Elif Shafak is an award-winning novelist and the most widely read female writer in Turkey. She is also a political commentator and an advocate for women’s rights, minority rights, and LGBT rights. Shafak writes in both Turkish and English, and has published 15 books, 10 of which are novels, including the bestselling The Bastard of Istanbul and The Forty Rules of Love. Her books have been translated into 47 languages. Shafak is a TED Global speaker, a member of Weforum Global Agenda Council on Creative Economy in Davos, and a founding member of ECFR (European Council on Foreign Relations). She has been awarded the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2010 by the French government. Shafak has been featured in major newspapers and periodicals around the world, including the Financial Times, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Der Spiegel, and La Repubblica. She has taught at various universities in Turkey, the UK, and the US. She holds a degree in International Relations, a masters degree in Gender and Women’s Studies, and a PhD in Political Science.