Maya Zankoul ( ar, مايا زنقول) (born 30 June 1986 in
Hasbaya,
Lebanon) is a
Lebanese author, visual artist,
blogger and television personality mostly known for her sarcastic
cartoons and comics published in her books and her popular
webcomic blog, Amalgam.
Early life
Maya Zankoul grew up in
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
,
Saudi Arabia, and in 2005 moved to her home country,
Lebanon, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in
Graphic Design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...
in 2007 from
Notre Dame University – Louaize.
Career
In 2009, she started her comic blog, Amalgam, where she shares
illustrations commenting on daily life in Lebanon from a
socio-political point of view.
She self-published her first book, ''Amalgam'', in 2009, which reached Top 5 in sales at
Virgin Megastore.
In summer 2010, after touring Lebanon with her exhibition ''Amalgame'',
she published her second book, ''Amalgam Vol. 2''.
In January 2011, she founded her own design studio in Beirut,. The Italian translation of her books is published by publishing house
Il Sirente
Editrice il Sirente is an Italian book publisher with specialisms in human rights and international law, Arabic fiction and comics, investigation, actuality.
The company was founded in 1998. The catalog, including works of nonfiction on topics m ...
, in their Altriarabi series, and the books were launched at the Pisa Book Festival 2011.
In April 2013, she co-founded explainer video company
wezank.
Books
Author, Illustrator
*''Amalgam'' (2009)
*''Amalgam Vol. 2'' (2010)
*''Beirut - New York'' (2016)
*''Story of the Grilled Cheese Sandwich'' (2020)
Illustrator
;In the press
*''Making it''
*''The Global Journal''
*''ELLE Oriental''
*''ArabAd''
;In books
*''Nuits Beyrouthines''
Television
Zankoul made her first major television debut with a segment aiming at teaching social media to stay-at-home women entitled Bwa2ta. The segment premiered in August 2012 and still runs every Tuesday on
Future Television.
Exhibitions
* "Samneh w 3asal" (2011) At Tawlet Souk el Tayeb (Beirut)
* "Amalgame" (2009, 2010) At the French Culture Center, (Beirut, Saida, Tripoli, Deir el Qamar and Zahle centers)
Other work
Zankoul actively participates in illustration in local and regional events. She did live illustrations at the Arabnet 2010 conference and at the 17e Salon du Livre Francophone de Beyrouth
Zankoul has also lectured at the
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...
, and has presented her work at the First
Creative Commons
Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...
Salon in
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
,
Jordan and at
Pecha Kucha
PechaKucha (Japanese: ぺちゃくちゃ, IPA: etɕa kɯ̥tɕa ''chit-chat'') is a storytelling format in which a presenter shows 20 slides for 20 seconds of commentary each. At a PechaKucha Night, individuals gather at a venue to share personal ...
Night 6 in
Beirut.
In October 2011, Zankoul presented her book and work to
Felipe, Prince of Asturias at a
Campus Party event in
Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
, Spain.
In September 2013, she participated to a talk titled "War, Not A Serious Issue" with
Paolo Di Giannantonio in
Lucera
Lucera ( Lucerino: ) is an Italian city of 34,243 inhabitants in the province of Foggia in the region of Apulia, and the seat of the Diocese of Lucera-Troia.
Located upon a flat knoll in the Tavoliere Plains, near the foot of Daunian Mountain ...
, Italy at the occasion of the Mediterranean Culture Festival.
References
External links
Amalgam, Maya Zankoul's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zankoul, Maya
1986 births
People from Hasbaya
Graphic novelists
Lebanese activists
Lebanese women writers
Living people
Lebanese comics artists
Lebanese female comics artists
Female comics writers
Lebanese contemporary artists
Lebanese women artists
Notre Dame University–Louaize alumni