Maia Kobabe


Maia Kobabe is an American cartoonist and author who wrote the memoir Gender Queer: A Memoir. Kobabe's work features themes of "identity, sexuality, anti-fascism, fairy tales and homesickness".

Education

Kobabe was one of the first students enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts in Comics program at California College of the Arts, and graduated in 2015.

Career

Kobabe's graphic nonfiction work has been featured in The Nib, The Press Democrat, and SF Weekly, among other publications.
Kobabe's first full-length book Gender Queer: A Memoir was published by Lion Forge Comics in 2019. When asked in a Time magazine interview why Kobabe wrote the book, Kobabe 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, 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's Office of Intellectual Freedom. According to a report from PEN America, 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 a middle-grade graphic novel by Kobabe and Lucky Srikumar "in a six-figure auction". The novel, titled Opting Out, is scheduled for publication by Scholastic's imprint Graphix on May 5, 2026.

Personal life

Kobabe uses Spivak pronouns and is non-binary and asexual. Kobabe is dyslexic and did not learn to read until age 11.

Anthologies

Kobabe has published short comics in the following anthologies:Alphabet Tabula Idem: A Queer Tarot Comic Anthology The Secret Loves of Geeks Gothic Tales of Haunted Love Mine!: A Celebration of Liberty And Freedom For All Benefiting Planned Parenthood Faster Than Light, Y’all Advanced Death Saves How to Wait: An Anthology of Transition Theater of Terror: Revenge of the Queers Rolled and Told Vol. 2
  • ''Be Gay, Do Comics''

Awards