About the event
Join Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian, for an evening in conversation with the award-winning author Elif Shafak.
Elif will discuss her latest novel There are Rivers in the Sky as well as topics such as women writers through the ages, and the importance and value of libraries today.
Speaker
Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist and storyteller. She has published 20 books, 13 of which are novels and her books have been translated into 58 languages. The Island of Missing Trees was a finalist for the Costa Award, British Book Awards, RSL Ondaatje Prize and Women’s Prize for Fiction and was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and RSL Ondaatje Prize; and was Blackwell’s Book of the Year. The Forty Rules of Love was chosen by BBC among the 100 Novels that Shaped Our World. The Architect’s Apprentice was chosen for The Queen’s Reading Room.
Shafak holds a PhD in political science and she has taught at various universities in Turkey, the US and the UK, including St Anne's College, Oxford University, where she is an honorary fellow. She also holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Bard College. Shafak is a Fellow and a Vice President of the Royal Society of Literature and has been chosen among BBC’s 100 most inspiring and influential women.
An advocate for women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights and freedom of expression, Shafak is an inspiring public speaker and twice TED Global speaker. She contributes to major publications around the world and she was awarded the medal of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
In 2017 she was chosen by Politico as one of the twelve people “who will give you a much-needed lift of the heart”. She has judged numerous literary prizes, including The PEN Nabokov Prize and has chaired the Wellcome Prize. Shafak was awarded the Halldór Laxness International Literature Prize for her contribution to 'the renewal of the art of storytelling’.
Her website can be found at www.elifshafak.com and her Substack is called "Unmapped Storylands".
Tickets and booking information
This event takes place in person at the Weston Library. Once you have booked your place, the ticketing system will send you an automated confirmation.
- Students and concessions (University staff): £5
- General public: £15
Book now
Location
Blackwell Hall, Weston Library, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3BG.
Wheelchair access
The Weston Library is wheelchair accessible.
