Ersan Pekin is in ICORN residency in Krakow
Writer and former journalist Ersan Pekin from Turkey is now in ICORN residency in Krakow. He is the city's 12th ICORN resident. Pekin’s work explores the dynamics of relationships and the blurred lines between reality and dreams, including taboo issues.
In November 2023, Krakow ICORN City of Refuge welcomed Ersan Pekin who left Turkey after facing censorship and legal challenges because of his work, its themes, and his personal and political views.
As a writer, Pekin is the author of several books, including of Kadınlar Yedi Bitirdi Beni (Consumed by Women), which was published in 2013 and tells the story of a man suffering from sex addiction. Pekin also self-published The Puzzle Trilogy (2019-2021) and three novels in English: Roots (2021), Pathetic and Synthetic Thoughts in a Jar (2021), and Earthscraper (2021). Several of his short stories have been published in the Berfin Bahar and İnsancıl magazines.
During his journalistic career, Ersan Pekin worked as a reporter at Ulusal Kanal until 2016, and later as editor-in-chief at the Ulus newspaper until he was dismissed in 2019 for his ‘liberal and anti-militarist ideas and writings’.
In his ICORN residency, Pekin plans to continue ‘writing new stories without fear of prison’ and publishing books written in Turkish and English.
Krakow ICORN City of Refuge
The Polish city of Krakow joined ICORN in 2011, making it the first Central European City of Refuge. Since then, through a cooperation between the Villa Decius Institute for Culture and the Krakow Festival Office, the Polish city has hosted 12 ICORN residents.
Prior to hosting Ersan Pekin, some of the ICORN residents in Krakow have included Maria Amelie, Kareem Amer, Lawon Barszczeuski, Asli Erdogan, Felix Kaputu, Kholoud Charaf, and Aaiún Nin amongst others.
