A History of Erasures | The Point Magazine When I set out to become a novelist in Turkey in the early 2000s, Leylâ Erbil had yet to publish what is perhaps her most accomplished work, What Remains.

New online, @kayagenc.bsky.social on Leylâ Erbil’s experimental novel “What Remains,” and his path toward understanding her challenge to Turkish literature and politics:

A History of Erasures | The Point Magazine When I set out to become a novelist in Turkey in the early 2000s, Leylâ Erbil had yet to publish what is perhaps her most accomplished work, What Remains.

In collaging her life with the life of her country, Leylâ Erbil had fermented a new strain of autofiction, using her life to write something thoroughly historical and political.

A History of Erasures | The Point Magazine When I set out to become a novelist in Turkey in the early 2000s, Leylâ Erbil had yet to publish what is perhaps her most accomplished work, What Remains.

Silinenler ve geride kalanlar üzerine—Leylâ Erbil’e dair, @thepointmag.bsky.social için: thepointmag.com/criticism/a-...

A History of Erasures | The Point Magazine When I set out to become a novelist in Turkey in the early 2000s, Leylâ Erbil had yet to publish what is perhaps her most accomplished work, What Remains.

Learning to write like Leylâ Erbil—new essay for @thepointmag.bsky.social:

thepointmag.com/criticism/a-...

Sex, Liberation, and Obsession in 1970s Istanbul “The Museum of Innocence” is a nostalgic and unnerving adaptation of Orhan Pamuk’s work.

“The Museum of Innocence” is a nostalgic and unnerving adaptation of Orhan Pamuk’s 2008 novel.

I review “The Museum of Innocence”, Netflix’s version, for @foreignpolicy.com: archive.is/QLxJV

A new wave of defiance: the Turkish film-makers standing up to autocracy İlker Çatak’s Yellow Letters and Emin Alper’s Salvation both won headline honours at the Berlin film festival and show dissenting cinema is thriving in the face of Erdoğan’s repression

Good to see critical voices are still alive and well in Turkish culture despite Erdoğan's best efforts to stifle dissent
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ma...

A new wave of defiance: the Turkish film-makers standing up to autocracy İlker Çatak’s Yellow Letters and Emin Alper’s Salvation both won headline honours at the Berlin film festival and show dissenting cinema is thriving in the face of Erdoğan’s repression

İlker Çatak’s Yellow Letters and Emin Alper’s Salvation both won headline honours at the Berlin film festival and show dissenting cinema is thriving in the face of Erdoğan’s repression. My piece for @theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ma...

Burhan Sönmez: from brutal assault to a life in literature | Psyche Portraits Burhan Sönmez, now the president of PEN International, was a rising human rights lawyer in Turkey. A brutal assault nearly killed him – and propelled him to a life in literature

Written by the the European Press Prize laureate Kaya Genç, this carefully told Psyche Portrait of the Kurdish novelist Burhan Sönmez traces his journey from despair to purpose in the wake of political violence, capturing his extraordinary drive and intellect
@kayagenc.bsky.social

Çok teşekkürler!

Kaya Genç’s portrait of Burhan Sönmez is so beautifully written it reads like a novel, except it is a life. The opening is cinematic, then it turns tender, angry, hopeful. This is political writing with an actual human heart.

This is a wonderful profile of Kurdish writer Burhan Sönmez, a free-ranging trip through his life, human rights work and literary career.

Also features a great shoutout to @peninternational.bsky.social and @englishpen.bsky.social

psyche.co/portraits/bu...

"Each of us has a song" by @kayagenc.bsky.social . [3/5]

Burhan Sönmez: from brutal assault to a life in literature | Psyche Portraits Burhan Sönmez, now the president of PEN International, was a rising human rights lawyer in Turkey. A brutal assault nearly killed him – and propelled him to a life in literature

Written by the the European Press Prize laureate Kaya Genç, this carefully told Psyche Portrait of the Kurdish novelist Burhan Sönmez traces his journey from despair to purpose in the wake of political violence, capturing his extraordinary drive and intellect @kayagenc.bsky.social

Burhan Sönmez, now the president of @peninternational.bsky.social, was a rising human rights lawyer in Turkey. A brutal assault nearly killed him – and propelled him to a life in literature. New essay for @psyche.co: psyche.co/portraits/bu... @burhansonmez.bsky.social

In July, I visited @burhansonmez.bsky.social in Cambridge to write his portrait. Our conversations and walks lasted for days. We saw Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night; visited Wittgenstein’s grave, talked and reflected. My piece for Psyche:

psyche.co/portraits/bu...

Kaya Genç on "One Thousand and One Kisses": "These vivid glimpses of Istanbul are invaluable to all curious readers, depicting the mores of a bygone age, much as 'Sex and the City' did with New York City." lareviewofbooks.org/article/istanbul-anonymo...

Temmuz ayında portresini yazmak için @burhansonmez.bsky.social’i Cambridge’de ziyaret ettim. Günler süren konuşmalarımız, yürüyüşlerimiz, Shakespeare’in 12. Gece’sini izleyip Wittgenstein’ın mezarını ziyaretimize uzanan deneyimlerin sonucunda ortaya bu uzun yazı çıktı:

psyche.co/portraits/bu...

New substack!

open.substack.com/pub/kayagenc...

Sex in the City: Istanbul 1923 | Los Angeles Review of Books A cheerful collection of Turkish erotica, translated by Burcu Karahan, offers insights into early 20th-century sexuality in Istanbul.

"Sex in the City: Istanbul 1923" by @kayagenc.bsky.social . [3/5]

KAYA GENÇ – Şehir – K24 KEREM GÖRKEM – Bu “şehir” arkandan gelecektir

Şehir’e dair Türkiye’nin önde gelen kültürel eleştiri yayını @k24kitap.bsky.social’de yayımlanan bu olağanüstü yazısında Kerem Görkem, Türkiye’de özkurmaca yazmanın imkanlarına, zorluklarına değiniyor ve romanımı bir romancı hassasiyetiyle okuyor.

www.k24kitap.org/kitaplar/seh...

Edebiyat dergilerimizde Şehir'e dair eleştirileri görmek büyük mutluluk. En önemli çevirmen ve yazarlarımızdan Sabri Gürses’e Sabitfikir dergisinin Şubat 2026 sayısındaki bu kapsamlı deneme/eleştirisi için teşekkürler!

Kaya Genç on "One Thousand and One Kisses": "These vivid glimpses of Istanbul are invaluable to all curious readers, depicting the mores of a bygone age, much as 'Sex and the City' did with New York City." lareviewofbooks.org/article/istanbul-anonymo...

Sex in the City: Istanbul 1923 | Los Angeles Review of Books A cheerful collection of Turkish erotica, translated by Burcu Karahan, offers insights into early 20th-century sexuality in Istanbul.

Bu hikayeler bize Türkiye topraklarının heterodoks kültür mirasını ve günümüz Türkiye’sinin baskıcı rejimini yöneten erkekleri korkutmaya devam eden bağımsız, asi, kendi kendine yeten bir ruhu hatırlatıyor. @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social için yeni bir makale: lareviewofbooks.org/article/ista...

Sex in the City: Istanbul 1923 | Los Angeles Review of Books A cheerful collection of Turkish erotica, translated by Burcu Karahan, offers insights into early 20th-century sexuality in Istanbul.

These stories remind us of the heterodox legacy of Turkish culture, and an independent, rebellious, self-sufficient spirit that continues to scare the men who helm Turkey’s repressive regime. New piece for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social: lareviewofbooks.org/article/ista...

“Men continually disappoint sexually active, restless women in these tales: they’re emotionally unavailable, hopelessly immature, and laughably listless.” Kaya Genç reviews "One Thousand and One Kisses": lareviewofbooks.org/article/istanbul-anonymo...

Sex in the City: Istanbul 1923 | Los Angeles Review of Books A cheerful collection of Turkish erotica, translated by Burcu Karahan, offers insights into early 20th-century sexuality in Istanbul.

New piece in @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social on a cheerful collection of Turkish erotica that offers insights into early 20th-century sexuality in Istanbul lareviewofbooks.org/article/ista...

ŞEHİR - Kaya Genç ile

Frog Bey’le Oradan Buradan’ın yeni bölümünde, Şehir üzerine sohbet ettik. Bir saati aşan bu konuşmada, 2000'lere ve Amsterdam'a döndük:

Yeni romanı "Şehir" vesilesiyle Kaya Genç ile söyleşi

@apacikradyo.com.tr’da Açık Dergi'nin konuğu olmak, Ceyhan Usanmaz'ın Bu Köşe Kitap Köşesi'nde Şehir'i okumak büyük bir zevkti!

open.spotify.com/episode/6uB5...

Müge İplikçi ile Zeytin Dalı | Kaya Genç “Şehir” kitabını anlattı Müge İplikçi, yazar ve eleştirmen Kaya Genç ile 17 yılda yazdığı otobiyografik romanı "Şehir" üzerine kapsamlı bir söyleşi gerçekleştiriyor.

Müge İplikçi ile Zeytin Dalı | Kaya Genç “Şehir” kitabını anlattı