Afet Ilgaz was a prominent Turkish novelist and short story writer, as well as a teacher and publisher. Born in Çanakkale and completing her education in Istanbul, she began her literary career at the age of 17 with the newspaper Dünya and authored nearly 30 works throughout her life.

Afet Ilgaz (born Afet Muhteremoğlu) was born on 2 January 1937 in the Ezine district of Çanakkale, to teacher Zekeriya Muhteremoğlu and Ayşe Muhteremoğlu. Due to her father’s profession, she spent her early years in cities such as Kars, Iğdır, and Ankara, but at the age of five, her family settled in Istanbul, where she completed her primary education.

She graduated from Çapa Primary School Teacher Training College in 1954, then completed her studies in the Literature Department of Çapa Education Institute in 1956. In subsequent years, she pursued higher education in Philosophy and Classical Philology at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Letters, though she did not complete these programs. After university, she began her professional life as a Turkish language teacher in İzmit, a position she left midway while teaching at Kasımpaşa High School in Istanbul, to move to Italy. The author compiled her memories of Italy in her 1962 publication İtalya Mektupları. Upon returning to Türkiye, she worked for a time as a teacher and administrator at her own preschool.

^{A Man in Search: Afet Ilgaz (}Anadolu Agency⁾

Afet Ilgaz entered the literary world at the age of 17 by writing for the newspaper Dünya. Her literary career began with short stories published in the Istanbul magazine; her first story appeared in 1955 in the journal Yücel. In her works, she depicted scenes from both urban and rural life, addressing social problems arising from individuals’ alienation from their environments. Throughout her life, Ilgaz wrote nearly 30 books, which held significance in understanding the public’s orientation and emotions amid Türkiye’s ideological struggles.

Known for never compromising her “national” stance in her ideas or writings, the author began engaging with Sufism in the 1990s. As a result of this personal transformation, she increasingly published her writings in Islamic journals. In one of her articles, she stated that the works of Seyyid Ahmet Arvasi changed her life, and she supported political movements advocating a national outlook. In this context, she was elected as a member of the Istanbul Municipal Council in April 1999 from the Fazilet Party. Her opinion columns appeared in publications such as Yeni Şafak, Yeni Çağ, and Milli Gazete, as well as in magazines including İstanbul, Varlık, Türk Dili, Yeditepe, Gelecek, Yansıma, and Sanat ve Toplum.

^{About Afet Ilgaz (}Anadolu Agency⁾

In addition to her writing, Afet Ilgaz was active in publishing. She founded the publishing house Muhteremoğlu Kitabevi, named after her first surname. In 1968, she married poet and writer Rıfat Ilgaz, after which she began signing her works as Afet Ilgaz. In the same year, she co-founded Sınıf Yayınları with her husband, contributing to the publishing industry. In her family life, she had two sons, Haluk and Uğur Çırakman, from her first marriage, and a daughter, Defne Ilgaz, from her marriage to Rıfat Ilgaz. Ilgaz described the act of writing as “a sacred celebration.” In addition to her original works, she translated from Italian and published a collection titled En Güzel İtalyan Hikayeleri.

Afet Ilgaz’s literary output encompasses over thirty works across genres including short stories, novels, children’s novels, and essays. Her first novel, Eşiktekiler, published in 1960, explored middle-class family dynamics and social issues across different societal layers. In her novels, she particularly highlighted women’s struggles in daily life; for instance, in Bir Feministin Doğruya Yakın Portresi (1988), she portrayed a modern woman’s thoughts on marriage and motherhood, and in the novel Sendika (1987), she narrated the story of a single woman working at a private school where the first trade union in Türkiye was established, while also caring for her children.

Among her short story collections are Bedriye (1963), Başörtülüler (1964), Toprak (1968), and Toprak İnsanları (1972). Her children’s novel Çocuklar da Savaştı (1979) addresses the struggle for survival of children during the difficult conditions of the National Struggle period. The novel realistically portrays the destructive impact of war, including disease and death, while aiming to instill fundamental values such as patriotism, national consciousness, unity, solidarity, family love, and sharing in children. Ilgaz employed a simple, fluent, and compelling language in her children’s literature. Her essays, drawn from newspaper columns, were compiled under the titles İbnü'l-Vakt (2000) and Ateş Denizinde Yol Alan Gemi (2002).

Afet Ilgaz’s literary works received numerous awards and were adapted across various media. Her first novel, Eşiktekiler (1960), was awarded the Törehan Art Prize jointly organized by Yeni İstanbul Gazetesi and the Turkish Language Association (TDK). Her short story collection Başörtülüler (1964) won the TDK Short Story Prize in 1965. Additionally, her novel Yol (1993) was named “Novel of the Year” in 1993 by the Turkish Writers’ Union. Her works attracted international attention and were translated into Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, and German. Two of her works, Annem Annem and Toprak İnsanları, were adapted into television series by TRT. Furthermore, Annem Annem, along with the books Çocuklar da Savaştı and Filiz Büyüyor, were broadcast as radio plays on TRT radio stations between 1987 and 1988. Ilgaz also contributed to various programs on Kanal 7.

Afet Ilgaz passed away on Friday, 16 January 2015, in Istanbul at the age of 78. Her funeral was held on Sunday, 18 January 2015, after the noon and funeral prayers at the Sümbül Efendi Camii in Istanbul’s Kocamustafapaşa district, and she was laid to rest at Yedikule Cemetery.