Maia Kobabe (, born 1989) is an American cartoonist and author.

Life and career

Kobabe graduated with an MFA in Comics from

California College of the Arts California College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996 it opened a second campus in Sa ...

. Kobabe's work features themes of "identity, sexuality, anti-fascism, fairy tales and homesickness." Kobabe's graphic nonfiction work has been featured in ''

The Nib The Nib is an American online daily comics publication focused on political cartoons, graphic journalism, essays and memoir about current affairs. Founded by cartoonist Matt Bors in September 2013, The Nib is an independent member-supported pu ...

'', ''

The Press Democrat ''The Press Democrat'', with the largest circulation in California's North Bay, is a daily newspaper published in Santa Rosa, California. History The newspaper was founded in 1897 by Ernest L. Finley who merged his ''Evening Press'' and Thomas ...

'', and ''

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards ...

'', among other publications. Kobabe's first full-length book '' Gender Queer: A Memoir'' was published by

Lion Forge Comics Lion Forge Comics was an American comic book publisher founded in 2011 by David Steward II and Carl Reed, with headquarters formerly located in St. Louis, Missouri. The company has a strong focus on culturally diverse creators and stories. In 20 ...

in 2019. When asked why Kobabe wrote the book in a ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine interview, they said:''Gender Queer'' was made available in some school libraries but was subsequently banned by a school district in Alaska, due to its sexually explicit content. Kobabe responded to the controversy with an opinion piece in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', suggesting that accusers were upset less by the sexually explicit images and language than by the LGBTQ themes of the book. ''Gender Queer'' was listed as one of the most banned or challenged books in September 2021 by

The American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

's Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF). According to a report (September 2022) from

PEN America PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922 and headquartered in New York City, is a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of litera ...

, Kobabe was the second most banned author in US school districts during the 2021–22 school year with ''Gender Queer'' the most frequently challenged book, banned in 41 school districts. Discussing a wave of book censorship in early 2022 within the United States in a '' Slate'' interview, Kobabe said: In January 2023, Scholastic acquired ''Saachi's Stories'' by Kobabe and Lucky Srikumar "in a six-figure auction". The middle-grade graphic novel is scheduled for publication by Scholastic's imprint

Graphix Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...

in 2025.

Personal life

Kobabe uses

Spivak pronoun The Spivak pronouns are a set of gender-neutral pronouns in English promulgated on the virtual community '' LambdaMOO'' based on pronouns used in a book by American mathematician Michael Spivak. Though not in widespread use, they have been employ ...

s and is

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and asexual. Kobabe is dyslexic and didn't learn to read until age 11.

Anthologies

Kobabe has published short comics in the following anthologies: * ''Alphabet'' (Stacked Deck Press, 2016) * ''Tabula Idem: A Queer Tarot Comic Anthology'' (Fortuna Media, 2017) * ''The Secret Loves of Geeks'' (

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

, 2018) * ''Gothic Tales of Haunted Love'' ( Bedside Press, 2018) * ''Mine!: A Celebration of Liberty And Freedom For All Benefiting Planned Parenthood'' (ComicMix, 2018) * ''Faster Than Light, Y’all'' ( Iron Circus Comics, 2018) * ''Advanced Death Saves'' (Lost His Keys Man Comics, 2019) * ''How to Wait: An Anthology of Transition'' (edited by Sage Persing, 2019) * ''Theater of Terror: Revenge of the Queers'' ( Northwest Press, 2019) * ''Rolled and Told Vol. 2'' (

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's merger with Lion Forge Comics. The merged company, Oni–Lion Forge Publishing Grou ...

, 2020) * ''Be Gay, Do Comics'' ( IDW Publishing, 2020)

Awards

* 2016

Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping ...

— Promising New Talent Nominee (''Tom O’Bedlam'') * 2019 Ignatz Award Outstanding Graphic Novel Nominee (''Gender Queer: A Memoir'') * 2019

YALSA The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

Great Graphic Novels for Teens Nominee (''Gender Queer: A Memoir'') * 2020

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

Alex Award The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Essentially, the award is a listing by the American Library Association parallel to its annual Best Books for Young A ...

Winner (''Gender Queer: A Memoir'') * 2020 Stonewall Book Awards — Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Honor Book (''Gender Queer: A Memoir'')

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobabe, Maia American LGBT artists Non-binary artists Non-binary writers American artists American cartoonists LGBT comics creators Asexual non-binary people Living people California College of the Arts alumni 1989 births People with dyslexia