Karen Leggett

Karen Leggett Abouraya grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, surrounded by writing and books: her father was a journalist and her mother a school librarian. Karen was an award-winning broadcast journalist for more than two decades.  She began reviewing and discussing children’s books on ABC WMAL Radio in Washington, D.C. She has also reviewed children’s books and interviewed authors for the Washington Post, New York Times, the Baltimore Sun, Children’s Literature, Washington Parent and others. She is a widely published freelance author and actively involved in disability advocacy in her home state of Maryland. Karen graduated from Brown University (international relations) and met her Egyptian husband in Washington. They have two grown children and two grandsons, are active in many cultural exchange initiatives and have been lucky enough to visit Egypt many times – especially Alexandria, her husband’s hometown.​