Since his 1983 debut with Elektrisches Blau (English Electrical Blue), Şenocak has written numerous poems, essays, and novels, primarily in German but also in Turkish, and he has also translated his works from one language to the other.

Şenocak’s texts about multiculturalism, transculturalism, and identity, are often based on his own experiences as a person with two different cultures, though his works are not strictly autobiographical.

[1] In 1998 Şenocak published his novel Gefährliche Verwandtschaft, translated into English as Perilous Kinship by Tom Cheesman, in which the protagonist Sascha, a German writer, attempts to connect to his Turkish heritage by exploring the history of his deceased Turkish grandfather through his old diaries but is confronted with a language barrier that prevents him from fully understanding and connecting to his family history.

Şenocak has often voiced his opinions on the integration of minorities in Germany and more broadly on the relations between Turkey and Europe in various interviews and essays.

He won the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize where it recognizes authors whose mother tongue is not German.