Kadri Görkem AKA

Kadri Görkem Aka was born on 21 April 1990, in Îstanbul, Turkey.

Always having an interest in storytelling and fiction, he received his bachelors degree in American Culture and Literature at Bahçeşehir University, where he then received his masters degree in Advertising and Brand Relations. He went on to pursue an academic career and completed his PhD. in narratology at Istanbul Bilgi University through presenting the original theory of fictional crossover narratives. His academic work centers on narrative theory and literature. He currently teaches courses on literature and storytelling at Istanbul Bilgi University.

Inspired by the games he played with his mother as a child which included many recurring characters and elaborate plots, Aka always loved storytelling. He began writing short stories at an early age as a result. His short stories started to get published in 2017 and continue to be published in various national and international literary magazines. Aka's first published book was his children's novel "Snailing Through" ("Salyangoz Yolculuğu" in Turkish). The story starring Theuns the snail as its protagonist was published in several languages and enjoyed popularity in Turkey as well as around Europe.

In 2020, "Belleville Tacı", Aka's debut full-length thriller novel was published by PKitap. A rite of passage story of its alturistic protagonist Nisan İlkbahar in the setting of the world of professional cycling, the novel was well received both by sporting circles and literary critics, receiving very positive reviews, as well as becoming a commercial success.

From age 8, Aka was also trained as a classical ballet dancer. He completed his formal training at AB Sanat, Mimar Sinan Conservatory and Tan Sağtürk Bale ve Dans Merkezi respectively. He danced professionally, performing in productions such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Merlin and The Time Machine and Lovely. Aka is a certified ballet instructor and has worked as an instructor for a number of years.

After his dancing career, Aka started competing in endurance sports, mainly in road cycling, duathlons and running; winning two national duathlon championship titles in 2014 and 2017. He was selected to the Turkish national team in 2016 and was the first athlete to represent Turkey in the Duathlon World Championships. He is the founder and captain of the multisport relay team Tri-Motion Contraption. Also the winner of the 2020 edition of Sportstats - the World's Largest Virtual Duathlon.

Aka has acquired wins and high placings in numerous major semi-professional and amateur cycling races around the world including Paris-Roubaix Challenge, l'Etape London, Chisinau Criterium and North Cyprus Gran Fondo. He has earned prestigious victories in the UCI Ride of Champions; the sportive race of the 2016 Road World Championships in Dohan, Qatar and the 2026 European Mobility Week Criterium. He is a frequent competitor in the road national championships and has made rare, yet rewarding appearences in mountainbike racing in which he has several podiums to his name in the national cross country circuit as well as finding success in international races such as the Leopard Cycling Challenge, The Rainforest Race and Patagonia W Trail.

A medalist runner all the way back in middle school, Aka also kept running through the years, earning a fairly sized medal collection competing in road and trail running races. He later turned his focus to athletics and track. In 2026, he earned the national title in the 10.000 Meter event in his category by winning the Distances Cup, also getting the silver medal in the 5.000 Meter event. He has also earned bronze medals in the 800, 1500 and 3000 Meter races respectively in the national indoor championships.

Twitter: @kadrigorkemaka
Instagram: @kadrigorkemaka
Facebook: kadrigorkemaka
Contact E-Mail: gorkemlimail@mynet.com

Works of Literature

Indispensable
The hypertext story of Selma, a train hostess whose function has become her existence.
Published online in 2017 through YAHOO!, in the form of electonic literature.
Kırmızı Kalem (The Red Pencil)
When a hamster is found in his classroom stabbed with a red pencil, a fourth grader decides it his duty to solve the murder.
Published in 221B Magazine, May-June Issue 2007.
Snailing Through (Salyangoz Yolculugu)
When its best friend is accidentally carried to the other side of the garden they live in by the evil human creature called The Gardener, snail Theuns begins an impossibly long and dangerous journey all the way to the other side of the garden to find its friend and bring it home.
Published by Amazon KDP in 2019 (English), then later in the year by Google Books (Turkish)
Belleville Tacı
Nisan İlkbahar, a young bicycle racer, starst a battle against the ills of society such as corruption and the decay in morality from within the world of professional cycling.
Published by PKitap in 2020.
Zaman Sanatkarı (The Craftsman of Time)
An old watch repairman describes the delicacies of the as clear as vague and as obvious as mysterious concept that is time of which he is a craftsman of.
Published in Kukumav Kültür ve Sanat Dergisi, 2nd Issue, March 2023.
Kundasa'nın Güvercinleri (The Pidgeons of Kundasa)
The first installment in the adventures of Giercotti Sladom; an elderly wandering magician who traverses through a fantastical realm, leaving behind letters detailing his adventures.
Published in Kukumav Kültür ve Sanat Dergisi, 4th Issue, July 2023.
Ararken Çiçeklerle Süslenmiş Çerçevedekini (Searching For She Who Graces My Mind)
A young man searches for the girl of his dreams whom he once saw on a bus. But is it really searching for ideal love that is the problem? Or actually finding it?
Published in Kar Öykü Dergisi, 14th Issue, July-August 2023.
Ihlakasra'nın Sarı Ağacı (The Yellow Tree of Ihlakasra)
The second installment in the adventures of the wandering magician Giercotti Sladom.
Published in Feveran Kültür ve Edebiyat Dergisi, 3rd Issue, February 2024.
Küçük Hikayelerin Büyük Kahramanları (Great Heroes of Tiny Stories)
An unlikely encounter between an old gentleman and a tiny ant which makes for a story about the ever elusive meaning of life.
Published in Feveran Kültür ve Edebiyat Fanzin, 4th Issue, May 2024.
Mekanın Ruhu (The Soul of a Place)
A story about how a building is not of mere bricks and cement but a living entity which shares a soul with its longtime people.
Published in Feveran Kültür, Sanat ve Edebiyat Fanzin, 5th Issue, September 2024.
Bambara'nın Gerçek Sahipleri (The Real Owners of Bambara)
The third installment in the adventures of the wandering magician Giercotti Sladom
Published in Feveran Kültür, Sanat ve Edebiyat Fanzin, 6th Issue, November 2024.
Üçgen (The Triangle)
A story about a mysterious ancient artifacts on the power of love which tends to seem supernatural from afar.
Published in Feveran Kültür, Sanat ve Edebiyat Fanzin, 5th Issue, February 2025.
Eski Bir Dost (An Old Friend)
A man and a crow are inevitably bound by fate, in a story about monster that walk among us, dark temptations and divine justice.
Published in Feveran Kültür, Sanat ve Edebiyat Fanzin, 8th Issue, May 2025.
Tanıd&#k Ama Yabancı Bir Yol Arkadaşı (A Familiar Bur Unfamiliar Companion For A Journey)
A story about the tricky possibility, or perhaps impossiblity, of meeting self.
Published in Feveran Kültür, Sanat ve Edebiyat Fanzin, 9th Issue, August 2025.
Sarı 5 Numara (Yellow Number 5)
Come meet Berna; a though track sprinter as she recounts the Japanese track cycling culture, wild world of Keirin races and the strange possiblity how one can find belonging in the most unlikely places.
Published in Feveran Kültür, Sanat ve Edebiyat Fanzin, 10th Issue, November 2025.

Academic Publications

Virtual Economies: Exchange and Marketing
The Journal of International Social Research, Vol. 10, Issue 53, p. 643-649.
A journal article describing in detail, the concept and general features of virtual economies found in MMORPGs and discussing the role of exchange within them as well as whether marketing has a place in the conduction of this virtual trade.
Crossover Framework: Features, Possibilities and Ramifications of Fictional Crossover Narratives
Istanbul Bilgi University, PhD. Dissertation, 2021.
A theory of fictional crossovers; The produced elaborate framework presents a normative definition of this delicate storytelling act, addresses the question of narrative possibility through the production of a dedicated model and theorizes the ontological ramifications of a crossover for the texts and their residing fictional realities that are involved in it.
The Phantom Character in Narrative: Setting
Feveran Kültür ve Edebiyat Dergisi, Issue 1 (August-October) 2023.
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Choices, Consequences and Multiverses
Feveran Kültür ve Edebiyat Dergisi, Issue 2 (November-January) 2023.
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