2nd annual “ITEF – İstanbul Tanpınar Literature Festival was held in İstanbul between October 30th and November 2nd, 2010. The festival gathered literature lovers and 70 writers from 30 countries. During the festival, several readings and discussions took place with writers and editors. One of the discussions was held on the 1st of November, with the famous journalist and writer İpek Çalışlar and Ellah Allfrey from Granta, who was invited to the festival as a guest of British Council, Turkey.

İpek Çalışlar
Journalist and writer Ipek Calışlar was born in İstanbul. She graduated from Üsküdar American Academy and Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences. Between 1990-1992, she researched the subjects, homosexuality, women and islam. When she came back to Turkey, she worked as news director for the newspaper 'Cumhuriyet'. Calislar, researched the life of Latife Hanim, wife of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for 2,5 years. She wrote a book about her and published it in 2006. Ipek Calislar is married to journalist Oral Calislar.

Ellah Allfrey
She is deputy editor Granta, the international magazine of new writing.  She was previously Senior Editor at Jonathan Cape, Random House, having started her publishing career at Penguin Books. A passionate champion of international literature, she has published works in translation by Simone de Beauvoir and Fernando Pessoa and distinguished writers including Ngugi wa Thiongo and Chinua Achebe (in Penguin Modern Classics), Dinaw Mengestu (named as one of the New Yorker magazine’s ’20 under 40’ writers to watch), and the Orange-Prize shortlisted Evie Wyld. She has worked with writers across literary fiction and history including Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan, Sara Wheeler and Bettany Hughes. She was a 2010 judge on the Caine Prize for African writing.

For further information please visit http://www.itef.com.tr/en
If you have question please send your emails to arts.info@britishcouncil.org.tr