Zulfu Livaneli

Zülfü Livaneli is a Turkish folk/pop singer. His songs are generally arranged in western style and his voice is very strong. His songs are generally in theme of politics, especially socialism and democracy. BIOGRAPHY Omer Zulfu Livaneli was born in Ilgin, Turkey in 1946. After being held under military detention for three months during the coup of March 12 th, 1971, he had to leave Turkey and move to Sweden. After Stockholm, he lived in Paris and Athens, and he returned to Turkey in 1984. Livaneli's latest novel "Leyla's House" was published in Turkey in May 2006; as of today it's in its 45th edition and a number one best-seller. His third novel "Bliss", published in 2002, also a number one best-seller, made 44 editions, became almost a cult work and is recently adapted to cinema in Turkey. In 2005, "Bliss" was published in Greece and Sweden, and in 2006, it was published in France by Gallimard, in the United States by St.Martin's Press and in Italy by Gremese. Immediately after its publication in the latter, Bliss was awarded by Barnes & Noble, the biggest bookstore chain in the world, with the annually given "Discover Great New Authors" award due to its "superior literary value". Bliss will soon be published in Norway by Gylendal and in Netherlands by Prometheus/ Bert Bakker. His second novel "One Cat One Man One Death", his first novel "The Eunuch of Constantinople" and a collection of his stories titled "A Child in Purgatory" have also been published abroad. Livaneli achieved prominent success not only as a writer but also as a musician and film director. Alongside this brilliant artistic career, he has been a highly influential political figure for the past thirty years. Being one of the foremost defenders of Turkish-Greek friendship, in 1986, he founded the Greek-Turkish Friendship Committee together with the Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. In 1995, he was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO in recognition of his contributions to world peace. He still continues to work on UNESCO's Culture of Peace programs worldwide. In 2002, he was selected a Member of Parliament. He's still on duty as an independent member of parliament from Istanbul. He has been writing editorials for different Turkish dailies since 1989. Here are some of the awards that Livaneli has been honored with: * Barnes & Noble, 2006 Discover Great New Authors Award, USA * "Zecchino D'Argento" Best Foreign Song Award in the Zecchino D'Oro contest in Italy (2006) * Theodorakis Music Award, Greece - June 18, 2006 * Soranos Award for Friendship - September 2005 * Yunus Nadi Novel Award, Turkey - 2001, for the novel "One Cat One Man One Death" * 37th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival Lifelong Achievement Award, Turkey - 1999 * "Premio Luigi Tenco" Best Songwriter Award, San Remo, Italy - 1999 * Balkan Literary Award, 1997, for the novel "The Eunuch of Constantinople" * Valencia Film Festival Golden Palm Award for Best Director - 1989, "Mist" * Montpellier Film Festival Golden Antigone Award - 1989, "Mist" * San Sebastian Film Festival, Spain - 1987, OCIC Best Foreign Film Award, "Iron Earth Copper Sky" * Golden Record of the Year Award - 1986, Livaneli-Theodorakis, for the album "Gunes Topla Benim Icin" * Edison Awards, Netherlands - 1983, for the album "Farandouri sings Livaneli songs" * West German Critics Record of the Year Prize - 1983, "Farandouri sings Livaneli songs" * Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Award - 1982, "The Road", soundtrack * Record of the Year in Greece - 1982, "Farandouri sings Livaneli songs"