Ova Ceren: I gained freedom and lost some confidence

Ova Ceren writes bittersweet tales of heartbreak and magic, often inspired by Turkish and Ottoman folklore. Blessed (or perhaps cursed) with a mathematical brain, she earned a degree in Computer Science and a master's that led her into a career in IT, taking her from Türkiye to Britain. After years of wrestling with algorithms in corporate jungles, she finally eloped with a debut novel instead. Ova now lives in Cambridge, UK, with her husband, son, and a spirited flock of runner ducks. She is also the creator of the popular Instagram and TikTok channels @excusemyreading. In this conversation, Ova reflects on writing in English as an immigrant writer, and on the delicate act of translating a culture, and a self, for a foreign audience. We talk about language and belonging, about choosing imagination over certainty, and about what it means to build a literary voice far from home.