We close the 2025 festival with a wide-ranging, unmissable conversation between Elif Shafak, best-selling novelist and essayist and fellow British-Turkish author Alev Scott that delves into key themes found in Shafak's fascinating latest book, There are Rivers in the Sky.
From the banks of the 19th century Thames to the modern rivers of Iraq and Turkey, Elif's kaleidoscopic novel charts the role of water in shaping literature, historical events and our current climate crisis.
Join Elif and Alev as they discuss their own connections to the regions featured in Elif's book, the relationship between women and water, the importance of exploring beyond our shores and our comfort zones and of preserving literary and cultural treasures from man-made and environmental destruction.
Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist and storyteller. She has published 21 books, 13 of which are novels and her books have been translated into 58 languages. 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. In 2024, Shafak was awarded the British Academy President's Medal for "her excellent body of work which demonstrates an incredible intercultural range" .Her website can be found at www.elifshafak.com and her Substack is called "Unmapped Storylands".
Alev Scott is a British-Turkish journalist and author previously based in Istanbul and Athens. She has written for outlets including the Financial Times, the Guardian and Harper's Magazine, and is the author of Turkish Awakening, Ottoman Odyssey and Power and the People. She is currently writing a book about the commercialisation of motherhood for HarperCollins.
