Orhan Pamuk

Orhan Pamuk was born in Istanbul on 7 June 1952 and has spent most of his life in the city that fills his books. He first trained as an architect and studied journalism before turning fully to fiction. He is one of the best-known Turkish novelists and has taught at universities, including in the United States.

His novels often place love, family, art and identity against the long meeting of East and West in Turkish history. He writes about painters, scholars, poets and ordinary city dwellers, often with a playful, layered style. His work has been translated into many languages. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006, and he remains a leading voice for readers who want to understand modern Turkey and Istanbul.