This episode was recorded as a live broadcast on 28th February 2022
Elif Shafak in conversation with Alec Russell
Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist. She has published 19 books, including her latest The Island of Missing Trees, shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award. She is a bestselling author in many countries around the world and her work has been translated into 55 languages. Elif 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 a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Bard College. Elif 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. She was a member of Weforum Global Agenda Council on Creative Economy and a founding member of ECFR (European Council on Foreign Relations). An advocate for women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and freedom of expression, Elifis an inspiring public speaker and twice TED Global speaker. www.elifshafak.com
Alec Russell is the editor of FTWeekend. He was previously the FT’s news editor and opinion editor after a long career as a foreign correspondent. He has written three books, and his latest is “After Mandela”, an account of post-apartheid South Africa.