Kilims and Kitapler! A Celebration of Books and Carpets in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar

On a recent afternoon in May I was the guest of Hasan Semerci, a former English language teacher and proprietor of Adnan & Hasan's Carpets in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar for a reading and book signing. We gathered to celebrate literacy in Turkey. My host and guests donated copies of my newly released Turkish edition of Anahita's Woven Riddle (Sicak Bir Ask Masali) to public schools.

For more details about the Turkish edition please visit the publisher at Yakamoz Books. Yakamoz, for those of you who might be curious, translates as "moon light on the water." http://www.yakamoz.com.tr/

For more details about Adnan & Hasan's Carpets, visit: http://www.adnanandhasan.com/

Creativity Abounds in a Turkish Public High School

Today I had the pleasure of visiting with a first year high school English class at Sultanahmet Suphi Pasa School in the historic district of Istanbul, Turkey, to discuss creative writing. The students' view from the outdoor basket ball court is of the Blue Mosque--one of the most glorious mosques in the world!

I found the students in this school to be polite, engaging and creative. Nine or ten students raised their hands when asked if they would like to be writers or illustrators. We discussed the picture book The Shape of Betts Meadow and examined the initial sketches for this picture book. When talking about perspectives and point of view in writing and illustrating, one student offered that it would have been interesting if the book had been illustrated from the main character Gunnar's point of view. This is an idea that I had not heard before and find very intriguing. To view some of the illustrations of this book visit the link below.

Two students wrote poetry and another liked photography. The students enjoyed hearing my novel Anahita's Woven Riddle/ Sicak Bir Ask Masali read in English and then in Turkish. They said they practice writing descriptive stories also.
My visit ended on a lively note when two young men treated me and the class to a traditional Turkish dance. Someone switched on their ipod and the room filled with music, clapping and fancy footwork. Please see the video of these students' dance among the other films on the bar at the bottom of this blog. I am sorry I filmed it vertically, one of these days I will learn not to do this!

Visit again in the coming weeks for more details about my experiences in Turkey this spring.

Illustrations link: http://www.meghannuttallsayres.com/Meghan_Nuttall_Sayres/Betts_Meadow_About_this_book.html

Greetings from Turkey!

I couldn't have dreamed of a more lovely and inspirational view from my Istanbul writing desk. I am here for two months of soaking up the local culture while I study theTurkish language. I awoke this am to the sound of amuezin, calling the city to prayer from this mosque, which is called the BLue Mosque. It stands opposite theAgha Sophia, once a Byzantine cathedral. Ships are floating alongside clusters of fishing boats in the Bosphorous behind. A sea breeze is sweeping across my keyboard. More to come when I am less jet lagged...

Literary Events in Istanbul

Merhaba from Istanbul! This colorful street is near the Galata Tower in Istanbul's Beyoglu District where Molly's Cafe is located. Molly, a Canadian, moved to Istanbul about 13 years ago and opened a cafe that serves homemade everything. It is a cozy gathering place for locals and expats. She invited me to talk about my work and the Turkish edition of my novel Anahita's Woven Riddle, just published by Yakamoz Kitap as Sicak Bir Ask Masali. If you are visiting Istanbul I recommend that you seek Molly's cafe. The neighborhood has many treasures, such as the fresh fruit and vegetable shop pictured in the corner of this blog photo.

I have also had the pleasure of visiting two public schools in the Emirgan and Sultanahmet neighborhoods. I will be posting more about those events in the coming weeks with photos of some of the students. Check back also to hear about a booksigning I have planned with a local carpet dealer in the Grand Bazaar. Adnan and Hasan's Rugs is hosting me, the event will serve to promote literacy programs in Turkey.

Iy gunlar!

Announcing the New Turkish Translation of Anahita's Woven Riddle by Yakamoz Books

I am pleased to announce the Turkish translation of my novel Anahita's Woven Riddle by Yakamoz Books under a new title A Warm Love Tale.

I am thrilled to have this translation because I love Turkey and have been traveling there since 1985. In fall 2008 I studied the Turkish language through the University of Ankara at Istanbul. This week I am returning to promote the Turkish edition of Anahita and to take another language course.

In the next several weeks I will be posting blog entries from both my previous trip to Istanbul as well as anecdotes about my experiences this spring. If you are in Istanbul and would like to attend a book event, please check my "Author Appearances" page on my website for an updated list and/or this blog.

Istanbul Teachers and librarians, please contact me at this website if you would like me to visit your school.

I will sign books at Molly's Cafe, Galata, Istanbul on May 7th at 4:30 pm.
I will be reading in the Grand Bazaar at Adnan and Hasan's Carpet Shop on Thrusday, May 19th at 1 pm.

A big thank you to Anatolia Lit and Yakamoz Books for making this translation happen! And more thanks due to my friends in Turkey for helping me to plan book events as well as thanks to the cafes, bookstores, carpet dealers, schools and organizations who have invited me to speak.

Medical Doctor Becomes Wetlands Doctor

Earth Day was celebrated around the world yesterday. To read more about it check out this link:
http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2011.

The book cover featured in this blog post is one of my own The Shape of Betts Meadow: A Wetlands Story. Today I'd like to honor the man whom the book is about, my friend Dr. Gunnar Holmquist. Gunnar and his mother Lavina Holmquist both gathered a large part of their savings to buy Betts Meadow, a 140-acre dry pasture, ringed with a forest of tall, old pine trees. It was a beautiful place but it seemed that it had been changed from what it had once been: a wetland. Gunnar, a medical doctor soon became a wetland doctor.

Aerial photographs of the meadow showed that about one hundred years ago three streams had coursed through the meadow, and beavers had been at work there. Later, someone had blocked the streams to dry out the land for cattle to graze. Many species of plants and animals had left with the water.

Gunnar worked on restoring the meadow for ten years and he continues to monitor it today. His work has been recognized by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wetlands Conservation Awards to the Private Sector.

Hats off to Gunnar! He has shown us that one person can make a difference.

New Photo Contest & Fairy Tale Fortnight

Can you guess which country this carriage comes from?

Misty and Ashley, two book bloggers, are hosting an online book event called Fairy Tale Fortnight, where you will find instructions for entering my photo contest! The winner will receive a copy of Anahita's Woven Riddle.

Click here to find out how to enter!

Click here to see the Fairy Tale Fortnight schedule and list of events, which includes author interviews, guest blog posts, book reviews and giveaways.

Fairy Tale Fortnight is organized by Misty at The Book Rat blog and Ashley at Basically Amazing Books blog.