Leyla İpekçi (born 13 October 1966) is a Turkish journalist, screenwriter, and columnist.

Leyla İpekçi
Born (1966-10-13) 13 October 1966 (age 57)
Istanbul, Turkey
EducationBoğaziçi University
Sociology
Occupation(s)Journalist, writer, columnist
SpouseSemih Kaplanoğlu

Life edit

Leyla İpekçi, the niece of Abdi İpekçi,[1] graduated from Saint Michel French High School and completed her studies in Sociology at Boğaziçi University. In June 1999, she married director Semih Kaplanoğlu.[2][3]

Writing career edit

She worked as an author for Yeni Yüzyıl in 1995 and Hürriyet in 1996. She has also published articles in Gazetepazar, where she was in charge of the edition management. She wrote for Radikal newspaper until the beginning of 2006,[4] and wrote columns for Zaman newspaper for 2.5 years. Later, in June 2008, she transferred to Taraf newspaper.[5][6] İpekçi, who wrote the column "Saatler" for Taraf for three years, started publishing her articles in Zaman newspaper in July 2011 where she worked until 2013.[7][8]

Gülen movement ties edit

Leyla İpekçi wrote for both Zaman and Taraf, the two major newspapers affiliated with the Gülen movement. These periodicals facilitated the movement's outreach to a broader public as they gained power in Turkey. The Turkish government closed down both newspapers after the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, for which they held the Gülen movement responsible. İpekçi also participated in the events organized by the Journalists and Writers Foundation [Gazeteciler ve Yazarlar Vakfı] where Gülen serves as the honorary President.[9]

Oray Eğin, columnist of Akşam newspaper, stated in his article dated 26 June 2008, that "she had been educated in the United States by a scholarship with the help of Gülen,"[10] to which Leyla İpekçi responded by saying: "I have not stepped in America in my life. I find this kind of news quite ugly." and announced that she would seek her legal rights against this article.[11] For her article "The biggest obstacle in front of the new CHP", published in Taraf on 3 April 2009,[12] a complaint was filed against her, which was found groundless by the Press Council.[13]

Awards edit

  • 1998: Winner of Milliyet Art Magazine's "First Book First Edition" competition with her book "Maya"[14]
  • 2007: Turkish Authors' Association "Author of the Year" award[15]
  • 2011: 'Best Book of the Year' award from Association of Literary Arts and Cultural Studies (ESKADER) for the book 'Gecenin İkinci Rüyası'

Works edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Biz bu dünyayı yapmadık, bulduk". Milliyet (in Turkish). 25 October 2005. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  2. ^ Erekul, Asli (10 July 1999). "Şık ve süslü bir kalem!" (in Turkish). Radikal. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
  3. ^ Yazilari, Sinir (9 February 2009). "Semih Kaplanoğlu ile Fecr Film Festivali" (in Turkish). Taraf. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
  4. ^ "Radikal gazetesindeki yazıları" (in Turkish). Radikal. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Zaman'daki 2008'deki son yazısı" (in Turkish). Zaman. 17 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 July 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
  6. ^ "Zaman yazarı da TARAF oldu". ensonhaber.com. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Taraf'ta ayrılık..." Habertürk (in Turkish). 25 July 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Zaman'da dershane kavgası ayrılık getirdi" (in Turkish). TV5 Haber. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  9. ^ ""Burada çok cevherler var!"". fgulen.com (in Turkish). 26 December 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Cemaat ve Taraf kardeşliği". Akşam (in Turkish). 4 July 2009. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
  11. ^ "Oray Eğin baltayı taşa vurdu" (in Turkish). haber7. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  12. ^ "İzmir CHP'nin başını ağrıtabilir" (in Turkish). Samanyoluhaber.com. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  13. ^ Dalçam, Mürşit (25 September 2012). "Basın Konseyi, Taraf Gazetesi Yazarı Leyla İpekçi Hakkındaki Şikayeti Yersiz Bulmuştur" (in Turkish). Basın Konseyi. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Ayşe'nin gözlüğü". Hürriyet Daily News (in Turkish). 25 November 1999. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Yazarımız Leyla İpekçi'ye 'Yılın Yazarı' ödülü" (in Turkish). Zaman. Retrieved 5 July 2009.

External links edit