Hakan Günday is a Turkish writer, novelist, and screenwriter born on May 29, 1976, on the island of Rhodes. He completed his primary education in Brussels before moving to Ankara, where he attended Tevfik Fikret High School. Günday furthered his studies at Hacettepe University, Université Libre de Bruxelles, and Ankara University, where he was part of the Faculty of Political Sciences.

Günday's first novel, Kinyas ve Kayra, was published in 2000. Among his notable works is Loss (Ziyan), which won the Prix France-Turquie, and More (Daha), awarded the Prix Médicis étranger.

He is also known as a playwright, collaborating with the DOT company in Istanbul. His play Mandrel premiered at the 17th International Istanbul Theatre Festival in 2010. Günday currently lives and works in Istanbul.