The New Life

Orhan Pamuk

Orhan Pamuk was born in Istanbul in 1952 into a family of engineers. He was educated in Istanbul at an American school. He dropped out of his architecture course to become a full-time writer and obtained a degree in journalism from Istanbul University. Since 1982, when his first novel was published to great acclaim, Pamuk has been one of Turkey's most successful authors. After three years in the USA, including a stint as visiting fellow at the University of Iowa, he returned to Istanbul, where he lives with his wife and daughter. In 1995 Pamuk was among a group of authors tried for criticising the Turkish regime's treatment of the Kurds in a book of essays exercising the freedom of speech.

He is the author of seven novels. The White Castle won the 1990 Independent Award  for Foreign Fiction, and the publication of The New Life caused a sensation in his native land, becoming the fastest-selling book in Turkish history. In 2003 Pamuk was awarded the International IMPAC Award for My Name is Red.