Conceiving of an Expat Harem inspired streaming series

Stealth project, defunct. Revolved a return to the cultural thread, in international streaming, if the time is right. (It wasn’t, 2022 and 2023 earthquakes and bombings changed the landscape, in a heated election year.)

Pitchbook for streaming series concept, 2022-2023

Expat Harem-related projects won't quit. The book is still for sale, and people are finding it like an actress in London who discovered it in a bookshop in London and sent it to a TV producer in Istanbul.

In 2022, at the request of that TV producer in Istanbul, I co-developed a streaming series concept inspired by the book "Tales from the Expat Harem" and its associated blog.

Collaborating with another writer, Katherine Belliel, whose Haze appeared in the book, and who coedited the sequel book Expat Sofra, we crafted a unique series that reflected the themes and stories from the original literary work.

This involved extensive research into the rights landscape, and entertainment legal agreements. We then pitched the concept to an international streaming service, leveraging our creative vision and strategic communication skills to present a compelling case for the globally accessible series.

The project demonstrated our ability to adapt literary content for a new digital medium while managing complex logistical and legal aspects.

The impact of my work: I helped save an architectural gem in Southeast Asia

Remembering the time when I conceived, pitched, wrote, sold, published a three page story in a top newsweekly magazine out of Hong Kong that highlighted a historical building at risk from nearby development to 93,000 elite members of government, business and the arts.

The article had impact.

The year after the article was published, the building won a newly created UNESCO Heritage Award.

To promote the conservation of the greatest diversity of the region’s built heritage, in the year 2000 UNESCO inaugurated the annual Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, a program designed to respond to the question: “Within the realities of contemporary, fast-track development, what of the built heritage do Asians value and want to preserve from the past to inform the region’s place in the global future?”

• quoted from TheSiamSociety.org Lessons from the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation: International Best Practices in Thailand

  Richard Engelhardt, Montira Horayangura Unakul and Julia Davies

Academic review of my anthology highlights gender themes, the hamam stories put people on planes

TBT, reporting on UNESCO award-winning architectural restoration in Southeast Asia

This indigo lime-washed building is now a boutique hotel.

Writing foreword to Expat Harem's natural successor, Expat Sofra

Meet the contributors to Expat Sofra and look for the book this spring!

TBT, early critical reviews of Expat Harem

These reviews were for a pre-release version of the book in December 2004.

“The Expat Harem promises a world closed and sacrosanct, morphing its occupants into a new hybrid of East and West.”

    --Alev Croutier, Turkish-American author of international bestseller Harem: The World Behind the Veil

“Funny, moving and unusual, the essays in this collection transcend postcard views and prejudice to show the rich cultural tapestry of Turkish society.”

    --Nicole Pope, co-author of Turkey Unveiled: A History of Modern Turkey and correspondent for Le Monde

“An extraordinary collection of women trying to make sense of their own lives through another culture. From the disillusioned missionary to the lady roustabout, what unites them is not their backgrounds or personalities but affection for an adopted Turkish homeland. The entrance to the harem is ajar. An addictive set of insights.”

    --Andrew Finkel, author of Turkish State, Turkish Society and longtime correspondent in Turkey who has worked for Time magazine, CNN and the Times of London

"Contrary to common misperceptions of Turkey as daunting and dangerous, Tales from the Expat Harem reveals the country’s warm Mediterranean culture. This peek through the lattice-work into the Turkish lives of foreign-born women exposes their encounters with the deep-seated gentility of Turks. A must-read for anyone who thinks all Muslim cultures are identical." 

    --Jennifer Lawler, author of Encyclopedia of the Byzantine Empire, and the Dojo Wisdom series

“In the harem, Ottoman women could take off their veils and tell their stories. Accomplished modern women in Tales from the Expat Harem tell us much more. Varied, absorbing personal adventures reveal today's Turkey--modern and familiar, traditional and exotic--with a depth, sincerity and delight found nowhere else. They fling open the doors of an unknown world and let us see everything. I've been waiting a long time for this book!”
    --Tom Brosnahan, veteran Berlitz, Frommer’s and Lonely Planet guidebook author, originator of Lonely Planet Turkey, founder of the Turkey Travel Planner website and author of travel memoir Turkey: Bright Sun, Strong Tea 

“A most enjoyable book. Mixing humor with sharp insight into Turkish society, family, and the role of women, it encourages us to open our hearts to this great nation.”
    --Charlotte McPherson, author of Culture Smart! Turkey

"These women have done such a good job, even if the Turkish government spent millions of dollars on public relations it couldn't achieve the same impact that this book will."

    --Nazire Kalkan, political reporter for premiere Turkish newsweekly magazine Tempo

“Charming, warm-hearted and vivid, Expat Harem is not only a significant contribution to the understanding of Turkish life and culture, but also provides a compelling insight into the hearts and minds of foreign women who come to Turkey for love, work or travel. Their profound soul-searching makes for a definite must-read for everyone pondering the question of what it is we call 'home'.” 

    --Stine Jensen, literary critic for Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad and author of Mijn hondvis, mijn moskeetj:Een liefde in Turkije, a book about love between Turks and Europeans

TBT, tracking the election in a 100-day live blog

My team of media producers tracked social media reactions and global news about the election on a new social publishing platform. You can view the 100-day live blog here.