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Birth
Pamuk was born in Istanbul to a large family. From his childhood until the age of 22 he devoted himself largely to painting and dreamed of becoming an artist. -
Architecture
Pamuk began to study architecture at Istanbul Technical University for three years, but abandoned the course to become a novelist in 1975. -
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Writing Focus
From ages 22 to 30, Pamuk lived with his mother, writing his first novel and attempting to find a publisher. -
Novelist
At the age of 23 Pamuk decided to become a novelist, and giving up everything else (like architecture and journalism) retreated into his flat and began to write. -
Marriage
Pamuk married Aylin Türegün, a historian, but later got divorced in 2001. -
First Novel
Pamuk's first novel, Cevdet Bey ve Oğulları (Mr. Cevdet and His Sons), was published. The story revolves around three generations of a wealthy Istanbul family living in Nisantasi, Pamuk's own home district and won both the Orhan Kemal and Milliyet literary prizes. -
Second Novel
Pamuk's second novel was called The Silent House, which in French translation won the 1991 Prix de la découverte européene. -
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Time in the U.S.
Pamuk went to America, where he was a visiting scholar at Columbia University in New York. It was there that he wrote most of his novel The Black Book, in which the streets, past, chemistry and texture of Istanbul are described through the story of a lawyer seeking his missing wife. -
The White Castle
The White Castle was about the frictions and friendship between a Venetian slave and an Ottoman scholar and was published in English and many other languages from 1990 onwards, which brought Pamuk his first bout of international fame. -
The Black Book
Pamuk finished writing The Black Book and the novel was published in Turkey in 1990. The French translation won the Prix France Culture. The Black Book solidified Pamuk's fame both in Turkey and internationally and as an author who was both popular and experimental. -
Daughter
Pamuk and his wife had a daughter named Rüya (born 1991), whose name means "dream" in Turkish. -
Nobel Prize
In 2006 The Swedish Academy announced that Orhan Pamuk had been awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. However, there were concerns within Turkey that the decision to award the Nobel Prize to Pamuk was politically motivated. In their citation, the Academy said: "In the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city, [Pamuk] has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures." -
The Museum of Innocence
The Museum of Innocence is about a man’s lifelong infatuation with a young woman and his attempt to build a museum housing the objects associated with his love. -
Trial
In 2005, after Pamuk made a statement regarding the Armenian Genocide and mass killing of Kurds in the Ottoman Empire, a criminal case was opened against the author based on a complaint filed by ultra-nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz. The charges were dropped on 22 January 2006. In Bilecik, his books were burnt in a nationalist rally. Pamuk has since stated his intent was only to draw attention to freedom of speech issues.