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An Evening with Elif Shafak and Peter Frankopan

Art &
Culture

A testament to the power of storytelling across borders and cultures.

A book that is astonishing, ingenious and beautiful. A modern classic. Elif Shafak is one of the great writers of our time’ – Peter Frankopan

Elif Shafak’s award-winning novels are celebrated globally. Her work has been translated into 58 languages, and her latest, There Are Rivers in the Sky, is a testament to the power of storytelling across borders and cultures.

This is an epic story of interconnection. Spanning ancient Mesopotamia to contemporary London, Shafak charts the lifespan of a raindrop, as it is consumed, subsumed and transformed across continents and centuries. This sweeping narrative is anchored by the lives of three characters, all of whom live on the banks of the Thames or the Tigris. Their lives are all touched by the Epic of Gilgamesh, a poem written during the late second millennium BC.

In April 2025 Shafak was be joined by historian Peter Frankopan on the Intelligence Squared stage. In his acclaimed The Earth Transformed, Frankopan explores how the natural environment has shaped the development and demise of civilisations across time. Here he joined Shafak to shed light on the history of ancient Mesopotamia and the weaving of epic narratives across time and place.

 

Further praise for There are Rivers in the Sky

‘Elif Shafak is a unique and powerful voice in world literature.’ ― Ian McEwan

‘One of the best writers in the world today.’ ― Hanif Kureishi

‘A brilliant, unforgettable novel.’ ― Mary Beard

‘Gloriously expansive and intellectually rich… a magnificent achievement.’ ― The Spectator

 

Speakers for the motion

  • Elif Shafak

    Award-winning British-Turkish novelist and storyteller

Featuring

  • Peter Frankopan

    Professor of Global History at the University of Oxford and and author of The Earth Transformed

Speakers are subject to change.

Speakers

Speaker

Elif Shafak

Award-winning British-Turkish novelist and storyteller

Award-winning British Turkish novelist, whose work has been translated into 58 languages. She is the author of 21 books, 13 of which are novels, she is a bestselling author in many countries around the world. Her last novel, The Island of Missing Trees, was a top ten Sunday Times bestseller, and was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and the Women's Prize for Fiction. Her novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the RSL Ondaatje Prize. She is a Fellow and a Vice President of the Royal Society of Literature and has been chosen among BBC’s 100 most inspiring and influential women. She holds the medal of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 2024 was awarded the British Academy President’s Medal for “her excellent body of work which demonstrates an incredible intercultural range.” Her latest book is There are Rivers in the Sky.
Featuring

Peter Frankopan

Professor of Global History at the University of Oxford and and author of The Earth Transformed

Professor of Global History at the University of Oxford. His books include The Silk Roads: A New History of the World and The New Silk Roads: The Present and Future of the World, both of which are global bestsellers. He has been Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College, Oxford since 2000. His latest book is The Earth Transformed: An Untold Story.