Mely Kiyak, born in 1976, lives in Berlin and has published several books, essays, plays and other texts. She writes the weekly political column “Kiyaks Deutschstunde” (Kiyak’s German Lesson) for Zeit Online and “Kiyaks Theater Kolumne” (Kiyak’s Theater Column) for the Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin. In 2011 she was awarded the prestigious Theodor Wolff Prize.

Mely Kiyak was a resident at Tarabya Cultural Academy from June to October 2013.During her stay at Tarabya, she wrote the play Aufstand (Uprising) about a Kurdish artist in Berlin who reflects on his life in Turkey. The play premiered at the Maxim Gorki Theater in 2014 and was shown there until 2018.

In 2013 Kiyak published Istanbul Notizen (Istanbul Notes) (Turkish/German) and Herr Kiyak dachte, jetzt fängt der schöne Teil des Lebens an (Mr. Kiyak Thought that the Best Part of His Life Will Start Now), in 2018 Haltung. Ein Essay gegen das Lautsein (Bearing. An Essay against Being Loud). In 2020, Hanser published her latest work, Frausein (Being a Woman). In 2021 she received the prestigious Kurt-Tucholsky Preis.