Author • Turkish literature

Melis Sena Yılmaz

Melis Sena Yılmaz was born in Bursa in 1997. She completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees at Boğaziçi University, Department of Economics in İstanbul. Her short stories have been published in various platforms. She was influenced by Karaköy and Şişhane districts of İstanbul, where she worked during her studentship years. The surreal world that came to her mind while walking through the streets of Beyoğlu transformed into the children’s novel titled İstanbul Below (Aşağİstanbul, 2022). Her second novel, The Third Week of May (Mayısın Üçüncü Haftası, 2023), which narrates a mysterious adventure set in Bozcaada, earned recognition in the Kayıp Rıhtım 2023 Awards as one of the best Turkish children’s novels of the year. Ba’s Extraordinary Bookshop (Ba’nın Olağanüstü Kitabevi, 2024), which invites readers into the magical world of books, was followed by The Puzzle House (Yapboz Evi, 2025), the second book of “Adventures of İstanbul Below” series, a gripping novel where mysteries are unravelled. The author lives in İstanbul with her husband.