Sessizlik [Silence] - Engin's first collection of stories

On June 1st, 2018, a photo of Engin with a gray-haired gentleman was published, along with the caption:
"After a pleasant and fruitful meeting with Engin Akyürek. By the way – I am of average male height. [EAPF: meaning he wanted to emphasize that Engin is taller than the typical average man...] Surprise coming soon..."

As I checked – Yaşar Tanil, who posted the photo, works at the publishing house Doğan Kitap. So the first thing that came to my mind was that the surprise might be a book.
I also posted a collage on Twitter and commented that maybe this book would turn out to be a collection of his short stories. Engin had mentioned this possibility in an interview from 2017.

We received partial confirmation during Engin’s stay in Latin America [August 2018], and on September 22, 2018, Yaşar Tanil wrote on Twitter: "Coming soon" and posted a photo of a blurred-out book cover.

The book was published in October 2018. In early October, the first promotional posts about the book appeared on the publishing house’s [Dogan Kitap] Instagram page, and on October 5th, 2018, Yaşar Tanil announced on his IG account that the book was available for purchase everywhere, with international sales handled by Kafasına Göre.

A video and an ad of the book can be seen here:  https://www.instagram.com/p/BotB7oQBdoO/

"Sessizlik" (Silence) is a collection of 21 short stories by Engin.
Nineteen of the stories are already known to us from Kafasına Göre [see List of Stories].
Two stories – the first one (Kiraz Ağacı, "The Cherry Tree") and the last one (Bence de Sefa, "I Also Think, Sefa") – are new and had not been previously published in Kafasına Göre.

Publisher: Doğan Kitap
Official price: 25 Turkish lira
First edition print run: 10,000 copies
Engin donated the proceeds from the book sales to the Darüşşafaka Foundation.

The book is small in size: 19.5 cm x 13.5 cm (1.2 cm thick)
ISBN: 978-605-09-5525-5

In the photo above: table of contents, dedication, and back cover.

Dedication:
Endless thanks to the Kafasına Göre publishers, İdil Hafızoğlu, Yasin Öksüz, Nalan Alaca [illustrator], Basri Albayrak [actor and Engin’s friend from Artistanbul], Özlem Durak [Engin’s manager], and my dear family in Ankara.

Back cover:
In red print:
Engin Akyürek’s short story collection Silence takes us back to a time when people met face to face, showed their emotions, and had heartfelt conversations to truly get to know one another.
It was a time when children were still children, and played football whenever they found an empty space; when neighbors would visit each other without calling first; when holidays were spent together, and joyful moments were shared in community.
It was a time when our love didn’t depend on "likes" and when we understood that silence meant separation.

Next to it, in white print:
Excerpts from three short stories: " For me it's Sefa", "Clouds in your eyes" and  "The Snowman".

Despite its title, the book Silence made quite a lot of noise — as I wrote in my post titled “Loud Silence.” Numerous interviews and articles were published, and several book promotion events took place, attracting fans from all over the world.

The first promotional event was held on October 20th, 2018, about two weeks after the book’s release — in Engin’s own neighborhood, at the D&R bookstore on Bağdat Street. There were also gatherings organized in cultural centers, including one with his fellow Artistanbul colleague Melis Birkan, as well as one with Burak Tamdoğan, his actor friend who also writes. During the latter event, we learned that Engin has a cat named Sefa, who somewhat resembles the cat from the book cover.

By the way – neither the cat nor the eyes on the cover belong to Engin. However, the layout of the cover resembles the built-in bookshelf in Engin’s living room.
Another fun fact: Engin even used the book cover design as a case for his phone.

 On the right: A throwback photo shared by Burak Tamdoğan on November 8, 2018, with a dedication to Engin:
#tbt I love your pen, your soul, and your existence. #enginakyürek

Engin spoke about how the book came to be in an interview with Genco Ozak  for Kafasına Göre:

GO: You write short stories, and although you hadn’t mentioned it before, suddenly we hear that a book is going to be published?
EA: It didn’t exactly happen like that. It was by coincidence. At a book fair, I met T. Yaşar from Doğan Publishing, and he asked me, “Engin, have you ever thought about publishing a book?” And I said, “Actually, there’s nothing stopping me from becoming a writer.”
It’s a wonderful feeling to hold in your hands a book filled with your own thoughts.
With acting, you interpret what someone else has written, but here — you create your own work and bring to life something you only once dreamed about.

What does Engin say about his writing?

In December 2018, when he attended the premiere of Şampiyon, a film starring his former partner Farah Zeynep Abdullah, he was asked a few questions — including some about his book. Here’s an excerpt:

— Your book is very well received. Can we now officially call you a writer?
— Oh, not at all. I don’t think it’s right to call myself a writer. I just wanted to share something with people. I wrote during my free time.
— Are you still writing? Will there be a sequel to the book?
— If God wills, yes. I’m still writing. But it’s not about becoming an author — what brings me joy is the ability to share something with people.