Recently published, Shahrazad's Gift can be found here.

Q: Congratulations on the release! Can you tell us a bit about the book?

A: The book is a new edition of my collection of short stories called Shahrazad’s Tooth that was published here in Cairo in 2013 with a small grant from AUC. This edition includes two new stories, all inspired by my time living in Garden City, my neighbors and other people I met in Cairo.

Q: Can you give us a sneak preview of some of the stories?

A: The Empty Flat Upstairs was inspired by a neighbor I had from Japan who was convinced her upstairs neighbors were spying on her. In the story, the flat upstairs is officially empty; however, a bunch of people use it off the record so she’s always hearing noises upstairs. It makes her crazy, but whenever she asks the bawab (doorman) if someone’s living in that flat, he of course replies no. So there's this division between the official reality and her lived reality. Each story explores different people and their interactions, particularly the kind of surreal or absurd quality that cross-cultural differences can take on.

Q: If you had to pick like three words to describe the book, what would you choose?

A: I would say surreal, goofy and quirky.

Q: What does the process of inspiration look like for you?

A: It’s a little like a fishing rod; you don't know what you're looking for until you find it. I always tell students that you have to be alert because you never know what's going to be interesting. It’s sort of inexplicable. Some things take root, and others don't. Sometimes you don’t know why something initially interests you, it's not like journalism– Imagination is an essential element of the process.

Q: Once you’re inspired, what do you do?

A: Every project is different. Even once you have the idea, you often aren't sure what you're where you're going to go with it. For me, it often involves a lot of research, and I write lots and lots of notes. If I’m working on a novel, I’ll make a loose plan for the structure. You have to be flexible enough to go whichever direction the story flows authentically, adapting as you go.

Q: What makes the upcoming collection exciting or meaningful to you as the author?

A: Well, it was initially published locally and I'm excited that the collection will now reach a bigger audience. The American publisher is a small independent press called Cune that publishes books about the Middle East who are based in Seattle. They’re also making a Kindle version of it, and I'm really glad that the stories will be given another shelf life. Cune Press published my novel, Confessions of a Knight Errant, in 2022, which is partly set in Egypt during the 2011 uprising; partly set in Texas. 

Q: How has living in Cairo affected your writing?

A: When I came in 2000, I started from scratch learning Arabic, and I think learning it has affected my writing. Some of the inspirations for my work were stories that were told to me by Egyptians in Arabic, which influenced my own storytelling. The writing I did about Texas feels like another life, what I write here has a very different flavor.

Q: Do you face challenges as an American writer writing in and about Egypt? If so, what are they?

A: A constant question is how to portray another culture in a way that's respectful. It’s complicated and challenging, especially when writing from the perspective of an Egyptian character. But there are also lots of funny things that happen in cross-cultural interactions, and that's one of the things that I like to explore in my books– these kinds of cultural snafus where tensions, misunderstandings and differences show up. Things get lost in translation, in far more than just a linguistic sense.

Gretchen McCullough was raised in Harlingen Texas. After graduating from Brown University in 1984, she taught in Egypt, Turkey and Japan. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and was awarded a teaching Fulbright to Syria from 1997-1999.

Her stories, essays and reviews have appeared in The Barcelona Review, Archipelago, National Public Radio, Story South, Guernica, The Common, The Millions, and the LA Review of Books. Translations in English and Arabic have been published in: Nizwa, Banipal, Brooklyn Rail in Translation, World Literature Today and Washington Square Review with Mohamed Metwalli. Her bi-lingual book of short stories in English and Arabic, Three Stories from Cairo, translated with Mohamed Metwalli was published in July 2011 by AFAQ Publishing House, Cairo. A collection of short stories about expatriate life in Cairo, Shahrazad’s Tooth, was also published by AFAQ in 2013. Confessions of a Knight Errant, a novel, was published by Cune Press, 2022. 

Currently, she is a senior instructor in AUC’s Department of Rhetoric and Composition.

AUC is relaunching the graduate diploma, Psychosocial Interventions for Forced Migrants and Refugees, set to begin in Fall 2024.

This interdisciplinary program combines refugee studies and psychology, with a specific emphasis on addressing mental health issues faced by forcibly displaced individuals. Students will have the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience through an internship with an NGO that works directly with refugees.

“AUC has the oldest and one of the few centers in the region dedicated to migration and refugee studies, making it well positioned to offer this program,” said Maysa Ayoub ‘02, adjunct faculty and associate director of CMRS. “Egypt hosts a significant number of forced migrants and refugees, reaffirming the importance of tackling the mental health challenges faced by these vulnerable populations.”

From Syria to Ukraine, forged migration is a global issue that has compounded in recent years. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide reached 110 million in 2023 and is projected to rise to 130 million in 2024. This includes refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons and other people in need of international protection. Throughout their displacement journey, these individuals face numerous hardships that can be traumatic and affect their mental health.

“Forced migrants often experience traumatic events such as war and violence, and adapting to new environments in foreign countries who may not welcome them, adds to their stress,” said Carie Forden, professor and chair of the Department of Psychology.

Research has shown that rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are significantly higher among refugee populations compared to the general population. The lifetime prevalence of PTSD among refugees is around 31%, compared to 4% in the general population, while the prevalence of depression is 32% among refugees, compared to 12% in the general population.

“Psychosocial interventions play a crucial role in supporting these individuals and can include educational programs, community support and psychotherapeutic treatment to promote social inclusion and integration,” said Forden. “The diploma will equip graduates with the skills they need to develop and implement these interventions.” 

The diploma aims to foster a holistic approach to addressing forced displacement, focusing on finding solutions at the individual, family, and societal levels while considering the diverse cultural contexts involved. 

“Graduates of this diploma will be able to think critically and analytically about migration and refugee issues as well as plan, manage and implement comprehensive, culturally sensitive interventions that alleviate –– or at least minimize –– the psychosocial issues involved,” Ayoub said, adding that diploma graduates are qualified to work in local and global refugee organizations. “They will learn to develop effective strategies that have a positive impact on the psychosocial well-being and resilience of refugees, whether adults or children, without discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, religion or capacities.”

Faculty Competition 

Kim Fox, professor of practice in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, was the only faculty winner from AUC this year, given an Award of Excellence in the Short-Form Production Category for her project, "The Egyptian Female Podcasters Podcast." This is the 12th BEA Festival of Media Arts Award Fox won since 2019.

"Producing audio stories is something that I enjoy doing. It's nice to receive the BEA awards for recognition of my hard work, but also in the hopes that the stories will, perhaps, reach a larger audience."

Kim Fox

Check out the full list of faculty winners. 

Undergraduate Student Competition 

Vereena Bishoy, a double major in multimedia journalism and psychology, is the only undergraduate winner from AUC this year, awarded for her radio feature, "Maggie Michael's Road from Cairo to Yemen to a Pulitzer," produced as part of her Audio Production class taught by Fox.

"This piece has a very special place in my heart, award or not. It took a lot of time and effort to bring my vision to life, and it was a great learning curve for me. Looking back at it, it was a beautiful journey. I also got to do it about someone I idolize in the field, which is a dream. So getting the opportunity to speak with her was a turning point for me as an aspiring journalist.."

Vereena Bishoy

Competition judges lauded Bishoy's work. As one of the judges described it, "Clever writing, great interviews, engaging delivery and solid audio production. All around a fantastic story!"

Fox commended Bishoy's talent: "Her audio feature was well produced, from the music to the archival audio to her amazing audio interviews. It's been a pleasure watching Vereena's journey as a multimedia journalism major, particularly her interest in audio journalism, which is my passion. She really performed well on an audio feature assignment in 2020 in my Multimedia Writing and Production course, then she produced the Caravan's podcast and now ... international accolades for her audio work. Proud prof."

For Bishoy, this project was a valuable supplement to her coursework. "I learned a lot about journalism from this project first by applying and practicing what I have learned, but also by listening to high calibers in the field. Hearing their stories and interacting with them was very insightful."

The preparations were intense. "I tried to research Maggie Michael in a lot of depth, and because she is an AUC alumna and a Caravan alumna (like myself), I got to speak to her peers and professors," said Bisohy. "I went through the University Archives and read the article she wrote. I also spoke to one of her editors, Trish Wilson, who is currently working in The Washington Post, which was not only a big deal for me, but it was amazing to see how people saw her and trying to translate that to the project was a beautiful challenge."

Graduate Student Competition 

The graduate student winners are all from the Kamal Adham Center for Television and Digital Journalism's Master of Arts program. 

Haidy Kandil won third place in the Graduate News Competition for her story, "Tahla's Nets" and second place in the Documentary category for her story, "People of Al-Kaaby." 

"I only wanted to do something that I would enjoy while shooting ,not caring very much about whether I’ll win or not. This is what made the awards extra special. I am thankful to all my professors, the AUCTV Team and my family for their constant support and guidance, I could't have make it without them.” 

Haidy Kandil

Nariman Hafez and Aya Nashed won two Awards of Excellence in the Graduate Documentary Competition for their stories, "Ladies of the Palace" and "Musakanat Al Rouh-Rosaries for Zen."

"Ladies of the Palace' is more than just a film; it's a spotlight on a community hidden in the shadows — homeless women on the streets. May this documentary be a catalyst for change, inspiring compassion to address homelessness."

Nariman Hafez

"I have always loved documenting different stories through my camera. Even though I was proud of my documentary, I had zero expectations of winning this competition. It was like reviving my passion for documentaries all over again. Thanks to my professors and special thanks to my family for always supporting me." 

Aya Nashed

The projects were produced as part of the Digital Journalism Capstone course taught by Hussein Amin, director of the Kamal Adham center. 

"It will be wonderful to see the graduate students of the Kamal Adham Center for Television and Digital Journalism wave AUC's flag at the prestigious Broadcast Education Association while they receive distinguished global awards at the 2024 Festival of Media Arts during the BEA/National Association of Broadcasters convention activities in Las Vegas Convention Center, Nevada," said Amin.

Check out the full list of student winners.