Maya Zankoul

Maya Zankoul
Born	30 June 1986 (1986-06-30) (age 25) Hasbaya, Lebanon
Nationality	Lebanese
Area(s)	Artist & Writer
Notable works	Amalgam , Amalgam vol. 2

Maya Zankoul (Arabic: مايا زنقول‎) (born 30 June 1986 in Hasbaya, Lebanon) is a Lebanese author and visual artist, mostly known for her sarcastic cartoons and comics published in her books and her popular webcomic blog, Amalgam.^[1][2]

Early life

Maya Zankoul grew up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and in 2005 moved to her home country Lebanon, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design 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.^[3]

She self-published her first book, Amalgam, in 2009,^[4] reaching Top 5 in sales at Virgin Megastore.^[5]

In summer 2010, after touring Lebanon with her exhibition Amalgame,^[6] she published her second book, Amalgam Vol. 2.^[7]

In January 2011, she founded her own design studio in Beirut,^[8]. The Italian translation of her books is published by publishing house Il Sirente, in their Altriarabi series, and the books are set to be launched at the Pisa Book Festival^[9].

Bibliography

Maya Zankoul's Amalgam Vol. 2 book cover

Author, Illustrator

• Amalgam (2009) ISBN 978-9-953-01521-7
• Amalgam Vol. 2 (2010) ISBN 978-9-953-01846-1

Illustrator

In the press

• Making it^[10]
• The Global Journal^[11]
• ELLE Oriental^[12]
• ArabAd^[13]

In books

• Nuits Beyrouthines^[14]

Exhibitions

• "Samneh w 3asal" (2011) At Tawlet Souk el Tayeb (Beirut) ^[15][16][17]

• "Amalgame" (2009, 2010) At the French Culture Center (Beirut, Saida, Tripoli, Deir el Qamar and Zahle centers) ^[18]

Other work

Zankoul actively participates in illustration in local and regional events. She did live illustrations at the Arabnet 2010 conference^[19] and at the 17e Salon du Livre Francophone de Beyrouth^[20][21]

She has also lectured at the American University of Beirut,^[22] and has presented her work at the First Creative Commons Salon in Amman, Jordan^[23] and at Pecha Kucha Night 6 in Beirut.^[24]

In May 2010, she signed her book in Geneva, Switzerland.^[25]

References

1. ^ Davies, Catriona. "Ten must-read blogs from the Middle East", CNN World, April 14, 2011
2. ^ Amalgam
3. ^ Ali, Maysam. "Talking To: Blogger Maya Zankoul", Lebanon News, June 1, 2009
4. ^ Amalgam, Amazon.com, accessed May 5, 2011.
5. ^ Badih, Samia. "Maya Zankoul offers a slice of Lebanese life", Gulf News, September 3, 2010
6. ^ http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=127657
7. ^ Amalgam Vol. 2, Amazon.com, accessed May 5, 2011.
8. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/magda-abufadil/lebanon-media_b_998937.html
9. ^ http://www.pisabookfestival.com/press/comunicati%20espositori/csmaya_pisa.pdf
10. ^ Making it' (2011)
11. ^ The Global Journal (2010)
12. ^ ELLE Oriental (2010)
13. ^ ArabAd (2009, 2010)
14. ^ Nuits Beyrouthines (2010)
15. ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/08/13/lebanese.culture/index.html
16. ^ http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Lifestyle/2011/Aug-06/Cartoons-meet-cuisine-at-Beiruts-Tawlet.ashx#axzz1V4nwM8Gm
17. ^ http://www.lorientlejour.com/category/Ici+et+Ailleurs/article/717570/Samneh_w_3asal..._a_deguster_avec_les_yeux.html
18. ^ http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=127657
19. ^ http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20100329065151/Arab%20Net%202010%20has%20achieved%20its%20goal%20%20
20. ^ 17e Salon du Livre Francophone de Beyrouth, accessed May 5, 2011.
21. ^ "Le Blog de Maya Zankoul", 17e Salon du Livre Francophone de Beyrouth, accessed May 5, 2011.
22. ^ http://www.aub.edu.lb/news/dynamic/100962.html^{[dead link]}
23. ^ "Creative Commons Arab Salon celebrates open culture in the Middle East", accessed May 5, 2011.
24. ^ "Pecha Kucha night beirut", 6th edition, accessed May 5, 2011.
25. ^ "Le blog de ContinentPremier", 24 heures, March 24, 2008

External links

• Amalgam, Maya Zankoul's blog

Articles and interviews

• • Book signing on nowlebanon.com, 11/04/10
  • Article in the Gulf News, 03/09/10
  • Book signing on nowlebanon.com, 11/04/10
  • Maya's profile on Bodoï.fr, 11/11/2009
  • Amalgame exhibition by Maya Zankoul in Femme Magazine, 07/12/09
  • Interview on marieclaire.it, 16/10/09
  • Interview on The Daily Star, 04/06/09
  • Candidates are not the only choice - Interview on The National newspaper, 04/06/09
  • Talking to: Blogger Maya Zankoul - Interview on nowlebanon.com, 01/06/09

Videos

• • Maya Zankoul's interview on BBC, 02/06/10
  • Maya Zankoul's presentation at the Creative Commons Salon in Amman, 17/11/09
  • Interview on mtv, 09/04/09
  • Interview on Al Hurra TV, 16/06/09

Persondata
Name	Zankoul, Maya
Alternative names
Short description	Lebanese artist
Date of birth	30 June 1986
Place of birth	Hasbaya, Lebanon
Date of death
Place of death