Yavuz Ekinci (b. 1979) is a novelist and short-story writer whose fiction reimagines the narrative memory of Mesopotamia through the language of contemporary literature. Drawing on oral storytelling traditions and ancient texts, his work explores memory, loss, violence, faith, power, and the human desire for immortality. For Ekinci, Mesopotamia is not merely a geography, but a way of storytelling—a space where past and present, myth and contemporary life continually intersect.
Over a literary career spanning more than two decades, Ekinci has published novels and collections of short stories. He is the recipient of the Haldun Taner Short Story Award and the Yunus Nadi Short Story Award. His works have been translated into several languages, including German, Persian, Greek and Kurdish, and have been adapted for film.
In 2023, a court ordered the confiscation and banning of his novel Rüyası Bölünenler, and criminal proceedings were brought against him because of the novel.
His latest novel, Aziz (2025), explores the relationships between art, beauty, possession, power and the desire for immortality. Yavuz Ekinci lives and works between Berlin and Istanbul.