Author • Turkish literature

Irmak Zileli

Born in Istanbul in 1978, Zileli studied social anthropology. She worked as a reporter for TV channels and magazines. She was one of the founders and the editor-in-chief of the “Roman Kahramanları” magazine. She was the editor-in-chief of book magazine “Remzi Kitap” and wrote articles in her column titled “Devrik Cümle”. Her first two books titled Bayram Çocukları (2004) in which she explored how the Turkish Republic Day was being celebrated in the past and Doğruyu Aradım Güzeli Sevdim (2009), which covers her interview with famous Turkish film director Halit Refiğ, are followed by her first novel, Eşik (2011) in which she tells the difficult life of a child after the 1980 military coup and she received the 2012 Yunus Nadi Novel award with this book. Her next novel, Gözlerini Kaçırma (2014) questioning the concept of motherhood was followed by Gölgesinde (2017), in which she examines femininity and masculinity as human natures. Zileli’s journey of short stories started in her column titled “Bozuk Saat” on the ON8 Blog and then turned into a magical realistic novel titled Broken Clock (Bozuk Saat, 2019). She won the 2020 Duygu Asena Novel Award for her dramatic portrayal of a foreigner’s mute existence with her book Son Bakış (2019). Her interview with famous Turkish actor Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, Ara Toplam, was introduced to readers in 2021. In her novel For My Friend (Arkadaşım İçin, 2022), written for the “Bridge Books” collection, she tells the story of two friends. Her latest young adult novel titled I Saw It All (Her Şeyi Gördüm, 2024) is about a mysterious witness revealing the truth behind a high school incident. Zileli, who also conducts writing workshops, lives in Istanbul with her large family of cats, dogs and people.