“There are curious eyes behind every poetic screen.. and it can be said that every poetic screen is a spy pit shaped like a piece of baklava. Thousands of defined curious eyes are watching the neighborhood.” – Rafik Halid

Elif Shafak, born in France in 1971, spent her teenage years in Madrid. She is a renowned Turkish author, famous for her successful novels written in both Turkish and English.

Elif took her mother’s surname "Shafak" as a reaction to her father who abandoned her mother when she was only a year old. This aspect might have fueled her creativity and boldness, resulting in a deep intellectual exchange that attracted readers worldwide. Her work has been translated into more than 25 languages.