Elif Şafak Statement by Publishing House: There is No Plagiarism

* Photograph: www.elifsafak.com.tr

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In response to the allegation that the latest book by Elif Şafak "10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World" has been plagiarized from another book, the Turkey-based Doğan Kitap Publishing House has released a statement for the press and denied the allegations.

In its statement, the publishing house has indicated, "We condemn the allegations of 'plagiarism' full of insults and slanders raised by fake accounts on social media in an organized manner. These slanders are lies from the top to the bottom. These slanders, which are obviously ungrounded, are at a level that can only be considered funny for the literary world."

It has also been underlined that Kahraman Çayırlı, whose book Şafak allegedly plagiarized in writing her latest novel, posted a message on his social media account on August 1 and said that he read her book and liked it a lot.

"It is not even possible to talk about a 'similarity' between the book 'Hayat Kadınları Aldatmaz' by Kahraman Çayırlı and the novel of Elif Şafak, let alone plagiarism", Doğan Kitap has indicated further and continued as follows:

"Just because there are prostitutes in both books, these books attempted to be juxtaposed in a rather far-fetched manner. There are hundreds of books written on prostitutes in word literature.

"Therefore, what is at issue here is a campaign of smear and slander fabricated for the sole purpose of causing damage, which even the author of the book did not imagine.

"We have, unfortunately, seen that these accusations without any foundations can be reported by certain news websites and newspapers as well. The fact that this campaign has been brought up just when Elif Şafak has added just another achievement to her international achievements clearly highlights the real intention.

"It is a lie and slander that Elif Şafak has been expelled from Manchester Literature Festival. It is a lie and slander that Elif Şafak has been expelled from Booker Prize. We stand by our author Elif Şafak in the face of unjust accusations, sham and organized attacks that she is subjected to."

Nominated for Booker Prize

The latest book of Elif Şafak "10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World" is in the short list of Booker Prize, a leading literary award in the English speaking world. The winner of this year's award will be announced on October 14. The other nominated books and their authors are as follows:

Margaret Atwood "The Testaments",
Salman Rushdie "Quichotte"
Lucy Ellmann Ducks "Newburyport"
Bernardine Evaristo "Girl, Woman, Other"
Chigozie Obioma "An Orchestra of Minorities." (AÖ)