About Me

Zeynep ÇOLAKOĞLU

Author, Music Writer, Chemical Engineer MSc., Degustator

Zeynep Çolakoğlu was born in Karaman, a small city situated in close proximity to the ancient civilizations and diverse religious sites of Anatolia. She accomplished Science High School, Chemical Engineering Degree (Ege University, Turkey) and Chemical Engineering Master’s Degree (Institute of Chemical Technologies, Prague, Czech Republic). She has been working as a chemical engineer who is not able to desist from charming effect of chemicals in human life; simultaneously continues living her dark side by writing horror stories and contributing to many extreme projects including metal music and wine.

She published self-underground fanzine called Acedia Black Metal Magazine in the beginning of 2000s; prepared article series, horror stories for a literary magazine called Karakalem Literary Magazine whose executive editor is Altay Öktem between 2007-2008; wrote musical reviews of Turkish rock/metal bands at music magazine called Yüxexes published by Güven Erkin Erkal; prepared articles and wrote short stories for Kurşun Kalem Literary Magazine from 2016 to 2018 and worked as executive editor on 46 and 47th isssues. 

In 2013 her first book “Büyülü Sözlük” (Dictionary the Enchanted)” which she investigated the lyrics of metal music (mostly black metal) by going deep into their literary, mythological and philosophic origins. She took place with her dark essay in an anthology called “Kara Şiir Antolojisi” (Anthology of Dark Poetry)” which is published by Zeplin Kitap in the same year.

In 2014, together with the foremost Turkish poet Altay Öktem, she translated Niklas Kvarforth’s (Shining) lyric book called “When Prozac No Longer Helps” into Turkish under the name “Prozac Artık Yetmediğinde”. 

In 2015, she is awarded III. Kurşun Kalem Literary Magazine Short Story Book Award with her horror story book called “Mina”. 

"Her short story "Medusa," featured in the anthology "Karanlıktaki Kadınlar (Women in the Dark)" published by Bilgi Publishing House in 2018, has been recognized as a quintessential example of the gothic narrative within Turkish literature. "Medusa" has been translated into English and published in the international quarterly literary journal Trafika Europe 16th: Turkish Delight, which focuses on Turkish Literature."

https://cld.bz/users/user-N5y4U8g/Trafika-Europe-Quarterly/TE16-Turkish-Delight

As a chemical engineer, author, and wine expert, she orchestrated alternative workshops that integrate wine tasting with art, literature, and sensory analysis. These included storytelling sessions named "Wine and Fear" where stories were narrated with wines, an exploration of Turkish literature's poetic periods with wines named "From Vineyards to Stanzas" in collaboration with wine expert Ayça Budak (IWSA) and poet Altay Öktem, an open painting workshop and tasting titled "Wine and Women" at Usca Winery, and the "Aroma Circle Game" designed to develop sensory techniques, enhance tasting awareness, and learn about aromas through the sensory and meditative interpretation of wine, known as "Tasting Awareness and Meditation"

She has WSET2 certificate and completed the course called "Wine Making and Wine Making Technologies" given by Prof. Dr. Hatice Kalkan Yıldırım from Ege University Food Engineering Department. Participated in the courses of UC Davis: Wine Tasting:Sensory Techniques in Wine Analysis, Phytotherapy, Aromatherapy, Wine Production Techniques, Viticulture, and Winemaking, as well as Fundemantal Fragnances Training.

As a music writer, she has contributed to the field by producing critiques, reviews, and interviews within the heavy metal music domain, primarily through her work with the publication Headbang Bookazine. Additionally, she maintains her own e-zine titled Black Metal Chronicles, where she delves into the Black Metal genre as a subculture."

https://www.blackmetalchronicles.com/

She dedicates herself to her art in gothic/romantic style where she likes to meet music and wines with literature and keeps her demons awake by writing horror stories everlastingly.

She is one of the members of Fantasy and Science Fiction Arts Association (FABİSAD), Appellation Izmir Wine Tasting Society and UCTEA Chamber Of Chemical Engineers.

Published Books:

1. Büyülü Sözlük ("Dictionary the Enchanted", research), 

  2013 / Marjinal Kitaplar Publishing House

2. Mina (novella)

    2016 / Nezih Er Publishing House

3. İstanbul'un Karanlığında ("Within The Darkness Of İstanbul", story, cowritten with Orkide Ünsür)

   2020 / Karakarga Publishing House

4. Şarap Koyusu ("The Wine Dark", research)

   2021 / Karakarga Publishing House

5. Korkuyu Bekleyenler ("Anticipators of Fear", series of stories cowritten with Hakan Balcı)

   2021 / Bilgi Publishing House 

6. Maya Büyüsü ("The Brewing Charm", research)

   2024 / Karakakarga Publishing House

Anthologies & Literary Translations

1. Kara Şiir Antolojsi ("Dark Poetry Anthology", anthology, contribution with dark essay called "Hayatım Kamaşırken (A Life Charmed)"

   2013 / Zeplin Kitap Publishing House

2. Prozac Artık Yetmediğinde ("When Prozac No Longer Helps", poetry, translator with Altay Öktem)

    2014 / Marjinal Kitaplar Publishing House

3. Karanlıktaki Kadınlar ("Women in Darkness", story, contribution with short story called "Medusa")

   2018 / Bilgi Publishing House

4. Hayalet Müzik ("Ghost Music", story, contribution with short story called "Hayalet Peşimde (In the Pursuit of a Ghost)"

   2019 / Artemis Publishing House

5. Hayalet Müzik-II: Eskilerin Şöleni ("Ghost Music", story, contribution with short story called "Lorelei")

   2021 / Artemis Publishing House

6. Dark Gerilim ("Dark Thriller", contribution with short story called "Ateş Nefesi (The Fire Breath)"

2024 / Dark İstanbul Publishing House

Contact Info:

https://www.instagram.com/elizzeynepcooper/
https://www.instagram.com/sarapkoyusu/

MINA (Nezih-Er Publishing House) Paperback– April 23, 2016

218 pages

III. Kursun Kalem Literary Magazine Award in December 2015, Izmir/ TURKEY

(Kursun Kalem Literary Award jury includes foremost authors, poets from Turkish literature as Feyza Hepçilingirler, İsmail Mert Başat, Gültekin Emre, Hayri K.Yetik, Hülya Soyşekerci and Mine Ömer)

by Zeynep Çolakoğlu  (Author),‎ Mine Ömer  (Editor).

Cover Art by Aynan Çolakoğlu (aynanart)

Character drawings by Lisa Cooper 

MINA

Mina is a horror story book including nine nested stories that took the Kursun Kalem Literary Magazine Award in December 2015 and published by Nezih Er Publishing House in April 2016.

Mina presents a nightmare universe to the readers where they can experience musical background of the stories, feel the cycle of the existence while the characters wander throughout the book and show up in other stories also as if in a novella.

The first story Arzunun Kanatları (Wings of Desire) tells about how strong desire can influence a painter and destroy her life in catastrophic way but also help her to divert the creativity towards her longing freedom. The language is in more poetical form and it is rather a short story in the book.

ZIFIR

Zifir (Pitch Black) is the main story of the book that also hosts a strong character and a shaman called Mina who gives her name to the entire book. It is about a travel that character Zifir searches for the healing of melancholy and writes down methods in a mysterious book having a protection spell that the articles disappear if one reads it. Mathematics (reference to Platon's academy), music, psychoanalysis, blood-sucking by a vampire to get rid of excessive black bile from the vein (reference to four humor theory) and shamanic rituals are the healing methods that Zifir has come across on his mystical journey. The Story emphasizes the cyclic nature of melancholy and puzzles the reader to think if there is any healing throughout this fictional journey.

The other stories with titles and their topics from book are briefly like this;

Akasya (Acacia); Evil eye event in a small town related with Greek mythology and myths related with moon goddess Selene from Aegean region.

Düş Kokusu (The Dream Scent); A nightmare where narrator wakes up to another dream continuously, a dream within dream surrounded by hallucinations coming from the fragrance wheel that narrator meets in dreams. Fragrances create dreams that turn into nightmares in narrator’s mind.

Donmuş Düşler (Frozen Dreams); A story of a painter from Svalbard, Norway where she experiences to create an art that is an extension of human body. That experience makes her a merciless murderer due to her motivation originating from Goddess Invidia, one of the seven sins known as envy that feeds her emotions towards her lover who has the breathtaking blue eyes.

Durmaksızın Yükselen Melodi (Continuously Ascending Melody); Melancholy is forgotten in the world for a long time but one day God of melancholy returns to world because of an enchanting, melancholic guitar solo written by using high mathematics by a musician. That forgotten god awakes and takes the musician's life to exist in our world again.



Kan Illüzyonları (Blood Illusions); A story of shamanic ritual takes place in middle Asia, Samarkand. It is about reincarnation of an ancient witch by using the power of Elizabeth Bathory who is a foremost influential person in her life.

COUNTESS

POET

Ölümün Şiir Hali (Poetic Tune of Death); a dead poet resurrects when a translator starts to translate his poems. This is a story including intensive suffering of the translator during this translation that goes a wild suicide in the end.

Ecel (Fate); this is the final story in the book which was written first hence contributes to eternal return throughout the book also. Story is about characters from the stories in the book discussing about existentialism with their own words. Ecel, as the muse of Dark Arts reveals more clearly by inspiring the artistic characters who are into dark creations throughout the book.   

ECEL

In contrast the darkness of Ecel, a character as the symbol of shining light called Nisan reads a mysterious book that helps her to break the wall of sleep and enter into another universe where she meets a malicious character called Kayra who has been trying to enter to the real world by manipulating her.

The stories carry influences from Lacanian psychoanalysis ,philosophical approach of Nietzsche and melancholy concepts. Music and wine are seen in the background of the stories to create ecstasy.