New peer-reviewed research on Expat Harem is published
My book is 20 years old and currently undergoing a "renaissance" in academic circles. It looks to remain the gold standard for Turkish expat memoirs.
It’s always a thrill to learn that someone has spent time with something I created, let alone adding it to the body of their own scholarship with a cool tag like #imagology.
I just noticed a new academic research article on the anthology I co-edited more than twenty years ago. A peer-reviewed paper Translating Türkiye’s women in a transnational context: the case of Tales from the Expat Harem by Hilal Erkazanci Durmus, an Associate Professor of Translation Studies at Hacettepe University in Ankara, has been published in the Translation Studies Journal this spring, March 2026.
Her article examines Tales from the Expat Harem from a translation studies perspective, as a cultural product moving within a social network.
Professor Durmus examines the book through the lens of translation sociology, an investigation into translation as a social practice. It looks at the “agents" involved—translators and editors acting as active mediators and cross-cultural agents—and how our choices were shaped by the institutions, publishing demands, and power dynamics of the time.
The study examines how the authors "translate" Turkish culture and women’s roles for a global audience.
Her research explores the social, economic, and political factors that influence how stories like these are produced, distributed, and received. It’s a deep dive into how translations impact the global circulation of ideas, especially when moving between major languages and cultures.
Professor Durmus teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on translation sociology and discourse, and her paper is tagged with some fascinating identifiers: cultural translation, feminist translation, imagology, migrant women (the "expats," in academic terms), and Türkiye.
TBT: I produced a planetarium exhibit about dinosaurs for a pioneering astrophysicist
When I was living in Kuala Lumpur, I produced a Planetarium theatre show for Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology & the Environment.
In 1996, an astrophysicist chose me to explain what happened to the dinosaurs.
Dr. Mazlan Othman, director general of Malaysia’s Space Science Studies Division in the Prime Minister’s Department, chose me to produce an educational exhibit for schoolchildren of this newly industrialized nation in Southeast Asia.
I researched and wrote a script on the astronomic demise of the dinosaurs as found in the geologic record (it’s that iridium layer!), then supervised a staff of 20 scientists to produce the presentation.
I reported directly to Dr. Mazlan, a pioneer in Malaysian space exploration whose next professional role was to direct the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in Vienna, and then to set up the National Space Agency in Malaysia.
To utilize the domed space theatre best, I designed surround-sound effects and music, supervised the sound recording, and oversaw the programming for a 20-projector system.
For the first time, the observatory’s suite of Minolta multimedia operations was used. I optimized and modeled its use in the program, and advised on needed upgrades.
I wrote a study guide for schoolteachers to accompany the permanent exhibit, which ran five times a day in two languages.
Conceiving of an Expat Harem inspired streaming series
Stealth project, defunct. Revolved a return to the cultural thread, in international streaming, if the time is right. (It wasn’t, 2022 and 2023 earthquakes and bombings changed the landscape, in a heated election year.)
Pitchbook for streaming series concept, 2022-2023
Expat Harem-related projects won't quit. The book is still for sale, and people are finding it like an actress in London who discovered it in a bookshop in London and sent it to a TV producer in Istanbul.
In 2022, at the request of that TV producer in Istanbul, I co-developed a streaming series concept inspired by the book "Tales from the Expat Harem" and its associated blog.
Collaborating with another writer, Katherine Belliel, whose Haze appeared in the book, and who coedited the sequel book Expat Sofra, we crafted a unique series that reflected the themes and stories from the original literary work.
This involved extensive research into the rights landscape, and entertainment legal agreements. We then pitched the concept to an international streaming service, leveraging our creative vision and strategic communication skills to present a compelling case for the globally accessible series.
The project demonstrated our ability to adapt literary content for a new digital medium while managing complex logistical and legal aspects.
Crazy Rich Asians & the impact of my work: I helped save an architectural gem in Southeast Asia
Remembering the time when I conceived, pitched, wrote, sold, published a three page story in a top newsweekly magazine out of Hong Kong that highlighted a historical building at risk from nearby development to 93,000 elite members of government, business and the arts.
The article had impact.
The year after the article was published, the building won a newly created UNESCO Heritage Award.
To promote the conservation of the greatest diversity of the region’s built heritage, in the year 2000 UNESCO inaugurated the annual Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, a program designed to respond to the question: “Within the realities of contemporary, fast-track development, what of the built heritage do Asians value and want to preserve from the past to inform the region’s place in the global future?”
quoted from TheSiamSociety.org Lessons from the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation: International Best Practices in Thailand
Richard Engelhardt, Montira Horayangura Unakul and Julia Davies
In 2018 you saw this historic property in the film Crazy Rich Asians, which used it as a setting.
You know it from Crazy Rich Asians. I championed its story in 1998.
Writing foreword to Expat Harem's natural successor, Expat Sofra
Meet the contributors to Expat Sofra and look for the book this spring!
TBT, early critical reviews of Expat Harem
These reviews were for a pre-release version of the book in December 2004.
“The Expat Harem promises a world closed and sacrosanct, morphing its occupants into a new hybrid of East and West.”
--Alev Croutier, Turkish-American author of international bestseller Harem: The World Behind the Veil
“Funny, moving and unusual, the essays in this collection transcend postcard views and prejudice to show the rich cultural tapestry of Turkish society.”
--Nicole Pope, co-author of Turkey Unveiled: A History of Modern Turkey and correspondent for Le Monde
“An extraordinary collection of women trying to make sense of their own lives through another culture. From the disillusioned missionary to the lady roustabout, what unites them is not their backgrounds or personalities but affection for an adopted Turkish homeland. The entrance to the harem is ajar. An addictive set of insights.”
--Andrew Finkel, author of Turkish State, Turkish Society and longtime correspondent in Turkey who has worked for Time magazine, CNN and the Times of London
"Contrary to common misperceptions of Turkey as daunting and dangerous, Tales from the Expat Harem reveals the country’s warm Mediterranean culture. This peek through the lattice-work into the Turkish lives of foreign-born women exposes their encounters with the deep-seated gentility of Turks. A must-read for anyone who thinks all Muslim cultures are identical."
--Jennifer Lawler, author of Encyclopedia of the Byzantine Empire, and the Dojo Wisdom series
“In the harem, Ottoman women could take off their veils and tell their stories. Accomplished modern women in Tales from the Expat Harem tell us much more. Varied, absorbing personal adventures reveal today's Turkey--modern and familiar, traditional and exotic--with a depth, sincerity and delight found nowhere else. They fling open the doors of an unknown world and let us see everything. I've been waiting a long time for this book!”
--Tom Brosnahan, veteran Berlitz, Frommer’s and Lonely Planet guidebook author, originator of Lonely Planet Turkey, founder of the Turkey Travel Planner website and author of travel memoir Turkey: Bright Sun, Strong Tea
“A most enjoyable book. Mixing humor with sharp insight into Turkish society, family, and the role of women, it encourages us to open our hearts to this great nation.”
--Charlotte McPherson, author of Culture Smart! Turkey
"These women have done such a good job, even if the Turkish government spent millions of dollars on public relations it couldn't achieve the same impact that this book will."
--Nazire Kalkan, political reporter for premiere Turkish newsweekly magazine Tempo
“Charming, warm-hearted and vivid, Expat Harem is not only a significant contribution to the understanding of Turkish life and culture, but also provides a compelling insight into the hearts and minds of foreign women who come to Turkey for love, work or travel. Their profound soul-searching makes for a definite must-read for everyone pondering the question of what it is we call 'home'.”
--Stine Jensen, literary critic for Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad and author of Mijn hondvis, mijn moskeetj:Een liefde in Turkije, a book about love between Turks and Europeans
TBT, tracking the election in a 100-day live blog
My team of media producers tracked social media reactions and global news about the election on a new social publishing platform. You can view the 100-day live blog here.
TBT, adapting a novel for the screen
Remembering the screen adaptation I did of an action comedy novel by Jennifer Lawler...
The main characters in this enduring ensemble story are star-crossed lovers who also happen to be mercenaries — and 17th century English scholars. Think the good-humored violence of RED with a younger group.
The Mercenary's Tale, screen adaptation of the novel Not Quite a Hero. We spent two years (1990-2) adapting the story to the screen format.
Here's what a 379 page 20 year old manuscript looks like. After I read the funny, classic love story for the first time in 1987/88 I couldn't forget it...
Always looking for an illustrator to convert the script into a graphic novel for iPad, btw.
We rewrite the screenplay every now and again. It's renamed COY MISTRESS. And Jennifer found a place for those Greek sailors she loves so much!
Learn more about Jennifer Lawler.
Retrospective: Elif Shafak calls my Expat Harem a best book on Turkey
Thanks, Elif! (She also wrote the forward to it, back in 2005. We connected early -- as sisters in Turkish culture, and Western culture through it, and fellow writers and speakers.)
Hosting a livestream of BinderCon sponsored by the Harnisch Foundation
Woman writer in the Bay Area? Come to this livestream party for BinderCon at UCLA on Saturday March 19
Join our LIVESTREAM PARTY for BINDERCON2016!
Mingle with your sister Binders and other Bay Area women writers, and watch back-to-back sessions from this year’s conference at UCLA -- thanks to the Harnisch Foundation
- Freelancing in the digital age panel
- Lunchtime keynote with TV writer/producers Lisa Kudrow & Robin Schiff
- How to build writing community panel
See more about speakers & sessions this party will stream
Learn more about BinderCon, a professional development conference designed to empower women and gender non-conforming writers with the tools, connections, and strategies they need to advance their careers.