Elif Shafak

Elif Shafak (also spelled Elif Şafak; born 1971) is a Turkish-British novelist, essayist, and public intellectual. She writes in both Turkish and English and is known for fiction that explores identity, memory, migration, and cultural pluralism. Her novels include *The Bastard of Istanbul* (2006), *The Forty Rules of Love* (2009), and *10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World* (2019), the last of which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Shafak has also published nonfiction and contributes commentary on literature, politics, and freedom of expression. She has lived in Turkey, Europe, and the United Kingdom.