Malaka Gharib is a journalist, cartoonist and graphic novelist.
She is the author of "I Was Their American Dream," a graphic memoir published in 2019 about being first-generation Filipino Egyptian American, which won an Arab American Book Award in 2020. Then in 2022, she published "It Won't Always Be Like This," a graphic memoir about her summers in the Middle East.
By day, she works as a digital editor at NPR for Life Kit, a lifestyle podcast about health, finance, relationships and more. Her comics and writing have been published in the Los Angeles Times, Catapult, The Believer Magazine and The New Yorker. She has been profiled in The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Some of her comics and zines are archived at the Smithsonian Institution, the New York Public Library, the Arab American Museum and Barnard College’s Zine Library. Her art and writing has been exhibited at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Harvard Radcliffe Institute and Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery. She has spoken at the Filipino American International Book Festival, the Emirates Literature Festival, The Muse and the Marketplace, Unbound Book Festival, the Massachusetts Independent Comics Festival, Short Run Comix Festival and The Small Press Expo.
She lives in Nashville, Tenn., with her husband, son and Shiba Inu.
To arrange a speaking engagement:
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Represented by Daniel Greenberg of LGR Literary Agency
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Selected Works
Comics
Why didn't we talk about race in high school?, The Los Angeles Times
How To Guilt People Into Wearing A Mask, The New Yorker
Looking For A 'Helper' In The Age Of Coronavirus, NPR
The Colonial Roots Of Cheese Pimiento, The Nib
In the ‘90s I survived summers in Egypt with no AC. How would it feel now? NPR
Audio
The Utang Clan, NPR Code Switch
How I Learned To Talk To My Filipino Mom About Mental Health, NPR
Making Art Is Good For Your Health. Here's How To Start A Habit, NPR Life Kit
How to look at art, NPR Life Kit
Reporting
Watching war unfold is distressing. Here’s how to protect your mental health, NPR
Fighting the horror of wartime rape, Nobel Peace Prize winner won't give up hope, NPR
How this Bolivian all-female skate crew is celebrating their Indigenous roots, NPR
The war is taking a toll on Ukraine's kids. Psychologists share how parents can help, NPR
Not every war gets the same coverage as Russia's invasion — and that has consequences, NPR
Why Peter Singer — The 'Drowning Child' Ethicist — Is Giving Away His $1 Million Prize, NPR
Interactive journalism
A paper doll about how to run in the cold
A cake-shaped zine about how to have a happy birthday
A printable comic for kids about climate change
A zine about how to fight menstrual stigma
A brochure about how to be a better movie watcher