Mutlu Ergün-Hamaz is a German author, social researcher, anti-racism trainer and performer.

Ergün-Hamaz is best known for his debut novel Kara Günlük: Die Geheimen Tagebücher des Sesperado, published in Germany in 2010.

By moving to Germany they worked hard[citation needed] to build a new life, hoping for a better future for their children and supporting the extended family in Turkey.

[4] Initially they lived in Wedding (Berlin), which still is predominantly a working class and ethnically diverse area.

Ergün-Hamaz states about his early years: "I don't remember much of that time there, but I think I felt comfortable in kindergarten.

"[4] His father had worked for a few years in public service, when in the early 1980s the house they lived in burnt down (who or what started the fire remained inconclusive).

[dubious – discuss] Merih Ergün, his brother, was a good student in Wedding, but after the move to Westend he struggled a lot in primary school which shaped his experience of the German education system significantly[citation needed] .

Ergün-Hamaz notes that he himself "was also singled out because of [his] Turkishness in kindergarten in Charlottenburg and some of the children would refuse to engage with [him].

[5] He finished his master studies in 2008 and began doing his PhD at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in the Sociology Department[6] a year later.

The protagonist, a university student who goes by the name Sesperado, describes and reflects on his experiences as an anti-racist activist and on those of his friends living in a society shaped by everyday racism.

Ergün-Hamaz now sits on the extended board of the organization and facilitates regional groups in the Frankfurt area.

In 2004, together with Deniz Utlu,[12] Ergün-Hamaz began monthly "a thousand words deep" readings at Cafe VorWien to provide to writers and musicians of color with a platform to present their work.

He believes that laughter and humor help people to loosen and open up to ideas that challenge their worldview.

The show's success resulted in Ergün-Hamaz being approached by Unrast Verlag (de) in order to publish his novel.