I Will Never See the World Again

[This book] speaks for itself with such clarity, certainty and wisdom that only one thing needs to be said: read it. And then read it again… A radiant celebration of the inner resources of human beings… Sublime… A triumph of the spirit – Simon Callow * Guardian *A remarkable memoir by a remarkable writer … it is something special to visit Ahmet Altan in his prison, and to leave with an unexpected feeling of elation, motivated by the sheer, towering greatness of the human spirit – Philippe Sands, author of * East West Street *Ahmet Atlan’s memoir is a message in a bottle, a pearl in a bottle, smuggled out to us from Erdogan’s sea of darkness. I Will Never See The World Again is a startling, heartbreaking testament to the author’s honesty and resilience, a love letter to his calling, an eye-witness statement from the hell of denunciations and mass arrests that Turkey has become. It stands with those very rare books - by Frankl, Niemoller, Grossman, Levi, Solzhenitsyn - which bring truths from a furnace where lives are burned. Read this - it will explain why you ever read anything, why anyone ever writes – AL Kennedy, author * Serious Sweet *Remarkable… This book glitters with courage, intelligence, and an almost superhuman fighting spirit… What a writer, and what a man – Jane Graham * Big Issue *Remember the name Ahmet Altan! Add him to the great voices writing from prison across the centuries - Boethius, Cervantes, Gramsci, Soyinka, Solzhenitsyn - and be moved to tears and indignation by his story – Ariel Dorfman, author * Death and The Maiden *A deeply moving memoir, which resounds loudly with the sheer pleasure of writing. We owe Ahmet Altan a tremendous debt for the strength he has shown in sharing his story with us. Read this book, share it, and welcome Ahmet into your home – Jon McGregorAltan’s account of living with courage and dignity in unjust circumstances is a testament to human endurance, joining the ranks of the greatest prison memoirs… eloquent and profoundly affecting – Alastair Mabbot * Herald *An invigorating testament to the consolations of the mind… charged with a striking compassion and magnanimity that belies the circumstances of its composition… Ahmet’s prose glistens – Brendan Daly * Sunday Business Post *Altan’s essays are pithy meditations on freedom, literature, love and culture … By reading their works we offer them a lifeline to the outside world, in defiance of those who would silence them * TLS *

Born in 1950, Ahmet Altan, one of today’s most important Turkish writers, was arrested in September 2016 for his work as a journalist. An advocate for Kurdish and Armenian minorities and a central figure in the Turkish cultural world, he is the author of five successful novels. He has been awarded the Grand Prix from the Akademi Publishing House, the prestigious Freedom and Future of the Media Prize from the Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig and the International Hrant Dink Award. In February 2018 he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Turkish state.