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Elif Shafak in conversation with Richard Cohen, Rose Theatre Kingston-upon-Thames 7th March
Turkey’s biggest selling female novelist Elif Shafak speaks with Richard Cohen, visiting Professor of Creative Writing and Publishing Studies at Kingston University, about her writing life. The discussion is to be followed by a question and answer session and book signing.
Elif Shafak is an award-winning writer and the most widely read woman writer in Turkey. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages. She blends Western and Eastern traditions of storytelling to generate fiction that is both local and universal. Her work draws on diverse cultures and literary traditions, as well as deep interest in history, philosophy, oral culture, and cultural politics. Shafak’s writing breaks down categories, clichés, and cultural ghettoes, bringing out the multiple stories of minorities, immigrants, women, subcultures and global souls. She also has a keen eye for black humour, as well as spirituality and Sufism.
Elif Shafak was born in France, in 1971; spent her teenage years in Madrid and has lived around the world – but still sees Istanbul as her base. Currently she divides her time between London and Istanbul. Shafak has published nine books, seven of which are novels. She writes in both Turkish and English. Her most recent novel, written in English, THE FORTY RULES OF LOVE was published in the USA in February 2010. Selling more than 550,000 copies it became a record best-seller in Turkey. Shafak is also a best-selling author in Italy, France and Bulgaria. Her memoir Black Milk (On Motherhood, Writing and the Harem Within) will be published by Viking in Spring 2011. Her previous novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, brought Shafak under prosecution due to the words uttered by her Armenian fictional characters. The charges were ultimately dismissed. Her next novel is set in London in the 1960s and 70s and concerns the experiences of an immigrant family.
Elif Shafak in conversation with Richard Cohen at the Culture Cafe, Rose Theatre, 24-26 High Street, Kingston-upon-Thames, KT1 1HL Monday, 7th March 2011, 1-2pm. £5 call 0871 230 1552 or visit www.rosetheatrekingston.org/
For more information on the author, visit www.elifshafak.com
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