Yasmine Motawy

Yasmine Motawy is a Senior Lecturer of Rhetoric and Composition at the American University in Cairo. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature (2012) from AUC, focusing on ideology in Egyptian and British children’s literature. Her research spans children’s New Media, Utopian imaginings, representation of Muslim children, civic engagement in children’s books, and crossover fiction. She actively promotes Arabic children’s literature internationally and has organized events like the Children’s Literature Symposium at AUC to foster collaboration in the field.

Education:

• Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature, American University in Cairo
• Master of Arts in Comparative Literature, American University in Cairo
• PhD in Comparative Literature (Dissertation: Ideology in Contemporary Egyptian and British Children’s Literature)

Research Interests: Motawy prioritizes accessibility in children’s literature scholarship, focusing on picturebooks, the metropolis in cinema, humor in media, migrant narratives, Arab young adult fiction, service learning, and the creative writing process. Her work bridges academic rigor with public engagement, including contributions to the Routledge Companion to International Children’s Literature and roles on prestigious literary juries.

Awards & Grants:

• Recipient of the Mellon Foundation postdoctoral grant (2018) for interdisciplinary Arabic language research on Egyptian children’s literature.

Advocacy & Leadership: Motawy revitalized the Egyptian section of the International Board on Books for Young People (2012–2018), served on the Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury (2016, 2018), and the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature Jury (2017). She also contributed to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Book Club committee (2019–2020).

Labs & Initiatives: She spearheaded the first Children’s Literature Symposium at AUC, uniting authors, publishers, educators, and illustrators to advance Arabic children’s literature globally. Currently, she is finalizing a manuscript on ideology in contemporary Egyptian children’s books.