She completed her MA at The University of auckland, New Zealand, and PhD on Istanbul as the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk’s literary capital at the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, the University of Amsterdam, where she also taught in the department of Literary Studies. Esra Almas has worked as a translator, moderator and organizer for PEN International, Amsterdam University Cities Project, and Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA). She has published extensively on Orhan Pamuk’s work and on modern Turkish literatüre, and her research interests include diaspora, exile narratives, and urban imaginary.