Writer (b. 1950, Ankara).
He is the son of the writer Çetin Altan. He attended the İstanbul Kültür
College (1970) and graduated from İstanbul University, Faculty of Economics
(1981). After working as a proof-reader at the Bilgi Publishing House, and as a
correspondent for the American Associated Press News Agency, he started to work
in the newspaper Hürriyet. He served
at the service of foreign news. He worked as a columnist in the newspapers Milliyet and Yeni Yüzyıl, and as a
producer and a presenter on private televisions.
His novels and essays
attracted a huge mass of readers. His first novel Dört Mevsim Sonbahar
(Autumn for Four Seasons) brought him the Akademi Publishing House Novel Award
in 1983. His second novel Sudaki İz (The Trace on the Water) was
confiscated by the state because it was found obscene (1986). He drew
particular attention with his essays on freedom of thought in the newspaper Yeni
Yüzyıl during the 1990's. In 2002, when his famous novel Aldatmak
(Being Unfaithful) was published, he was attacked with eggs by a group of
students at the İstanbul University, where he had been invited to a conference.
WORKS:
NOVEL: Dört Mevsim
Sonbahar (Autumn for Four Seasons, 1982), Sudaki İz (The Trace on
the Water, 1985), Yalnızlığın Özel Tarihi (Exclusive History of
Loneliness, 1991), Tehlikeli Masallar (Dangerous Tales, 1996), Kılıç
Yarası Gibi (Like a Wound of Sword, 1998), İsyan Günlerinde Aşk (Love
in the Days of Rebellion, 2001), Aldatmak (Being Unfaithful, 2002),
İçimizde Bir Yer (Somewhere inside Us, 2004).
ESSAY: Geceyarısı Şarkıları (Midnight Songs, 1995), Karanlıkta Sabah Kuşları (Birds of Morning in Darkness, 1997), Kristal Denizaltı (Crystal Submarine, 2001), Ve Kırar Göğsüne Bastırırken (And Breaks by Hemming on the Breast, 2003).
REFERENCE: Gürsel Aytaç / Ahmet Altan’dan “Kılıç Yarası Gibi” - Bir Tarihi Roman (Cumhuriyet Kitap, 17.9.1998), Behçet Necatigil / Edebiyatımızda İsimler Sözlüğü (18. bas. 1999), M. Sadık Aslankara / Ahmet Altan’ın Romanları (Adam Sanat, Ekim 2002, sayı: 201), İhsan Işık / Türkiye Yazarlar Ansiklopedisi (2001, 2004) – Encyclopedia of Turkish Authors (2005) - Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2007) – Ünlü Fikir ve Kültür Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 3, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013), Canan Sevinç / Ahmet Altan’ın Romanları ve Romancılığı Üzerine Bir Araştırma (Yüksek Lisas tezi, 2003), Kemal Gündüzalp / Ahmet Altan’ın ‘Aldatmak’ Romanındaki Sevgi(sizlik) Sorunu (Hürriyet Gösteri, Ocak 2005), İhsan Işık / Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2006), Ahmet Altan hakkında yakalama kararı çıkarıldı (cumhuriyet.com.tr, 22.09.2016).