Dina Elabd is an Egyptian-American children’s author and critic. Dina has worked extensively in writing and publishing, having founded the children’s magazine, Kaleidoscope and contributed to the children’s literature journal, Rowayat Gemeza. She is also a board member in The Egyptian Board on Books for Young People (EBBY). She has published short stories, poetry, and prose in books and magazines around the world. You can find some of her books on Amazon here and Arabic Book A Month here. 

A scholar in the field of children’s literature, Elabd presented her thesis at Cambridge’s annual Kaleidoscope conference, presented at the IRSCL 2015, Worchester, and attended the IBBY 2016, Auckland, IBBY 2018, Athens, and read her latest book at the Dubai Literature Festival 2019, Dubai.

Currently, Dina is working on her new project Arabic Book A Month, a dedicated Arabic children’s book subscription service for families worldwide.

Dina holds a BA in Mechanical Engineering from the American University in Cairo, Egypt, and a MPhil in Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature under the Faculty of Education at The University of Cambridge, UK.

She was born and raised in California till the age of 12, then moved to Egypt. Now she’s been living in Washington state for the past 2+ years. Dina and her husband made the decision to move to the USA to challenge themselves and further build their careers. Since moving to the USA, she takes great pride in building her company and helping her family feel established and settled in.

About the biggest differences between life in Egypt and life in the USA, Dina says, “The USA is much easier to live in, a stable and smooth system. However, people here are more dedicated to work than social or family life.” 

When asked about the aspects of Egyptian culture she maintains or celebrates while living in the USA, Dina enthusiastically responds, “All aspects! I have many Egyptian friends, enjoy Ramadan and Eid celebrations, and more. I love cooking Egyptian food and maintaining Egyptian tea and sweets.” 

Dina’s 3-year-old daughter, Laila, began speaking Arabic, but it became challenging once she started picking up English at nursery school.

Dina believes it is important to maintain the Egyptian identity and heritage. She achieves this by actively building a community, regularly visiting Egypt, and reading books that deepen her understanding and connection to her heritage. She also watches Egyptian television during Ramadan. She cooks Egyptian food, celebrates Egyptian holidays and visits Egypt twice a year, with family visiting twice as well. 

And when she sees the Egyptian flag or hear the Egyptian anthem, or music, she is overwhelmed with a happy feeling of home.  

A memorable experience that highlights the intersection of her Egyptian identity and life in the USA was winning a grant from her city of Kirkland for presenting her company Arabic Book A Month during their small business pitch competition. All her limiting beliefs about bias against her “flew out of the window” when she won. 

For new immigrants, she believes it is important to integrate into the society by simply meeting people and joining activities. And the advice she gives to other Egyptian women who are considering moving to or are currently living in the USA is to enjoy the experience and be ready to work hard. 

Dina is grateful for all her achievements.