Lena Merhej is an artist and visual storyteller. She studied graphic design and technology in Beirut and New York, later earning a PhD at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany with a focus on war narratives in Lebanese graphic novels. Lena taught at several universities in Beirut and is a co-founder of the acclaimed Samandal Comics. She has illustrated over 30 children’s books, and her work spans animated films and comics, showcased both in Lebanon and internationally. She has received numerous international awards, including the Best Graphic Novel award at the Algiers International Comics Festival (FIBDA) in 2009 for Another Year and in 2013 for Yoghurt and Jam (or How My Mother Became Lebanese), as well as the Mahmoud Kahil Award for comics, editorial cartoons and illustrations in 2019 for Salam.