Ferit Orhan Pamuk is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, and academic. He was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature and is one of Turkey's most acclaimed authors, having sold over 13 million books in 63 languages, making him Turkey's best-selling writer.

His notable works include Silent House, The White Castle, The Black Book, The New Life, My Name Is Red, and Snow. Pamuk currently holds the position of the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he lectures on writing and comparative literature. In 2018, he was inducted into the American Philosophical Society.

Born in Istanbul, Pamuk became Turkey's first Nobel laureate. His book My Name Is Red garnered several prestigious awards such as the 2002 Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, the 2002 Premio Grinzane Cavour, and the 2003 International Dublin Literary Award.

Together with José Saramago, Pamuk initiated the European Writers' Parliament. His willingness to discuss sensitive historical and political issues has occasionally led to controversy in Turkey. In 2005, he faced legal challenges for a statement on the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire, though he intended to highlight freedom of speech in Turkey.