Author • Turkish literature

Irmak Zileli

Born in İstanbul in 1978, Zileli studied social anthropology. She worked as a reporter for TV channels and magazines. She served as the founding editor-in-chief of “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 are Bayram Çocukları (2004), which researched how the Turkish Republic Day was celebrated in the past, and Doğruyu Aradım Güzeli Sevdim (2009), which covers her interview with famous Turkish film director Halit Refiğ. Her debut novel Eşik (2011), which tells the difficult life of a child after the 1980 military coup, won the 2012 Yunus Nadi Novel Award. Her next novel, Gözlerini Kaçırma (2014) followed by Gölgesinde (2017). 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. After her novel For My Friend (Arkadaşım İçin, 2022), written for the “Bridge Books” collection and narrated from the perspective of two friends, Zileli penned the novel Bende Ölen Sensin (2022). Her latest young adult novel titled I Saw It All (Her Şeyi Gördüm, 2024), was followed by the novel Şimdi Buradaydı (2025). Zileli, who also conducts writing workshops, lives in İstanbul with her large family of cats, dogs and people.