Mavisel Yener: Author–Turkey

Born in 1962 in Ankara, Mavisel Yener studied dentistry in Ege University. However, since her teens, writing was her calling. She achieved her goal at the age of sixteen. Her debut novel, The Blue Apple, a tale which she first told to her two daughters after their visit to the Insuyu Cave, was published by a local publishing house in Izmir in 1998. Since then, Yener has become one of the most renowned contemporary Turkish authors with over one hundred children's, young adult, and adult books. She addresses children and young adults in many genres: novels, poems, short stories, fairy tales, radio plays, and theater plays. She writes for adults as well, but her primary audiences are children and young adults; she has devoted her life to children's and young adult literature.

The essence of Yener's literary style lies in her uninhibited imagination. Her works ignite wonder, excitement, and desire and call the reader to join the journey; they encourage the children to let their imagination roam free and dream alongside the characters. She assumes the role of a guide through the inner world of the reader. She lets the child be a child and not a being that should be fed information, directed, molded, and shaped. Her mantra is that literature should not be didactic. When she is asked why she writes for children, she says that they are not only our hope for the future but they are the only ones who can have limitless hopes and dreams. She does not believe in obstacles when it comes to children's right to enjoy literature. A special play she penned for hearing-impaired children, Red Umbrella, was staged by Ankara State Theatre and Istanbul State Theatre, respectively. She also regularly goes into recording sections and contributes to create braille books for visually impaired children.

Yener has become a credible authority in children's and young adult literature. She manages the children's section of the literature supplement of Cumhuriyet newspaper with co-author and colleague Aytül Akal. She also produced and hosted two radio programs titled Sounds in our Hearts and Book Worm. She also represents Turkish literature at international events.

In 2015, the novel Skeleton of the Lost Library, which she co-authored with Akal, was selected as one of the titles for the Found in Translation anthology—an anthology that honors the world's best children's literature works. Yener's works were duly translated into several languages. She has won a large number of honors and awards for her novels, poems, short stories, and radio plays—among which are the Children's Humorous Stories Award, the Samim Kocagöz Short Story Award, the Ömer Seyfe n Short Story Award, Kosovo 2013's Best Children's Author Award, and Last 15 Years Best Children's Poetry Book Award by ÇGYD.