Rawand Issa

Rawand Issa is a comics artist and writer from Lebanon whose work focuses on socio-economic issues and documenting real stories. She is the author of the graphic memoir, Inside the Giant Fish, which was published, in English, by Maamoul Press, in the US, in 2022, and in Arabic, by Al Mahrousa in Egypt, in 2019. Issa has created other short comic books and zines, including The Insubordinate and Mish Men ElMarikh (Not from Mars), in addition to contributing political cartoons and comics to various publications.

Anam Zafar is a multi-award-winning translator from Arabic and French to English. She appears on the 100 Inspiring Muslims: Next Generation Edition list (Emerald Network/Aziz Foundation). Her co-translation of Josephine Baker’s memoir Fearless and Free, with Sophie Lewis, is out now with Vintage Classics/Tiny Reparations. Her co-translation with Nadiyah Abdullatif of Yoghurt and Jam, Or How My Mother Became Lebanese, Lena Merhej’s graphic memoir, won a PEN Translates Award, was shortlisted for the Saif Ghobash Prize and was longlisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. She has also won the Gulf Coast Prize in Translation and the Stinging Fly New Translator’s Bursary, and has numerous shorter pieces published online and in print.