Author: Elif Shafak

Literary fiction novel “The Forty Rules of Love,” written by award-winning Turkish-British author Elif Shafak and published in 2009, tells the story of Ella Rubinstein, a woman who undergoes a transformation when she delves into Sufi teachings.

A couple of months before her 40th birthday, Rubinstein realizes that she has lived a life devoid of depth or passion.

When she falls in love with Aziz Zahara, the author of the book that lit the spark of her transformative journey, her confidence increases and her outlook on life begins to change.

The fictional story, “Sweet Blasphemy,” about 13th-century Persian poet Jalal Al-Din Rumi and Shams, his spiritual guide, explores Sufism, Islam, the nature of love and spiritual transcendence.

“The Forty Rules of Love” was listed as one of the 100 most influential novels by BBC and was awarded the Prix ALEF Mention Spéciale Littérature Etrangère.

Shafak writes in both English and Turkish, with 19 literary publications to date translated into 55 languages.

She was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize.

Aside from being a novelist, Shafak is a political activist and public speaker born in 1971 in Strasbourg, France.

She holds a master’s degree in gender and women studies and a PhD in political science. She has also taught at numerous universities in different countries.

Shafak founded the European Council on Foreign Relations and is a member of the World Economic Forum and the Global Agenda Council on Creative Economy. She is also vice president of the Royal Society of Literature.