Behçet Çelik: The Art of the Short Story

The author of short stories, prose and essays. He was born in Adana in 1968 and is a graduate of the Istanbul University Faculty of Law. When he was 19, his first short story was published in Varlık [The Present], the oldest literary journal in Turkey still being published today. It was followed by many others that were awarded a number of prizes and were collected into eight books. His short stories, minimalistic in language and content, are able to express in a few words as much as lengthy prose. Çelik’s first novel, Dünyanın Uğultusu [The Drone of the World], was published in 2009. He says: “I believe that it is possible to nurture the ability of empathy through literature. It helps us to connect our story with the story of people around us. It serves as a mirror. By following another’s story, we also deal with ourselves. And that’s not unimportant.”