Ahmet Ümit at TEDxSabanciUniversity

Ahmet Ümit was born in 1960 in the city of Gaziantep in southern Turkey. He moved to Istanbul in 1978 to attend university. In 1983, he both graduated from the Public Administration Faculty of Marmara University, and wrote his very first story. An active member of the Turkish Communist Party from 1974 until 1989, Ümit took part in the underground movement for democracy while Turkey was under the rule of a military dictatorship between 1980-1990. In 1985-86, he illegally attended the Academy for Social Sciences in Moscow. Ümit worked in the advertising sector from 1989-1998 and is currently employed as cultural advisor at the Goethe Foundation in Istanbul. He has one daughter, Gül.

Since 1989, Ümit has published one volume of poetry, three volumes of short stories, a book of fairytales, one novella, and six novels. One of Turkey's most renowned contemporary authors, Ümit is especially well-known for his mastery of the mystery genre, as reflected in many of his bestselling novels and short story volumes. Drawing upon the unique political and historical background of his home country, Ümit delves into the psyches of his well-wrought characters as he weaves enthralling tales of murder and political intrigue.

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