“A Recipe for Daphne sheds courageous light on the lives of the Greek Orthodox Christian communities of Istanbul, including the memory of the horrific 1955 pogrom.”—Elif Shafak, The New York Times

A delicious debut . . . . In weaving together a delightful present-day romantic drama with a more profound narrative about reckoning with and making peace with the past, A Recipe for Daphne proves deeply satisfying.”—Washignton Post

“Successfully blends romantic machinations among a group of Greek Orthodox Christians in Istanbul with a keen portrait of a community under siege. .VERDICT: Good reading for all.”—Library Journal

★Rights sold: Bosnian and Malayalam.
★Longlisted for Dublin Literary Award 2022.
★STRONG SENSE OF PLACE: Set in modern-day Istanbul and written by an insider to the community.
★VIVID CHARACTERS & ENGAGING NARRATIVE: Entertaining, clear narrative with vividly drawn characters and will resonate with many who have traveled solo and integrated with locals.
★CROSS-CULTURAL IDENTITY: Explores questions of identity, particularly through a central character who is Turkish/Greek-American.
★HUMOR & CULTURAL INSIGHTS: Written with humor and playfulness while addressing deep cultural institutions.
★FOOD & LITERARY APPEAL: Features food prominently, tapping into the strong appeal of culinary themes in fiction.

Fanis is at the center of a dwindling yet stubbornly proud community of Rum, Greek Orthodox Christians, who have lived in Istanbul for centuries.
When Daphne, the American-born niece of an old friend, arrives in the city in search of her roots, she is met with a hearty welcome. Fanis is smitten by the beautiful and aloof outsider, who, despite the age difference, reminds him of the fiancée he lost in the 1955 pogrom.
Kosmas, a master pastry chef on the lookout for a good Rum wife, also alls instantly for Daphne. She is intrigued by him, but can she love him in return? Or will a family secret, deeply rooted in the painful history of the city itself, threaten their chances?

ektaria Anastasiadou’s writing has appeared in The Huffington Post, Al-Monitor, Daily Sabah, Mashallah News, Panoply, East of the Web, Sixfold, The Shanghai Literary Review, Eclectica, and The Eastern Iowa Review. In 2019, one of her short stories was included in the American Fiction Anthology
and she won the Zografeios Agon, a prestigious Greek-language literary award established in Constantinople during the late Ottoman Empire. She also received an honorable mention in Glimmer Train’s Spring 2017 New Writer Contest and in Ruminate’s 2015 Short Fiction Contest. She lives in Istanbul and A Recipe for Daphne is her debut novel.