Buket Uzuner trained as a biologist and environmental scientist, studying and working at universities in Turkey, Norway, Finland, and the United States. She has written numerous short stories, travelogues, and novels, and her books have been translated into eight languages and appeared on the Turkish national bestseller lists. She won the Yunus Nadi Prize for her novel The Sound of Fishsteps, and her novel Mediterranean Waltz was named the Best Novel of 1998 by the University of Istanbul. She was selected as one of the 75 Most Influential Women of the Republic of Turkey as part of the country's 75th anniversary celebration.