Elif Shafak

Elif Shafak is Turkey's bestselling female author and second in the country only to Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk. She has written 12 novels, both in Turkish and in English. Her books deal with taboos such as domestic violence and 'honour' killings. She has a huge fan base, Twitter following and increasing critical acclaim. She talks to Razia Iqbal about how she is informed by both East and West, why she sees Turkey as a "society of collective amnesia", and why she wanted to write about how women preserve patriarchal societies. Why does she believe so strongly that stories can change people's lives?