2018 Events

December 8, 2018

Comic Arts LA (CALA) table 52B

Comic Arts LA is a free, public event promoting the appreciation of comics, graphic novels,
and sequential arts among the broader Los Angeles public. CALA aims to engage the public
and foster interactions among creators and readers alike by providing the community with a
diverse, inclusive space to connect creatively and discover new work.

December 7, 2018

Fresh Narrative, a CALA reading

Live comics reading featuring Xia Gordon, Stephanie Rodriguez, Dust T, MariNaomi, and
Sophia Zarders. 

November 1, 2018

Santa Monica College Literary Series reading

hosted by Hari Vishwanadha

October 27, 2018

JAWS Presents: A conversation with cartoonists Yumi Sakugawa and MariNaomi, and actor/author Keiko Agena

moderated by filmmaker Tani Ikeda

October 14 to 28, 2018

JAWS Presents: SEEDS OF OUR GRANDMOTHERS’ DREAMS

Japanese American Women Speak is an international network of Nikkei feminist artists dedicated
to social change. JAWS centers the experience of Japanese American women, trans, and gender
nonconforming artists while embracing the whole of our global Nikkei family.

JAWS believes that through the creation of conscious community, personal and collaborative
artistic expressions, and creative interventions in the cultural narrative, we can heal our community.
JAWS uses storytelling and visual art, as acts of resistance, to educate and activate.

JAWS commits to radical acts of self-love made visible for the public to dream a new society.

Exhibition: “Seeds of Our Grandmothers’ Dreams” re-imagines a world blossoming with the unbroken
yume our Nikkei elders carried across the Pacific: before they were forced into American concentration camps.

On October 14 – 28, Japanese American Women Speak (JAWS) will exhibit their art and
invite community to decolonize their dreams through a series of storytelling workshops.
“Seeds of Our Grandmothers’ Dreams” activates the thriving future of Little Tokyo
—an international community rooted over generations—through a galaxy of
intergenerational artists dreaming above ground.

Featured artists:
Renee Tajima-Peña, Mitsuko Brooks, Yuki Eto, traci akemi kato-kiriyama, Tani Ikeda,
Sonomi Kobayashi, kyoko nakamaru, Rey Fukuda, Danielle Oda, Yuko Shimizu,
Yumi Sakugawa, Diana Tsuchida, MariNaomi, Hannah Watanabe-Rocco, Kellee Matsushita,
Taryn Akemi Look, Keiko Agena, Kyoko Takenaka, Rosie Yasukochi and Sharon Yamato.

October 5, 2018

Lambda Lit reading: “Yes Femmes”

Readings by Joshua Jennifer Espinosa, Chris Belcher, Daviel Shy, Katherine Agard, and Stephen van Dyck.

September 30, 2018

Experiencing Comics launch party, reading and signing with Mari and other authors

September 9, 2018

XOXO Fest Talk

“Award-winning cartoonist MariNaomi created the Cartoonists of Color database and Queer Cartoonists Database to spotlight marginalized comics creators, a labor of love that’s changing the landscape of comics.”

September 2, 2018

17th Annual San Francisco Zine Fest

August 30, 2018

San Francisco book launch for Losing the Girl 

August 18-19, 2018

Featured guest at Flame Con

Panel: Saturday, 7 pm: “Memoir Comics: Picturing a Queer Self”
How do comics handle memoir, by creating both narrative and visual depictions of the self? The complexities of sexuality and gender offer a unique terrain for comic artists. How do LGBTQ cartoonists in particular use memoir to make sense of the world and their place in it? How does the practice of memoir in turn affect the creation of work in other genres? Join Justin Hall (No Straight Lines, Hard to Swallow) as he leads a lively discussion with comics luminaries Dylan Edwards (Transposes, Nothing Wrong with Me), Ajuan Mance (Gender Studies, 1001 Black Men), and MariNaomi (Kiss & Tell, Turning Japanese).

Panel: Sunday, 12 noon: “Webcomics in Twenty-gayteen“
The personal has always been political, but it’s never been more true than today. Join webcomics creators as they talk about their inspirations and motivations, writing personal and political content for the (sometimes scary, usually overly opinionated) internet, and their paths from web to print. Moderated by Nicole Gitau, starring Julia Kaye, Matt Lubchansky, and MariNaomi.

August 17, 2018
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Autobio teen comics workshop

August 11, 2018

Summer Hot Dish at 826LA

Feat. Shauna Barbosa, Hope Ewing, Peter Hsu, Siel Ju, MariNaomi and Ashley Perez

July 26, 2018

Antioch MFA reading and conversation

May 31, 2018

A conversation with cartoonists Jen Wang, MariNaomi and Yumi Sakugawa to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May 19, 2018

LitFest Pasadena Top

literary podcasters talk podcasting across genres for literary Los Angeles. Featured guests Eric Beetner, SW Lauden, Alex Schmidt, MariNaomi, Myriam Gurba, and Tod Goldberg, moderated by Cheryl Klein

May 3, 2018

Book launch for Losing the Girl (Graphic Universe)

April 22, 2018

LA Times Festival of Books panel, “Graphic Novels: Working Twice As Hard”

With Pamela Ribon and Tillie Walden, moderated by Tracy Brown

April 14, 2018

Claremont Zine Fest

Featured guest and panel with Yumi Sakugawa

April 7, 2018

Unversity of Pittsburgh Multicultural Club reading and lecture

March 21, 2018

Claremont Colleges lecture/reading

March 2-15, 2018

Sister Spit 2018: QTPOC Cruising the West tour dates/stops:

Fri March 2, 7 pm: Art X, 356 E. 3rd St., Long Beach, CA
Sat March 3, 7 pm : Makara Center for the Arts, 811 N. Main St. Santa Ana, CA
Sun March 4, 7 pm: Human Resources, 410 Cottage Home St., Los Angeles, CA
Tue March 6, 6 pm: Rio Bravo Fine Art Gallery, 110 N. Broadway St., Truth or Consequence, NM
Wed March 7, 5:30 pm: Iconik Coffee Roasters, 1600 Lena St. Ste. A2, Santa Fe, NM
Thu March 8, 6 pm: The Tannex, 1417 4th St. SW, Albuquerque, NM
Sat March 10, 7 pm: Steinfield Warehouse Community Arts Ctr, 101 W 6th St., Tucson, AZ
Mon March 12, 7 pm: Women’s Center for Creative Work, 2425 Glover Pl., Los Angeles, CA
Wed March 14: UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Thu March 15, 7 pm: The Stud, 399 9th St., San Francisco, CA

February 21, 2018

The Secret Loves of Geeks signing

With Amanda Deibert, Cat Staggs, Ivan Salazar, Dana Simpson, and Kristian Bruun

February 11, 2018

It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere

Reading with Steve Erickson, Aisha Sabatini Sloan, and J. Ryan Stradal

February 1, 2018

Center for Cartoon Studies reading and lecture

January 1, 2018

Book release for Losing the Girl, hardcover (Graphic Universe)