Dilâra Yilmaz

Dilâra Yilmaz is a Researcher at Kiel University's English Department within the Faculty of Humanities, working under Prof. Dr. Nicola Glaubitz. She serves as a diversity and equality counselor and is an active member of the department's DEI roundtable. Her PhD project examines 'Conditions of Contemporary Irish Women’s Fiction Writing' with focus on Ireland's literary industry and neurodivergent narratives.

Her research spans Irish Studies, Contemporary Irish Literature, and literary sociology, particularly investigating publishing infrastructures, creative economies, and neurodivergence in literature. She analyzes how gendered negative affect (like #sadgirl aesthetics) and boredom function within Ireland's literary marketplace, while mapping institutional frameworks that shape contemporary Irish writing.

Yilmaz has published in Anglistik and The Literary Encyclopedia, with forthcoming work on Ireland's pen-to-publication pipeline. Her conference presentations at MLA, ESSE, and BritCult reveal consistent focus on

• Neurodivergent representation in Irish fiction
• Gendered affect economies
• State subsidization of creative writing
• UK publishing dominance over Irish literature

She received Kiel University's Faculty Award for Gender-Sensitive Teaching (2024) and has secured multiple grants including DAAD travel funding and ESSE bursaries for Dublin fieldwork. Her transdisciplinary work includes public engagement through the 'No Shelf Control Book Club' and Women's Research Marathon presentations on Irish women writers' market success.

As an educator, she teaches courses on Contemporary Irish Literature, Northern Ireland perspectives, and gender/class representations, while actively developing inclusive seminar practices for neurodivergent students.