Orhan Pamuk is 74 years old as of October 2026. He was born on 7 June 1952.
Turkish novelist of My Name Is Red and Snow and the memoir Istanbul, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature
Did you know?He established a real-life Museum of Innocence in Istanbul, containing thousands of objects reflecting the everyday life depicted in his novel of the same name.
Quick facts
Date of birth7 June 1952
Age74
NationalityTurkish
BirthplaceIstanbul, Turkey
Occupationwriter, novelist, screenwriter
Editor's Take:
Orhan Pamuk writes about Istanbul, memory and the meeting of East and West. He grew up in a wealthy family in the city and studied architecture before turning to writing. His novels are playful, melancholy and full of ideas. My Name Is Red is a murder mystery among Ottoman painters. Snow explores politics and faith in a remote town. He faced charges at home for comments on the Armenian genocide. In 2006 he became Turkey's first Nobel laureate.
Key Milestones
1982: Cevdet Bey and His Sons – first novel
1998: My Name Is Red – novel
2002: Snow – novel
2006: Nobel Prize in Literature
Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952; Turkish pronunciation:) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, he has sold over 13 million books in 63 languages, making him the country's best-selling writer.
