Orhan Pamuk

Orhan Pamuk is Turkey’s most prominent and internationally renowned contemporary author. He is particularly praised for his portrayal of the conflicts between East and West and his unique ability to build bridges between cultures. Pamuk’s works have been major bestsellers in his home country and have been translated into 24 languages. In 1999, Time magazine selected Pamuk as one of 14 Europeans whose innovative thinking is showing the continent the way into the new millennium. Pamuk made headlines in the spring of 2004 when his books were burned at a bonfire after he spoke out about the genocide of Armenians committed by Turks 90 years ago and the mistreatment of Kurds in Turkey. Orhan Pamuk was born into a wealthy, secular family in Istanbul in 1952. He attended an American school and would have liked to become a painter, but his family did not approve of the idea. Pamuk studied architecture for a short time but dropped out. Later, he earned a degree in journalism and became a writer. He has also taught at Columbia University in the United States. With the exception of a few years, Pamuk has lived his entire life in the same neighborhood of Istanbul.