FAU Professor’s Book Gets Oprah Stamp Of Approval

Looking for a good book to read this weekend? We have just the suggestion. O, The Oprah Magazine included a new book by a Florida Atlantic University professor in its 10 August Books You Should Read Right Now list.

The book is “The Trojan War Museum, and Other Stories” by associate professor of English Ayse Papatya Bucak, which comprises 10 stories that explore her Turkish roots.

“‘The History of Girls,’ centers on a group of girls trapped in the rubble of a school explosion who are visited by the ghosts of their dead classmates; ‘A Cautionary Tale’ is the story of a Turkish wrestler; and ‘The Dead’ is about a sponge magnate’s encounter with a survivor of the Armenian genocide,” according to a press release. “Publishers Weekly stated that ‘Bucak’s remarkable, inventive and humane debut marks her as a writer to watch.’”

Bucak is no stranger to publishing: She has published prose and poetry pieces in a variety of outlets, including The Kenyon Review, Creative Nonfiction, Prairie Schooner, Pank and The Fairy Tale Review. Plus, stories in her latest collection were awarded the O. Henry Prize (“The History of Girls”) and the Pushcart Prize (“Iconography”).

Born in Istanbul to an American mother and a Turkish father, Bucak spent most of her childhood in Pennsylvania. She received her B.A. from Princeton University and her M.F.A. from Arizona State University. Bucak – a contributing editor of the journal Copper Nickel – has held residencies at the Millay Colony for the Arts, Hedgebrook Farm, Willapa Bay AIR, Brush Creek, the Betsy Hotel and the Studios of Key West.

To learn more about Bucak, her new book and her Turkish heritage, check out “In Conversation,” a podcast produced by the FAU Dorothy F. College of Arts and Letters. Click here to access the podcast.

For more about the author, click here.