acquainted with Turkey. His work represents both the literary and political history of
Turkey.
Some of His Works: Kiralık Konak (Mansion for Rent), Hüküm Gecesi
(Judgement Night), (Sodom and Gomorrah), Yaban (The Stranger), Bir Sürgün
(An Exile), Zoraki Diplomat (The Unwilling Diplomat), Anamın Kitabı (My
Mother’s book), Ankara, Atatürk, Bir Serencam (A Consequence), Hep O Şarkı
(Always the Same Song), Hikâyeler (Stories), Milli Savaş Hikâyeleri (Stories of
the National War), Orada Bir Köy Var Uzakta (There Is a Village There in the
Distance), Panorama, Politikada 45 Yıl (45 Years in Politics),Vatan Yolunda (For the
Nation).
Foreign Rights: Nur Baba (Adelphi Edizioni, Italy),(Editiones Destino, Spain);
Ankara (Éditions Turquoise, France); Yaban (Suhrkamp Verlag, Germany)
The Stranger is written in line with the
prevalent understanding of realism
in its era, where Yakup Kadri portrays
an Anatolian village during the period
from the end of World War I until the
end of Sakarya War, and from the
eyes of an intellectual he describes the
inhabitants of the village, their attitude
towards the National Struggle and the
situation in the village. The writer when
describing The Stranger said “this piece
of work self-unravelled and practically
surfaced from the depths of my being”.
The writer attempts to address many
of the problems identified in this novel
with his later work Ankara.

Y A L V A Ç U R A L
Yalvaç Ural was born in Konya in 1945 and is a prominent figure in Turkish
Children’s Literature for which he has won numerous awards in Turkey and abroad.
In 1986 he recieved the Orderu Usmiechu from Polish children to recognise his ability
to make the children of the world smile. Some of his books include Korkuluğun Kalbi
(The Scarecrow’s Heart), Müzik Satan Çocuklar (Children Selling Music), La Fonten
Orman Mahkemesi’nde (LaFontaine Taken to the Forest Court), Tekir Noktalama
İşaretlerini Öğretiyor (Tekir Teaches Punctuation), Anadolu Efsaneleri (The Legends
of Anatolia), Gözü Boynuz ile İzi Yaldız (The Snail), Bir Gök Dolusu Güvercin (Sky Full
of Pidgins), Akıllı Minik ile Obur (Little Smart and Always-Hungry), Kayıp Ülkenin
Çocuğu (The Child from the Lost Country), Kahraman Süvariler (Heroic Cavalrymen),
Korkulu Bir gün (A Frightening Day), Sihirli Pabuçlar (Magic Shoes), Sincap
(Squirrel, Poems) Kulağımdaki Küçük Çan (The Little Bell in My Ear, Poems) and
Mırname (The Collected Purrings of a Cat, Poems).
Foreign Rights: Korkuluğun Kalbi/The Scarecrow’s Heart, (German, Farzi,
Macedonian), Müzik Satan Çocuklar/ Children Selling Music, (Albanian,
Macedonian), Alucura Çayevi/The Teahause Alucura (Macedonian), La Fonten
Orman Mahkemesinde (Macedonian), Gölcüğün Küçük Avcıları/The Small Hunters
of the Pond (English)
KORKULUĞUN KALBİ
THE SCARECROW’S HEART
37 pages, Children’s Book, Illustrated Story
ISBN: 9759020628
burcu@marsikyayincilik.com
The weather was very cold. Perhaps the
Scarecrow would have frozen if it were not
for its thick jacket. There was no one else to
be seen in the vast, snowy fields. Suddenly a
starling appeared. They were to spend the winter
together. The scarecrow told the starling it could
use the inside pocket of its jacket for a nest.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
İNCE MEMED - MEMED, MY HAWK
NYRB Classics, USA, 2005
392 pages, Novel
Translated by Eduoard Rodini
ISBN: 9789750807146
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
Y A Ş A R K E M A L
Yaşar Kemal Gökçeli was born in 1923 in Hemite, a 60-house hamlet in the province
of Adana, in southern Turkey. At the age of five Yaşar Kemal suffered a profound
shock when his father was murdered while praying at the mosque. This left him with
a speech impediment which lasted until the age of 20. It was a love of poetry that
made him learn how to read and write in order to record the poems he composed.
He was the first villager of Hemite ever to finish primary school. Yaşar Kemal then
left for Adana, the provincial seat, to attend secondary school. But in order to live
he was forced to work in a ginning factory and two years later he had to give up his
study plans. Yaşar Kemal’s first book of stories was published in 1952 under the title
Sarı Sıcak (Yellow Heat) and he then wrote İnce Memed (Memed, my Hawk) which
was published in 1955. This first novel was a success both in Turkey and abroad. The
International Pen Club recommended the book to UNESCO who funded a French
translation. Since then his work has won several awards all over the world and has
been translated into many other languages.
Some of His Novels: Teneke (The Drumming-Out), Orta Direk (The Wind from the
Plain), Yer Demir Gök Bakır (Iron Earth, Copper Sky), Ölmez Otu (The Undying
Grass), Demirciler Çarşısı Cinayeti (Murder in the Ironsmiths Market), Yusufcuk
Yusuf (Yusuf, Little Yusuf), Yılanı Öldürseler (To Crush the Serpent), Al Gözüm
Seyreyle Salih (The Saga of a Seagull), Allahın Askerleri (God’s Soldiers), Deniz
Küstü (The Sea-Crossed Fisherman), Hüyükteki Nar Ağacı (The Pomegranate on the
Knoll), Fırat Suyu Kan Akıyor Baksana (Look, the Firat River is Flowing with Blood),
Karıncanın Su İçtiği (Ant Drinking Water), Tanyeri Horozları (The Cocks of Dawn),
Üç Anadolu Efsanesi (Three Anatolian Legends), Ağrıdağı Efsanesi (The Legend of
Mount Ararat), Binboğalar Efsanesi (The Legend of the Thousand Bulls).
Memed, My Hawk is Kemal’s debut novel
and is the first novel in his İnce Memed
tetralogy. In 1961, the book was translated
into English thus gaining Kemal his first
exposure to English-speaking readers.
In 1984, the novel was freely adapted by
Peter Ustinov into a film (also known as
The Eagle and the Hawk. In İnce Memed/
Memed, My Hawk Yaşar Kemal criticizes
the fabric of society through a legendary
hero, the protagonist, who flees to the
mountains as a result of the oppression of
the Ağas. One of the most famous living
writers in Turkey, Kemal is noted for his
command of the language and lyrical
description of bucolic Turkish life.

Y A V U Z B A H A D I R O Ğ L U
Yavuz Bahadıroğlu was born in Rize in 1945; he began working as a journalist in
Istanbul in 1971. He worked as a reporter, researcher, interviewer and anecdote
writer. He also worked as an editor for a newspaper and a magazine and as a
company manager. While he worked as a reporter and interviewer, he produced
works for children. He has published hundreds of children’s novels and stories.
He became famous as a result of his historical novels. His first novel, named
Sunguroğlu, followed by his second work, Buhara Yanıyor (Buhara is Burning),
became best sellers in Turkey. He wrote more than thirty novels about various eras of
the Ottoman Empire as well as hundreds of other works including novels, children’s
books, short stories, research studies, plays, film scripts and intellectual works. To
date, more than two and a half million books by Yavuz Bahadıroğlu have been sold.
ENDÜLÜS’E VEDA
FAREWELL TO ANDALUSIA
National Center for Translation, English
272 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9754081069
nesil@nesilyayinlari.com, www.nesil.com
This is his only novel which focuses on the
Andalusian period. The novel strikingly portrays
the events of the last Andalusian state in Granada,
the fights for the throne, Andalusians losing their
warrior spirit as they concentrate on building
magnificent mansions and palaces, Ayse Emir
who envies the Queen of Spain, Andalusians who
embrace the Spanish way of life, Sultans who
collude with the enemy to seize the throne and
finally the loss of Granada.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
Y I L D I Z R A M A Z A N O Ğ L U
Yıldız Ramazanoğlu was born in Ankara in 1958 and is a pharmacist, NGO
representative and a writer. She graduated from Ankara Girls College and the
Faculty of Pharmacy at Hacettepe University. Her essays and short stories were
published in a number of periodicals. She was the editor of the book Osmanlı’dan
Cumhuriyet’e Kadının Tarihi Dönüşümü (Women’s Historical Transformation from
Ottomans to the Republic). Her book of short stories Deep Black received the TYP
Short Story Award.
WORKS: Bir Dünyanın Kadınları (The Women of a World), Derin Siyah (Deep Black,
Short Stories), İkna Odası (The Room of Persuasion, Novel), İçimden Geçen Şehirler
(Cities I have in Mind, Essays), Kırmızı (Red, Short Stories)
KIRMIZI
RED
TPG, UK, 2009
142 pages, Short Story
ISBN: 9789752639720
www.timas.com.tr
Those who find themselves trapped in
the slums of big cities, Zeliha who is
watching with anxiety and agitation as
her young daughter sets off on her first
journey alone, people in carriages of a
train. In the mountains of Afghanistan,
the silent scream bursting out of Serbet’s
eyes is lost to the numb ears of the
modern people, those who are rolling
downhill, and well-told stories of men.
Yıldız Ramazanoglu, as one of the
cornerstones of contemporary Turkish
storytelling, portrays endless different
versions of the human condition.
Perhaps all the stories are in fact the
story of one human being.

Y I L M A Z K A R A K O Y U N L U
Yılmaz Karakoyunlu was born in 1936 in Istanbul and after graduating from the
School of Political Science at Ankara University, he worked as an inspector for the
DPT (State Planning Organization) for three years. Karakoyunlu completed his
postgraduate degree in the USA and received a PhD from Istanbul University.
He then continued his career working in Turkey’s most prominent business
groups, Sabancı Holding, Kanal D, and Tekstilbank. He also served as a Member of
Parliament and was a columnist for Sabah newspaper. Yılmaz Karakoyunlu’s novels
are mostly based on the political events during and after the Second World War and
their affects on the nation. Yılmaz Karakoyunlu’s novels include Salkım Hanım’ın
Taneleri (1990 Yunus Nadi Novel Award), Üç Aliler Divanı (The Diwan of Three Alis),
Yorgun Mayıs Kısrakları The Mares of Tired May, Perize, and Çiçekli Mumlar Sokağı
(The Street of Flowered Candles) ve Güz Sancısı (Autumn Pain).
Foreign Rights: Güz Sancısı/Autumn Pain (Livanis, Greece), Salkım Hanımın
Taneleri/Lady Salkım’s Beads (Livanis, Greece)
SALKIM HANIMIN TANELERİ
LADY SALKIM’S BEADS
Livanis, Greece
212 pages, Novel
ISBN: 9756719265
www.kalemagency.com
During the Second World War Istanbul was
undergoing a critical period and the rich people
in Istanbul were forced to vacate their homes for
those coming from Anatolia. Under these disturbing
circumstances, family relations were shattered just
like Lady Salkım’s beads. Greeks, Armenians, Jews,
and Turks bearing the heavy burden of the property
tax, start their journey into exile from Haydarpaşa
Train Station to Askale. The tragic circumstances
of İbrahim Fuad, who, on his way back from exile
is forced to ask a boy selling simit (turkish bagels)
to lend him money to buy a ticket for the ferry
home. The book tells the story of one of the most
depressing periods in Turkish history. The reader
will experience feeling anger at times but mostly
compassion.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
Y U N U S E M R E
Yunus Emre is a XIIIth Century Sufi poet and what we know about him is restricted
to the limited information found in menakib-i nabe books, which are bibliographic
works about the lives and deeds of holy men written long after Yunus Emre’s
lifetime, and the assumptions we can draw from his own poems. It is believed that
he embraced the path of Sufism after his Madrasa education. For many years he
was the pupil of a Sheikh called Taktuk Emre who lived near Sakarya, after which
he travelled through Konya, Damascus and Azerbaijan. He is known to have written
Risaletü’n Nushiyye (The Book of Sermons). The poet is thought to have been born in
1240 and died in 1320/1. He was buried in Sakarya, Sarikoy where he was born. With
his thinking and the concepts he developed in his works, he is considered to be one of
the greatest names in Turkish Literature to have grown out of Anatolia. He exercised
immense influence from his own day until the present not only on folk and dervish
lodge poetry but also on divan poetry. He depicted the relationship of humans with
other humans, objects and God in his verses enriched by Sufism and Islamic thought.
This immortal poet wrote about concepts such as death, birth, commitment to
life, divine justice, human love and the number of his poems (including hymns and
poems) is about 360.
DİVAN VE RİSALETÜ’N NUSHİYYE
DIVAN AND THE BOOK OF SERMONS
Basam Books, Finland, 2008
Translated by Suna Marija Önder
ISBN: 9789525534740
This book enables the reader to read
Divan and The Book of Sermons under
one roof, both written by the famous
Sufi and folk poet Yunus Emre. The
Book of Sermons is written in the style
of the Masnavi consisting of stories full
of religious, Sufi and moral knowledge
and ways of thinking. Divan is a
collection of Yunus Emre poems on
love written according to aruz (metres
consisting of sequences of long and
short syllables) and hece (metre used
by ‘popular’ poets). Yunus Emre’s
prevalent way of thinking of his era,
his language admired for its cultural
tones, and his pure way of expressing
himself, as well as his poems
communicating timeless and placeless
messages, has much to offer to the
contemporary reader who is troubled
by the worries of our time.

ANAYURT OTELİ - MOTHERLAND HOTEL
Arles: Solin, France, 1992, 108 pages, Novel
Translated by Ferda Fidan
ISBN: 97897536300664
sevi.sonmez@ykykultur.com.tr
yky@ykykultur.com.tr
Y U S U F A T I L G A N
Yusuf Atılgan (1921-1989) lived 32 years in a village after graduating from the
Turkish Language and Literature Department at Istanbul University. In 1976, he
moved back to Istanbul and worked in a number of publishing houses. Atılgan
created unforgettable characters and a unique literary style in his short stories
and novels, and was the author of some of the best examples of modern narration
techniques in Turkish literature. He always viewed life from the “other side,”
dealing with psychological alienation and loneliness.. He has a big following among
discerning readers in Turkey. With his first novel, Aylak Adam (The Loiterer), he
placed second for the 1958 Yunus Nadi Novel Award. His second novel, Anayurt Oteli
(Motherland Hotel), was published in 1973. Anayurt Oteli (Motherland Hotel) was
made into a successful film by director Ömer Kavur. He has a collection of short
stories entitled Bodur Minareden Öte (Beyond the Short Minaret, 1960).
Zebercet is a pratagonist of a life which is “neither
living nor dead”. He bears the same fate as the
Motherland Hotel where he first opened his eyes
and in which he still resides: days passing by in a
series of interim relationships which resemble one
another, a life that drifts away in loneliness and
solitude.
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B O O K S F R O M T U R K E Y
MUTLULUK - BLISS
Z Ü L F Ü L İ V A N E L İ
Gremese Editore, Italy, 2007
343 pages, Novel
Translated by Elçin Kumru
ISBN: 9751409004
www.livaneli.net
Zülfü Livaneli was born in Konya, in 1946. He is a Turkish folk singer, politician,
writer and film director. Zülfü Livaneli, has won several national and international
awards for his music, which has been interpreted by such artists as Joan Baez, Maria
Farandouri and Maria del Mar Bonet. One of the most famous names in Turkish
culture, art and politics, Zülfü Livanelli has composed approximately 300 songs and
30 pieces of film music. To date, he has directed three feature-length films; Yer Demir
Gök Bakır (Iron Earth, Copper Sky), Sis (Fog) and Şahmaran (Hammer). He won
the “Golden Palm Award” at the Valencia Film Festival and the “Golden Antigone”
Award at the Montpelier Film Festival, in 1989. His film Sis was nominated for “Best
European Film Award.” Zülfü Livanelli has undertaken joint efforts with Elia Kazan,
Jack Lang, Vanessa Redgrave, Arthur Miller, and Mikhail Gorbachov, aimed at
developing and improving global culture and the arts. Livanelli, who was appointed
UNESCO ambassador in 1996, has also served one term as Member of Parliament.
Some of His Works: Arafat’ta Bir Çocuk (A Child in Purgatory), Orta Zekalılar
Cenneti (The Heaven of the Mediocre), Diktatör ve Palyaço (The Dictator and the
Clown), Sosyalizm Öldü mü? (Is Socialism Dead?), Engereğin Gözündeki Kamaşma
(The Eunuch of Constantinople), Bir Kedi- Bir Adam-Bir Ölüm (Memory of Snow),
Mutluluk (Bliss), Gorbaçov’la Devrim Üstüne Konuşmalar (Conversations with
Gorbachov on Revolution), Leyla’nın Evi (Leyla’s House).
By a strange coincidence, circumstances bring
three disparate characters, Meryem, İrfan and
Cemal together, giving them the chance to
witness the storms gathering in each other’s
lives. Bliss, besides being a period novel, is
also a portrait of today’s Turkey, depicting the
rural and urban realities of Istanbul and the
Aegean coast. It is a masterpiece, plumbing
the psychological depths of its characters
Bliss was awarded the “Discovery of a Great
Writer Prize” by Barnes & Noble.