"The editors are Alexa de Tocquevilles."

--The Gulf Today (UAE)

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ANASTASIA M. ASHMAN (right)

JENNIFER EATON GOKMEN (left)

ANASTASIA M. ASHMAN  and JENNIFER EATON GÖKMEN are American writers, public speakers, and producers living in Istanbul, married to Turks. Besides developing related entertainment for film and television worldwide, they are the creators of Expat Harem Expeditions, a series of uncommon travel outings by expatriate insiders.

Distinguished in 2006 with an award by the Daughters of Ataturk, the duo are often cultural communications  speakers for international social and business groups including diplomatic missions and the foreign exchange program AISEC.

The editors continue to pursue Expat Harem-related production projects, including the current filming of a documentary for American and European markets, and a narrative film adaptation of the book.  They are also collaborating with feminist scholars worldwide, developing festivals and installations to illustrate the historical and contemporary significance of foreign female views of the Near East.

ANASTASIA M. ASHMAN is an award-winning writer who produces intellectually-stimulating multimedia entertainment projects that further the worldwide cultural conversation. Ms. Ashman is currently writing a memoir of friendship.

She spent nearly a decade evaluating and editing creative material in Manhattan and Hollywood media and entertainment, working for literary agents and producers of film, television, and Broadway theatre. Specializing in cultural essays of personal adventure, she has appeared in newspapers and magazines worldwide, from the Asian Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong to the Village Voice in New York. For Cornucopia, the glossy magazine for connoisseurs of Turkey, she has written about joining a Turkish family. Her work is anthologized in collections about New York City, and humorous women's travel.

Born and raised in the progressive Northern California town of Berkeley, Ms. Ashman earned a degree in Classical Greek, Roman and Near Eastern Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She has been an expatriate for 9 years in Rome, Kuala Lumpur and since 2003 in Istanbul, where she lives with her Turkish husband.

A native of Michigan, she holds a degree in Creative Writing and American and British Literature from Western Michigan University. Ms. Gökmen’s literary career began with an expatriate humor magazine where she served as staff writer for two years. She is a regular contributor to Today's Zaman national newspaper and her writing has appeared in TimeOut Istanbul magazine, Perceptive Travel, and the Strange Intimacies anthology exhibited at the 9th International Istanbul Biennial. 

Gökmen also co-hosts a Turkish television series that travels the country interviewing foreigners married to Turks, exploring their expatriation issues.  "Bir Yar Gelir Bizlere" airs weekly, worldwide, on the state television station TRT International.

Ms. Gökmen is also an active supporter of Turkish cultural activities; for six years she co-produced HAFEM's Kadıköy Municipality Annual Folkdance Festival showcasing two hundred ethnic dancers and musicians each summer.

Ms. Gökmen lives with her husband Bilgehan in Istanbul.