Kay O'Neill (also known as K. O'Neill, and who has published under the name Katie O'Neill) is an illustrator and writer from

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Biography

O'Neill is a self-taught artist who has produced several comics and graphic novels. They initially built a fan base by publishing comics on their

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page, such as ''Princess Princess'', which was later published as a book by

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon, best known for publishing such series as '' Scott Pilgrim'' and ''Rick and Morty''. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's ...

as ''Princess Princess Ever After''. O'Neill notes "a different kind of accessibility and visibility that comes with a book, particularly one that is in easy reach of kids’ hands in school and public libraries". Their graphic novels cover fantasy, slice-of-life stories which are intended for all ages. These have won multiple awards, with ''

The Tea Dragon Society ''The Tea Dragon Society'' is a webcomic and graphic novel written and illustrated by Kay O'Neill which debuted late 2016. The story focuses on Greta, an apprentice blacksmith who becomes fascinated by "tea dragons" after rescuing one. Published ...

'' in particular winning two

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

s, a

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were ...

, and a Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids' Comics. ''The Tea Dragon Society'' also led to a card game and plushies, and two subsequent Tea Dragon books were published in 2019 and 2021. When not working on a book, O'Neill is a fulltime freelance illustrator. O'Neil's work often includes

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characters and positive messages; they consider inclusiveness to be important, and that media "should reflect the diversity of the world around us." To this end they portray different identities in their stories. ''The Tea Dragon Society'' was included in the

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's Rainbow Book List for 2018. ''Princess Princess Ever After'' was also on the Rainbow Book List in 2017, making its top ten, and was awarded

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's Favourite Graphic Novel/Book in 2014. Autostraddle writer Mey said that ''Princess Princess Ever After'' "has characters of different races and body types. It has two princesses who are their own heroes and don’t need to change who they are to save themselves and the day. It has a really cute queer couple. And all of this is in an all-ages comic." O'Neill has said that "with consciousness of a new generation I would like to try to make books that inspire kindness, self-acceptance and social responsibility." In a

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post of 18 December 2020, O'Neill said that they prefer to be known as Kay and use they/them pronouns.

Awards

, - , 2019 , ''Aquicorn Cove'' ,

: Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12) , , , - , 2018 , ''The Tea Dragon Society'' , Eisner Award: Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12) , , , - , 2018 , ''The Tea Dragon Society'' , Eisner Award: Best Webcomic , , , - , 2018 , ''The Tea Dragon Society'' , Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids' Comics , , , - , 2018 , ''The Tea Dragon Society'' ,

: Best Children or Young Adult Book , , Co-winner with ''The Prince and the Dressmaker'' , - , 2014 , ''Princess Princess Ever After'' ,

Cybils Award The Cybils Awards, or Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards, are a set of annual book awards given by people who blog about children's and young adult books. Co-founded by Kelly Herold and Anne Boles Levy in 2006, the awards were c ...

, , , - , 2014 , ''Princess Princess Ever After'' ,

: Favorite Graphic Novel/Book , ,

Works

*''Counting Stars'' (2012), webcomic *''Song of the Wheel'' (2012), webcomic *''The Girl from Hell City'' (2013), webcomic *''The Girl With Eyes Like a Cat'' (2013), webcomic *''Don't Let Go'' (2013), webcomic *''Below the Waves'' (2014), webcomic * ''Mushrooms'' (2014), webcomic *''Princess Princess Ever After'' (2016), published by Oni Press (first version published as a 2014 webcomic titled ''Princess Princess)'' *''

'' (2017), published by Oni Press *''Aquicorn Cove'' (2018), published by Oni Press *''The Tea Dragon Festival'' (2019), published by Oni Press * ''Dewdrop'' (2020), published by Oni Press *''How to Date Your Dragon'' (2020) webcomic *''The Tea Dragon Tapestry'' (2021) by Oni Press *''The Moth Keeper'' (2023) by Random House Graphic *''A Song for You and I'' (2025) by Random House Graphic

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Katie New Zealand comics artists New Zealand comics writers New Zealand webcomic creators New Zealand graphic novelists Harvey Award winners Living people Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand LGBTQ writers New Zealand non-binary people New Zealand illustrators Eisner Award winners Non-binary comics writers