10
FOREIGN RIGHTS CATALOGUE - ONK AGENCY
Cem
AKAŞ
Cem Akaş was born in Mannheim in 1968. He
lived there until 1974, then moved to Izmit,
Turkey with his family. Akaş studied chemical
engineering at Bosphorus University. He
holds two MA degrees in political science,
one from Bosphours University and the
other from Columbia University. His Ph.D.
dissertation was on “collective political
action in the Turkish press, 1950-1980”. Akaş
worked at Yapı Kredi Publications between
1992-2004, serving as editor, editor-in-
chief, and publishing consultant. He was
the executive director of Koc University
Press from 2014 to 2018. He is currently the
editor-in-chief of Can Publishing. Cem Akaş
has published eleven novels, five collections
of short stories, two volumes of essays, two
books for children, and a monogram on
Robert College, Akaş’s high school, one of
the oldest schools in Istanbul. His work is
marked by a strong sense of structure and
intrigue, humor, and command of dialogue;
in fact, he has been dubbed “the play-setter
of Turkish literature.” Akaş’s shorter works
have been published in Canada, Germany,
Austria, Argentine, Greece, Spain, Albania,
Australia, Hungary, and the United States.
“I don’t like picking fights with
Hamlet. But I can’t help it. We
were lovers before coming
to Wittenberg, seeking each
other out in the castle, using
every opportunity to be alone
together. My favorite smell
was the smell of his neck;
how excited he would get just
holding my hand. So much has
changed since we have come
here; my heart emptied itself
out and no one staid it.”
Ophelia