( ENSPIRE She Did That ) Huda F is Huda Fahmy?
ENSPIRE Contributor: Seanna Nona
Huda Fahmy grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, and has loved comics since she was a kid, so much so that she learned how to read English from Sunday comic strips. Her father immigrated to the United States from Egypt, and her mother immigrated from Syria. Though both of her parents spoke English, they spoke Arabic at home.
Growing up as a half-Egyptian and a half-Syrian Muslim isn’t easy, but Fahmy used that to write comical graphic novels touching so many’s hearts. Before she became a graphic novelist, Huda Fahmy graduated from the University of Michigan, studying English. She then taught English for eight years before quitting to take care of her first son.
The election of President Donald Trump sparked a fire inside Fahmy. She began writing several essays about her experiences as a Muslim Arab-American woman in the United States. Fahmy then went through the arduous yet rewarding process of finding literary agents to publish her work.
“Trump was elected, and there were a lot of really horrible things being said about Muslims. It’s been happening my whole life, but it seemed like it was so much louder and more in your face because of social media. That really spurred me onto drawing and telling my story through a web comic format.” – Huda Fahmy
Once she got a literary agent, Fahmy faced many rejections, but thanks to the encouragement from her sister, she turned her essays into comics. She shared the comics on Instagram under the handle Yes, I’m Hot in This, a joke following people’s question of whether she was hot wearing her hijab. This got Adams Media’s attention, an imprint under one of the big five publishers, Simon and Schuster. Adams Media published a collection of comics under the title Yes, I’m Hot in This.
Like her previous graphic novels, Fahmy’s next graphic novel, That Can Be Arranged, was geared toward adults and published in 2020 by Andrews McMeel Publishing. She then published two graphic novels for young adults with Dial Books, an imprint under Penguin Random House. The two graphic novels were named Huda F Are You? and Huda F Cares.
“I chose to focus on adolescence and how I got to be the type of adult that I am—the type of person who has the confidence to stand up and speak out against bias or prejudice—because I think it’s important for young readers who are first generation or children of immigrants to have someone like that they can relate to. A lot of times, they can feel out of place in their own community. It’s like they have a foot in both communities, and they just can’t seem to find a place where they fit in.” – Huda Fahmy
To connect with Huda Fahmy, you can find her Website and Instagram.
Related Articles: OneUnited Bank Partners With Marvel Comics and Visa, Charlamagne Tha God Unveils “ILLuminati”: A Supernatural Hip-Hop Comic Book
