Elif Shafak is Turkey's most-read woman writer and an award-winning novelist. She writes in both English and Turkish, and has published 15 books, 10 of which are novels, including The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love, Honour, The Architect’s Apprentice and her genre-crossing memoir Black Milk. Her books have been translated into more than 40 languages.

Shafak blends Western and Eastern traditions of storytelling, bringing out the voices of women, minorities, subcultures, immigrants and global souls. Defying cliches and transcending boundaries her works draws on different cultures and cities, and reflects a strong interest in history, philosophy, culture, mysticism, intercultural dialogue and gender equality.

Shafak is a public speaker and works with The London Speaker Bureau and Chartwell Speakers. She is regularly invited to give talks in major universities, corporations, international organizations, festivals and charities both in the UK and across the world.

Shafak is also a political scientist and a commentator. She holds a degree in International Relations, a master's degree in Gender and Women's Studies and a PhD in Political Science. She has taught at various universities in the UK, USA and Turkey.
She has written for several international daily & weekly publications, including The Financial Times, The Guardian, The New York Times, Die Zeit, La Repubblica,The Independent, Newsweek and Time.

She is a TED Global speaker, a member of Weforum Global Agenda Council on Creative Economy and a founding member of ECFR (European Council on Foreign Relations).