Meet the Judges: Zeynep Kazmaz
Meet the judges! We chatted with the wonderful Zeynep Kazmaz on all things books. Zeynep grew up in Istanbul and currently lives in London. She runs a printing company and a bookstagram account, successfully avoiding having to think about anything other than books. In 2024, she was named the Women’s Prize Discoveries Scholar.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THE ONLINE READING COMMUNITY?
Its supportiveness. Bookstagram is probably one of the few online communities not fueled by a sense of competition. Everyone is just there to share a love of books, which inevitably ends up translating into real-life friendships too. Some of my best friends in London now were internet friends first. How amazing is that?
WHAT BOOK FIRST SPARKED YOUR LOVE FOR READING?
Probably the Turkish translations of the Le Petit Nicolas series. I don't know how I came about all of the books in the series; my parents must have bought them for me. But I distinctly remember sitting in my room and reading one book after the other, turning my desk lamp on when it got dark. They had the most beautiful, plain covers, and I found it so exciting to not know which adventure I would be diving into next.
WHAT DEBUT AUTHOR SHOULD WE BE KEEPING OUR EYES ON?
Ela Lee! Her debut, Jaded, is one of the best books I've ever read. I'm genuinely so excited to see what she does next.
WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL INSPIRED TO WRITE?
Having, or seeing someone else have, a strong emotional reaction to something without immediately knowing why. It makes me want to imagine characters who might also have experienced similar feelings, and then I like to fill in the back story of how they ended up in that moment.
IF YOU COULD GO FOR DINNER WITH A CHARACTER, WHO WOULD YOU PICK AND WHY?
Mia Thermopolis from The Princess Diaries because I spent so many of my tween days with her. It would be great to catch up.
DO YOU HAVE ANY READING RITUALS?
I like to read in bed. This is great in some ways because it means I go to bed early to make more time to read, and not so great in others, because I almost always end up staying up later than I intended.
ALL TIME FAVE READ
All-time favourite read is such an impossible question! Some books I've loved in the last few years are I'm A Fan by Sheena Patel, Central Places by Delia Cai, Penance by Eliza Clark, and Come & Get It by Kiley Reid.
CURRENT READ
My current read is The Coin by Yasmin Zaher, about a Palestinian woman who is trying to live and thrive in America. It has me fully hooked.
NEXT ON TBR
And next on my TBR is This Immaculate Body by Emma van Straaten, who was the inaugural winner of Discoveries. It's got an unreliable narrator in a one-way relationship, and it starts with (I already snuck a peek into the first page) a mesmerising opening sentence.