Biography
Can Göknil was born in Ankara in 1945. After graduating from Robert College in 1966, he went to the USA. He graduated from Knox College in 1968. In 1969, he earned a master's degree in Painting at The City College of The City University of New York. He is known for his paintings and book illustrations. His first illustrated storybook for children, *The Hedgehog Tale*, was published in Istanbul in 1974. Göknil worked on printmaking at Çamlıca Art House in 1984 and 1994. His works are included in various collections in Turkey and at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Museo d'Arte Moderna in San Marino, the Chihiro Museum in Tokyo, the Schenectady Museum in New York, and the Gabrovo Museum of Humor in Bulgaria. The Turkish Association of Children and Youth Publications nominated Can Göknil for the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award, as well as several other children's book awards, including the Jenny Smelik Kiggenprijs (Netherlands, 1988) and The Golden Balloon Award (New York, 1989). In 2015, he was nominated for the ALMA Award, considered the Nobel Prize of children's books. Can Göknil has published fifty illustrated books in Turkey and six abroad in English, French, Italian, Hungarian, German, Dutch, Arabic, and Turkish. He has participated in numerous international events with his books and illustrations. In 2016, he received the "Children's World" award from the Ege University Paper and Book Arts Museum.
