2019 Events

December, 2019

Giant Robot Post-It Art Show

October 2, 2019

Drawing Power: Women’s Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment and Survival

Panel with editor Diane Noomin and contributors Ajuan Mance, Lee Mars, and MariNaomi, moderated by Nicole J. Georges

September 29, 2019

An Evening with MariNaomi: YA Novels and Social Change

Join the MFA in Interdiciplinary Arts and Writing for a reading and conversation with MariNaomi

September 22, 2019

Brooklyn Book Festival special guest

Panel: “YA on Fire: A Teen Comics Showcase”

What makes a book “YAlit”? Leave that thorny cataloguing question to libraries–from the readers’ perspective, these new graphic novels are just plain lit, whether you’re a teen or still reading YA, while (supposedly) adulting. Stories of friendship, fantasy, adventure, romance, and the other-wordly all come together in new books by MariNaomi (Life on Earth), Melanie Gillman (Stage Dreams), Magdalene Visaggio (Morning in America), and Dylan Meconis (Queen of the Sea). Moderated by Jerry Craft (New Kid)

September 14/15, 2019

Panel: “Friendships, Relationships, and Chosen Families in YA Comics”

The teen years are ones where kids are looking for and finding important and lasting relationships outside of their family for the first time. For some, these relationships can become as or more important than family, depending on what one’s home environment is like. Moderators Gina Gagliano and Whitney Leopard (Random House Graphic) will lead a discussion with MariNaomi (Losing The Girl), Cathy G. Johnson (The Breakaways), Ben Sears (House Of The Black Spot), and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me) on how and why these new kinds of relationships are so important for their characters. 

August 10, 2019

Queer Asia / Identity Redefined group art exhibition

June 29, 2019

Pride Con

May 25, 2019

Reading with Elly Dallas and Daryl Gussin

April 14, 2019

LA Times Festival of Books signing with Yumi Sakugawa

March 1, 2019

Book release for Gravity’s Pull, paperback (Graphic Universe)

February 9, 2019

CSLA Conference Panel:”Dreaming of Equity: LGBTQ+ and KidLit”

Featuring panelists MariNaomi, Gayle Pitman, and Sonya Sones. The FAIR Education Act requires that all California public schools include LGBTQ+ content in history and social science curriculum, from kindergarten all the way through grade 12. In this panel, the authors will share how they support LGBTQ+ in their body of work. They will provide more detailed information about this law and more inclusive resources so that school librarians can better support classroom teachers.

CSLA Conference Panel: “Crazy Not-Rich Asian-American KidLIt Authors: Dreaming of Diversity”
Featuring panelists MariNaomi, Maple Lam, Henry Lien, Mae Respicio, and Benson Shum, moderated by Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan. The craze around “Crazy Rich Asians” is crazy cool! It appears that all-Asian American casts are hitting big and little screens. So, what does this mean for the kidlit world? What is the status of Asian-American kidlit? This powerful panel is packed with crazy creative Asian-American kidlit authors. MariNaomi, Maple Lam, Henry Lien, Mae Respicio, Benson Shum, and Virginia Loh-Hagan (moderator) will share their experiences and goals.  Questions will include: What does it mean to be an Asian-American author? What does it mean to write Asian-American books? How has Asian-American kidlit changed over time? What do you hope for the future of Asian-American kidlit?

February 7, 2019

Travel comics workshop and Turning Japanese reading