Meryem Selva İnce

Meryem Selva İnce was born in Bursa in 1988. She graduated from Sehir University, department of Turkish Language and Literature in 2015. In the same year, she completed pedagogical competency program at Mimar Sinan University. She is one of the founders of cocukyazini.com website, which started publishing under the Ministry of Culture GençDes project in 2017. She worked as part-time instructor at Sehir University from 2017 to 2020. She received her MA from Bogazici Universtiy, modern Turkish language and literaure with her thesis titled “Historicizing a Novel: Madonna in a Fur Coat as a Literary Case” in 2019. She participated in panels and symposiums as a speaker and organized workshops. She prepared the works of Sabahattin Ali and the poems of Orhan Veli for publication. With Havva Yılmaz, she edited Children’s Literature Reviews: Intertextuality, Rewriting and Adaptation, published by Erdem Publishing House in 2021. In 2022, she edited Football in Children’s Literature: Setting, Text and Media Relations, published by Ornis Kitap. She is continuing her studies in children’s literature with a focus on aesthetic perception and sociology of literature.

Havva Yılmaz

Havva Yılmaz graduated from Sehir University, department of Politics and International Affairs. She completed her graduate studies with her thesis titled “Daily Life, Status Groups, and country culture in Kadıköy during the Second Constitutionalist Period”.  She is now writing her PhD thesis titled “Setting Changes and Socialization in Bagdat Street” in Marmara University, Department of Sociology. She is currently working as vice coordinator at The Foundation for Sciences and Arts (BİSAV). Her articles and book chapters as well as her literature and cinema reviews were published in various platforms. With Meryem Selva İnce, she edited Football in Children’s Literature: Setting, Text and Media Relations, published by Ornis Kitap in 2022.

Yasemin Yılmaz Yüksek

Yasemin Yılmaz Yüksek received her BA in Western Languages and Literatures from Bogazici University in 2007 and her MA in 2010 after her high school years in Mersin. She received her PhD in Western Languages and Literatures from Istanbul University in September 2016. In her M.A. thesis called “Return to Exile: Nation and Identity in The Mimic Men, Surfacing, and Ignorance”, she worked on the notions of home and return in three contemporary novels. In her PhD. thesis - A.S. Byatt's Possession, The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, The Children's Book: The Woman Reader/Writer's Revising Female Identity, she studied A.S. Byatt's three novels with a special focus on the role of reading and writing in the formation and definition of female identity. She worked as an instructor of English at Gebze Technology Institute between 2008 and 2013. Having published articles in national and international journals, Yüksek is continuing to write for websites. Her main field of research is literature written by minorities, gender studies and children’s literature. Her book for children Anneannemin Defteri [My Grandma’s Notebook] was awarded the first prize in a competition in 2020 and published in 2021 by Bilgiyolu Culture Publishing. Her theatre play for children, Gülen Gözler Kasabası [The Town of Smiling Eyes] was awarded the first prize in 2020. Her second book Polifonya Kentinin Küskün Sakinleri [The Offended Inhabitants of Polifonya] was published in 2022. She is currently a lecturer at Istanbul Technical University, Advanced English Department.

İrem Özcan

Born in 1992 in Malatya, İrem Özcan graduated from Medeniyet University, department of history in 2022.She worked as social Media specialist and workshop coordinator from 2020 to 2022. She is currently a volunteer for Çocuk Yazını and contributing to its content with her articles.

Efruze Esra Alptekin

Born in 1992 in Istanbul, Efruze Esra Alptekin continued game studies, examining the field both theoretically and practically. Meanwhile, she had various experiences in Oyun Çalışmaları, which is a supporting network she established with her friends. She received drama trainee training from Contemporary Drama Organization. She also participated in many storytelling trainings and started to work as drama and storytelling trainee in  private sector companies. Believing in the healing power of a touch that feeds on children's literature, Alptekin places children's literature at the focus of the studies she is still continuing. For this reason, she is both doing theoretical studies and designing workshops in this arsa with an aim to develop a deeper understanding of children's literature.

Zehra Nur Canpolat

Born in Şanlıurfa in 1988, Zehra Nur Canpolat finished high school at Güngören İmam Hatip School and graduated from Bogazici University, department of Turkish Language and Literature in 2011. She worked as part-time and freelance education writer, prepared questions for Limit and Tonguç Publishing House. Her book series Doğa Dedektifi Çınar [Nature Inspector Çınar] was published from Timaş Çocuk Publishing House and Uzay Maceraları: Gökmen ve Altın Tay [Space Adventures: Gökmen and Golden Colt] from Gizemli Bahçe Publishing House. Her articles were published at Çeto Magazine. She worked as content writer and editor for DİGETE publishing house. She is currently writing about children’s books at https://cocuklarvebuyukleri.blogspot.com/. After ten years of interval, she restarted her academic studies at Siirt University as a graduate student at Contemporary Turkish Literature. She also has unpublished books and works as a volunteer for Çocuk Yazını. She is the moderator of Çocuk Yazını talk series focusing on thesis on/about children’s literature. She is married and has a child.

Afitab Özdemir

She was born in Kocaeli in 2000. Graduating from Kocaeli Ali Fuat Basgil Social Sciences High School, she started studying at Kocaeli University, Department of Turkish Language Teaching in 2022. She started to work as a volunteer for Çocuk Yazını while she was a student at Çocuk Yazını Vounteer School. She has been preparing the visuals of the website since July 2022. She is also the volunteer of Bambu Educatinonal Services and supports equal rights of education.

Gizem Bulut

Gizem Bulut graduated from Hasan Ali Yücel Education Faculty, Department of Turkish Language Teaching in 2015 and Child Development in 2020. Continuing her graduate studies in children’s literature, Bulut published book chapters in Edebiyattan Pencereler [Windows of Literature] ve Çocuk Yazınında Futbol: Mekân, Metin ve Medyatik İlişkiler [Football in Children’s Literature: Setting, Text and Media Relations.] She also has a podcast channel broadcasting about fantastic literature, mythology, creativity and children’s literature.

Hafize Çetinkaya

Born in Konya in 1992 Hafize Cetinkaya completed high school in Konya. She graduated from Necmettin Erbakan University, Department of Turkish language teaching in 2014 and doing her graduate studies in the same department with a major in children’s literature. Carrying out studies in cinema, collage and visual poetry, Cetinkaya published her visual poems and collages in various magazines such as Buzdokuz, Moero, Diskotek, 21 Mart, Motelzine, Contemporary Collage Magazine. She participated in the shooting of a documentary with a collective called Dastar during a workshop organized by Filmmor. Her work Canavar Düdüğü [Monster Whistle] composed of her collages was published by Motelzine in 2022. Working as a Turkish language teacher, Cetinkaya is also a volunteer of OCA and Çocuk Yazını.

Didem Arvas

Didem Arvas graduated from Bilgi University, Department of Comparative Literature in 2012. In 2013, she received her MA in Cultural Studies at the same university. Her MA thesis titled Hijabi Women’s Experience in Modern Times was published by Bilgi University in 2014. She completed her PhD studies at Bogazici University, Department of Turkish Language and Literature. In her dissertation, she tried to look at the notions of representation and identity in order to interrogate how hijabi female characters were analyzed and reflected in Turkish novel. She is still working at Erdem Publishing House as children’s and adult books editor.

Betül Çağlar

Born in 1998 in İstanbul, Betül Caglar graduated from Fatih Sultan Mehmet University, Turkish Language and Literature in 2020 and received her MA in the same department with her thesis titled “Problem Oriented Approach in Children’s Literature” in 2022. She conducted workshops with high school students. Among volunteers of Çocuk Yazını, Caglar is continuing her studies in children’s literature and currently working at FSMVU Social Research Center.

Ayşe Şeker Kılıç

She was born in Artvin in 1979. She completed her primary, secondary and high school in İstanbul. Graduating from 19 Mayıs University, Department of Biology, she worked as a teacher for fifteen years. She is currently interested in children’s literature and conducting nature workshops outside. She is also writing for Bizim Bahçe, Kardelen, Özel Egitim magazines. She works in libraries as a volunteer to have reading sessions with children. In her first book Koksi ve Böcek Arkadaşları [Koksi and Insect Friends], she wrote about the scientific characteristics of insects in a lyrical language. Her second book Cevahir Cevherigizli ve Alengirli Dersleri was awarded first prize in a novel competition organized by Kanes Publishing House. Her series Bu Ögretmen Biraz Degişik [This Teacher is a Bit Strange] was followed by Zekai İşlemtamam ile Sayı Oyunları [Number Games with Zekai İşlemtamam] and Saniye Gelişigüzel ile Dönüşü Zor Yolculuklar [Difficult Journeys with Saniye Gelişigüzel]. She wrote about Farabi for Kaşif Çocuk Publishing House project Pioneer Scientists and about Piri Reis for Turkish Religious Organization, Important Turkish and Islamic Figures in History. Her book Çanakkale Sözlügü [The Dictionary of Çanakkale] was published by Pırıltı Books. Living in Kocaeli, Kılıc is married and has two children.

Sümeyye Sel Odabaş

Born in 1985, Sümeyye Sel Odabas finished high school at Celal Bayar Anatolian High School and studied philosophy at Galatasary University. Completing her graduate studies at the same university, she studied at Jules Verne University Arts and Aesthetics Center in Amiens. Continuing her PhD studies at İstanbul Medeniyet University, History of Philosophy and Systematic Philosophy department, Odabas is carrying out philosophy workshops for children and adults. The writer of a children’s book called Zuluflu Fındık from Vakıf Bank Culture Publishing House, Odabas is regularly writing for Nida Magazine and teaching philosophy at İbn Haldun University Philosophy department. She is interested in Aristotelian Aesthetics, Philosophy for Children and Contemporary Ethical Theories. Odabas is married and has children called Rana, Bilge and Hikmet. 

Huri Küçük

She was born in 1990 in the industrial city of Kocaeli, as the last child of a family from Trabzon. After completing his primary and high school education in Kocaeli, she continued her university education in Istanbul. The conflict between the green of Black Sea villages where she spent her childhood summers and the gray smoke from the factory chimneys of the city where she was born turned into a cultural conflict between the home and the outside, and made her curious about language, literature, space, belonging and identity. He graduated from Istanbul University, English Translation and Interpretation Department in 2012. Afterwards, she completed her master's degree with her thesis on Women’s representation in Islamic foundations in the Modern Turkey Studies Program at Istanbul Şehir University. Children's literature, which she was curious about to become a more "equipped" aunt to the new little members who joined the family since her university years, has become a professional occupation over the years. She took part in the volunteer team of Çocuk Yazını with her review articles. She currently teaches language and translation courses in the English Preparatory Program and in the Department of Translation and Interpretation at Mardin Artuklu University, and continues his doctoral studies at Sakarya University, Department of Translation Studies

Hümeyra Demirel Dinler

She was born in Gönen/Balıkesir and lived there until university years. Having graduated from university, she lived in Kastamonu where she worked as researcher. After these three years, She came back Istanbul again for PhD. Her interest in literature started in her high school years. She met Çocuk Yazını during her master study but her interest in children’s literature intensified after her son was born in 2017. Her major fields of study consist of Ottoman periodicals; the relationship between traditional stories and modern novel and rewritings. She graduated from Turkish Language and Literature in Bogazici University (undergraduate 2012, graduate 2016) and still carries on her PHD study of New Turkish Literature in the same department.

Sezanur Sezgin

Born in Istanbul, Sezanur Sezgin started university at Şehir University, department of Psychology; however, in her third year, she decided to study Turkish Language and Literature, which she believed was closer to her interests, dreams, and goals. She completed her MA in 2022 at İstanbul 29 Mayıs University, department of Turkish Language and Literature, with her thesis titled "Holiness, literariness, fiction in the representatives of the Prophet Yusuf: Examples of Kenan Çobanları and Yusuf ile Züleyha Kalbin Üzerinde Titreyen Hüzün” and she started her PhD studies at Fatih Sultan Mehmet  University, department of Turkish Language and Literature in the same year. She is currently working as an editor and content writer at Kalem Organizations (Kalem Publishing House, Kalem Academy, Kalem İnternational Human and Society Studies Journal, Kalem Organization Schools). Meanwhile, she is supervising various reading groups, and writing critical articles for magazines and book chapters, particularly for Çocuk Yazını and Language and Literature Magazine.

Beyza Özeren

Uğur Topal

Gökçe Özder