How does an anthropologist translate her ideas into a mainstream YA graphic novel? In Spring 2026, Penguin Random House published Landing in Place, a poignant coming-of-age graphic novel that tells the story of Anisa, a second-generation immigrant girl’s attempts to fit in at college. The novel balances humor with family tragedy, and the moments of joy that shine through political trauma, all while weaving through important moments in global history-from the Suez crisis in 1956, to the Arab Spring and the events in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in 2011, to present day protests for Palestinian rights. In this talk, Dr.Sharine Hamdy will present the arc of the book, do a selected reading, and also talk about the 10-year process of translation from the original manuscript (deemed "overly pedagogical") to the final product.