The “Turkey Innovation and Achievement Awards” ceremony was held on Dec. 10 at Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel with numerous participants from the business and art world. Pınar Altuğ and Tamer Karadağlı anchored the program which was hosted by Strong Media. Journalist Burak Artuner was awarded the “Breakout Writer of the Year" prize for his book "Leman Hanım'ın Mavi Cadillac’ı" (“Leman Hanım’s Blue Cadillac”).
The award is given to individuals and institutions who have carried out important projects in their fields, who have made a name for themselves through their successful works and who have contributed to the development of the field in which they operate. At the award ceremony, Artuner said that he wished for an end to violence against women. Pointing out that this year has been very difficult, Artuner continued: “Next year means hope. This award has honored me and reminded me once again that every individual in society needs to work harder. It inspired me for the works I will produce in the future."
"We have been shaken by the violence against women in particular. In my novel, I mentioned violence against two different women in two different periods of time. One of my protagonists puts an end to her life, while the other fights for justice," he said. Artuner said he was receiving the award on behalf of all female victims of violence, particularly Ceren Özdemir, a 20-year-old ballerina who was stabbed to death in the Black Sea province of Ordu.
"Our speeches here will not end these incidents, but I call on the whole community and every individual to light a fire that will encourage respect for women's rights, to engage in an effort that will instill compassion in our children, and to assist women in their quest for justice," he said.
Speaking to Daily Sabah about his writing career and novel, Artuner said: “Journalism is a profession that requires you to go into the details of events in a very short amount of time and not to miss any detail. It gives you a great experience. It also requires great sacrifice and discipline. Writing a novel also requires attention to recognize details and to be disciplined. That's why journalism provides a training opportunity that feeds you every day for writing a novel.”
Artuner’s latest novel, "Leman Hanım'ın Mavi Cadillac’ı," is a novel written with socialist realism and elements that shed light on recent history through a passionate love story. Noting that he tried to reflect Turkey’s social transformation in his novel, he said: “I wanted to show the change of people’s perspective on love and their lifestyle with the country’s transformation.”
"Leman Hanım'ın Mavi Cadillac’ı" attracted great attention from readers. The author said that his research for this novel took a lot of time as it covers a story starting in 1964 and continuing to date. He recalled that the book took nearly four years to complete. Despite the admiration of readers, successful journalist and author Artuner thinks that he has not gone beyond himself in writing yet. “This is my second novel. I will continue to write better works. The more I write, the more I will develop in writing. I have already started my third book. In the future, I will only focus on writing novels,” Artuner said.
