Please join us in hosting comedian, former Princeton Arts Fellow (2021-23) and disability advocate Maysoon Zayid as she returns to Princeton to discuss and sign copies of her new graphic novel, Shiny Misfits. There will be a Q&A, moderated by Thomas Hughes ’24, followed by a photo-op and book-signing with Maysoon.
Shiny Misfits is a hilarious, one-of-a kind graphic novel about fame, friendship, and fighting to take back your own story. Bay Ann wants to shine. She’s sure her moment in the spotlight has arrived when she wins the school talent show with a show-stopping tap routine! But then her classmate and crush, Alyee Mag, causes her to wobble and almost fall. The video of him catching her goes viral, making Alyee an overnight sensation for “helping her.” Bay Ann is reduced to her disability and her talent is ignored. Bay Ann doesn’t want her classmate to get all the fame, and she is NOT satisfied being anything but the best. She’ll do everything in her power to beat Alyee at his own attention-seeking game. But as Bay Ann tries to find the thing that really makes her stand out, everything she tries goes disastrously wrong. What if the only way to beat her enemy…is to join him?
Copies of Shiny Misfits will be available for purchase at the event courtesy of Labyrinth Books.
Join the Event
The event is free and open to the public; no tickets required.
Directions
Get directions to the Forum, located at the Lewis Arts complex, 122 Alexander Street, Princeton, NJ
Accessibility
The Forum is an accessible venue. The event will include ASL interpretation. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information at our various locations. Guests in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at 609-258-5262 or email LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week in advance of the event date.
About the Author
Maysoon Zayid, actress, comedian, writer, and disability advocate. Photo credit: Michelle Kinney
Maysoon Zayid is an actress, comedian, writer, and disability advocate. She is a graduate of and a Guest Comedian in Residence at Arizona State University. Maysoon is the co-founder/co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and The Muslim Funny Fest. She was a full-time On Air Contributor to Countdown with Keith Olbermann and is a guest writer for Vice. She has most recently appeared in the Emmy Award-winning documentary My Disability Roadmap and on CNN’s New Day, 60 Minutes, and ABC News. Maysoon had the most viewed TED Talk of 2014 and was named 1 of 100 Women of 2015 by BBC.
As a professional comedian, she has performed in top New York clubs and has toured extensively at home and abroad. Maysoon was a headliner on the Arabs Gone Wild Comedy Tour and The Muslims Are Coming Tour. She appeared alongside Adam Sandler in You Don’t Mess with the Zohan and is a recurring character on General Hospital. Maysoon limped in New York Fashion Week and is the host of the web series, Advice You Don’t Want to Hear. She is the author of the bestselling memoir Find Another Dream and is the creator of the Book of Bay Ann children’s graphic novel series.
About the Moderator
Photo courtesy Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes is a member of Princeton’s Class of 2024. A Computer Science major from Dana Point, California, Hughes was named a 2024 Schwarzman Scholar and recipient of a scholarship for a one-year master’s program at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Hughes is the co-president of the Princeton chapter of Petey Greene tutoring program. He has served as director of the Princeton Silicon Valley TigerTrek, host of Princeton’s All-Nighter talk show, and has worked with the nonprofit Share My Meals as a member of the Pace Center’s Service Focus cohort for Public Interest Technology. From 2021-2023, Hughes worked alongside Maysoon Zayid to organize a disability advocacy group on the Princeton campus.
