Elif Shafak is a Turkish writer and speaker who was born in Strasburg, France, in 1971 to Turkish immigrants. She is the author of ten novels, including The Gaze, The Saint of Incipient Insanities, and most recently, Three Daughters of Eve, as well as non-fiction works on feminism, Turkish culture and politics. In 2006, she was selected as one of the 39 best young writers in the world by Granta magazine. Her novel The Bastard of Istanbul was shortlisted for the 2006 Orange Prize. In 2017, she was given an honorary degree from SOAS University of London in recognition of her contributions to literature and society.