Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Story Lead Turns Her Lens on Los Angeles in New Essay Collection

The former Disney Imagineer examines how the city’s streets and neighborhoods shape identity, including reflections on the wildfires

The woman who helped write the story of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has turned her attention to a real city — one that reinvents itself as relentlessly as any fictional planet.

Margaret Chandra Kerrison, the former Walt Disney Imagineer who served as story lead for the Star Wars-themed land, will discuss and sign her new book, “Los Angeles Lost and Found: Essays on Identity, Place, and Belonging,” tonight at Vroman’s Bookstore. The collection applies what Kerrison calls narrative placemaking — the framework she used to build immersive theme park worlds — to Los Angeles itself, examining how the city’s streets, neighborhoods, and landmarks shape who its residents become. The book, published March 3 by ORO Editions, includes reflections on the recent LA wildfires, according to the publisher.

Kerrison was an Imagineer from 2014 to 2021. Her portfolio includes Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, National Geographic Base Camp, and the NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. She is a six-time THEA Award winner. Born in Indonesia and raised in Singapore, she earned her MFA in screenwriting from the University of Southern California and now lectures at Cal Poly Pomona’s Department of Architecture, where she was the 2023 Paul Helmle Fellow.

“Architecture is the original immersive experience,” Kerrison has said. “When we build places that are intentionally designed as human-centered and narrative-driven environments, we encourage community, play, and engagement in meaningful ways.”

The 180-page book is her fourth. Her previous books include “Immersive Storytelling for Real and Imagined Worlds” (2022), “Reimagined Worlds: Narrative Placemaking for People, Play, and Purpose” (2024), and “The Art of Immersive Storytelling: Strategies From the Gaming World” (2025). This is her second appearance at Vroman’s; she discussed “Immersive Storytelling” at the bookstore in September 2022.

Kerrison will be joined in conversation by Diane Ikemiyashiro, vice president of current series and original programming at Disney Junior. Ikemiyashiro, a Los Angeles native and member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, previously worked at DreamWorks Animation on franchises including “Shrek,” “Kung Fu Panda,” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”

The event begins at 7 p.m. at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. For more information, call 626-449-5320.

“Los Angeles is a place where people can lose themselves, reinvent, and emerge anew,” Kerrison has said of the city she now calls home.