Bedrettin Şimşek (Bedrettin Simsek) is an author, video artist and director whose published work began in 1996 with The False Prophet’s Book of Sermons (Turkish: Sahte Peygamberin Vaaz Kitabı). His writing includes novels, essays, poetry and works for the stage. Alongside this literary work, he has made short animations and a feature-length digital art film based on Van Gogh’s The Starry Night.
Writing since 1996
Şimşek’s first book was published by Kaynak Yayınları in 1996. It was followed by Suçlar, İtiraflar in 1997 and Bir Tanrı Tanımazla Din Adamının Tartışması in 1998. His later bibliography includes Bir Fahişenin Eğitimi (2000), Aşk Zehri (2005), Tehlikeli Düşünceler (2010) and Atatürk: Ankara’da Bir Hayalet Dolaşıyor (2014).
Five editions appeared with İkinci Adam Yayınları in 2024: Burun – Ya da Hayaletler Komedisi, Aşk Bir Delilik Mi?, Şeytana Göre Adem ve Havva’nın Cennetten Kovulması, Katil Hayalet – Doğumun Gizemleri and a rewritten edition of Bir Tanrıtanımazla Din Adamının Tartışması. The site’s bibliography brings these together with the earlier publications.
Themes and literary approaches
Birth, death, belief and love recur across Şimşek’s fiction, theatre, audio and moving images. His author page describes imaginative, ironic narratives that combine the real and the surreal, with literary references extending from Gogol to Dante.
In Burun, three Gogol stories are retold on the threshold of the 1917 Russian Revolution, between dream and nightmare. Katil Hayalet uses a mysterious murder investigation to approach the idea that birth can be more mysterious than death. Aşk Bir Delilik Mi? brings poetry and fiction together in a treatment of love that is both tragic and comic. English editions and book links are collected separately.
Theatre and dramatised audio
His stage writing includes comedies, a tragedy and plays for children. The author page groups Adem ve Havva, Araf, Cennet and Cehennem as four independent two-act comedies in an İlahi Komedya series. It also lists İnsan Ne İle Yaşar? as a tragedy and children’s works including Çocuklar İçin Felsefe, Piri Reis and Ormanda Kargaşa.
Excerpts from his novels and plays also appear as dramatised audio. These recordings use multiple voices and music; the English Comedy Theatre selection includes work prepared digitally by Şimşek himself. The audio page connects these listening selections with his English downloadable audiobook.
From short animation to a digital art film
Şimşek’s visual work includes short animations made with After Effects and Cinema 4D. The animation collection includes Ruhların Dansı, a work set to a Shostakovich waltz, and Göz Kamaştıran Aşk, based on Klimt’s The Kiss.
His film Variations on Van Gogh’s Starry Night develops this visual work into a 93-minute exploration of one painting. Written and directed by Şimşek, it contains no dialogue and was made in After Effects without artificial intelligence. The film page describes its imagery, interpretation and online viewing arrangements.