Maia Kobabe

@redgoldsparks

reading books, writing books, defending books pronouns: e/em/eir

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Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Jul 11

I have three upcoming events in Maryland this month! GMIC July 23-25: www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-graph... Red Emma's Bookstore, Baltimore, July 25 evening: withfriends.co/event/286165... People's Book in Takoma Park July 28: withfriends.co/event/282637...

Three events in Maryland in July!
July 23 - July 25: Graphic Medicine
Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD
July 25 at 7PM: RED EMMA’s BOOKSTORE
3128 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore, MD
July 28 at 6PM: People’s Book, 7014-A WESTMORELAND AVE, TAKOMA PARK, MD

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Jun 21

Lucky Srikumar's schedule for ALA from June 25-30! @luckyscomix.bsky.social One public event on June 30 with Anderson's Books in Naperville 📚🌈☀️ dashboard.eventcombo.com/e/Pride-Pane...

Lucky Srikumar ALA 2026 Schedule!
Sat, June 27, 9-10am, GNCRT Program: Civic Engagement,
Advocacy, & Comics, Clark ABC
Sat, June 27,1-3pM, Magical Comics Tea, Continental A
Sun, June 28,11:30-1pm, Scholastic Literary Showcase
Regency Ballroom A
Mon, June 29, 9-10am Scholastic Signing BOOTH #3615
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! Tuesday, June 30, 7-8pm
Pride Panel at Anderson’s Bookshop
123 West Jefferson Avenue, Naperville, IL

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Jun 21

I will be in Chicago for ALA from June 25-30! I have a panel with @libcomix.bsky.social, a panel with @oni-press.bsky.social, signings with Oni Press and Scholastic! One public event on June 30 with Anderson's Books in Naperville 📚🌈☀️ Come say hello! dashboard.eventcombo.com/e/Pride-Pane...

Maia Kobabe ALA 2026 Schedule!
Fri, June 26, 2-3pm, Panels, Pages, & People: Queer
Community Building Thru Comics, Regency Ballroom A
Sat, June 27, 9:30-10:30am, Creating Comics
with Oni Press, Graphic Novel/Gaming Stage #1342
Sat, June 27, 1-3pM, Magical Comics Tea, Continental A
Sat, June 27, 4-5pM, Oni Press Signing Booth #3314
Sun, June 28, 11:30-1pm, Scholastic Literary Showcase
Regency Ballroom A
Sun, June 28, 2:30-3:30pm, Oni Press Signing Booth #3314
Mon, June 29, 9-10am Scholastic Signing BOOTH #3615
Tues, June 30, 7-8pm Pride Panel at Anderson’s Books
123 West Jefferson Avenue, Naperville, IL

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Jun 7

We toured, part 2 :D @luckyscomix.bsky.social and I spoke at Copperfields & the Bay Area Book Festival last weekend! You can find signed copies of Gender Queer & Opting Out at Copperfields Books in Montgomery Village in Santa Rosa, & a few copies at the Barnes and Noble on 4th street in Santa Rosa

authors Maia Kobabe (a white nonbinary person in their mid 30s with short brown hair) and Lucky Srikumar (a Desi nonbinary person in their early 30s with short black hair and glasses) both smile in a selfie, both wearing colorful patterned short sleeve button up shirts

One copy of Opting Out and two copies of Gender Queer held up in the graphic novel section of Barnes and Nobel

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Jun 5

Thinking about this comic I drew, written by @elizabethminkel.bsky.social for @fansplaining.bsky.social back in 2020, in light of Anthony Stewart Head's passing. #rupertgiles #buffythevampireslayer #anthonyhead

Cover/page 1: The first episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer I ever watched was “The Zeppo”, which aired on January 1999. I was 14 years old. A Fansplaining tiny zine written by Elizabeth Minkel illustrated by Maia Kobabe, Fall 2020

Back cover/page 8: Find the podcast: patreon.com/fansplaining, fansplaining.com, @fansplaining on tumblr, twitter & instagram. Find the artist: patreon.com/maiakobabe, @redgoldsparks on tumblr & instagram

Page 2: “The Zeppo” is a strange entry point to Buffy- it’s a sort of parody of the show itself- but that is the episode I saw. My brain switched from “off” to “extremely invested” over the course of an hour.

Page 3: I had always gotten obsessed by things I read or watched. I would fill up yellow legal pads with my own stories about my favorite characters.

Page 4: But Buffy was different. I was older, and I had a few friends who liked it as much as I did. And, perhaps most importantly, I had access to the internet. I made a big three-ring binder into a kind of analog Tumblr, with magazine clippings and grainy print-outs of my favorite photos.

Page 5: I wrote Buffy stories- about Giles, and ONLY GILES- but I also started clicking around online.

Page 6: One night I began reading a long description of Giles being turned into a vampire. It was a really grim passage and I was horrified- was this what was going to happen on the show? I called one of my friends in a PANIC.

Page 7: “You’re reading fanfiction!” As she explained, I realized that I wasn’t alone: tons of people wrote stories about the characters they loved. It was amazing! Even if some of them turn the characters into vampires.

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Jun 4

Saturday June 20 from 11am to 6pm @luckyscomix.bsky.social and I will be at QCON (Fiesta Hall in Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA). We'll be tabling together and speaking on a panel from 1-1:30. qconprism.org Hope to see you there!

Saturday June 20 from 11am to 6pm Lucky Srikumar and Maia Kobabe, co-authors of the middle grade graphic novel OPTING OUT, will be at QCON (Fiesta Hall in Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA). They will be tabling together and speaking on a panel from 1-1:30. https://qconprism.org/ Hope to see you there!

Saturday June 20 from 11am to 6pm Maia Kobabe, author of GENDER QUEER A MEMOIR, and co-author BREATHE: JOURNEYS TO HEALTHY BINDING and OPTING OUT, will be at QCON (Fiesta Hall in Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA). E will be tabling with co-author Lucky Srikumar and speaking on a panel from 1-1:30. https://qconprism.org/ Hope to see you there!

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Jun 2

Revisiting a few paintings I did back in 2017 for a Pride month comic 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

a watercolor and colored pencil portrait of Marsha P Johnson in a pink dress with a lace and flower crown

a watercolor and colored pencil portrait of Harvey Milk in a white T-shirt with red collars and wearing a pink flower lei

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 26

I signed a big stack of books at the Powell's on Hawthorne in Portland, OR this weekend! Pick them up if you want one :)

the graphic novel OPTING OUT by Maia Kobabe and Lucky Srikumar facing out on the shelf with a "New" sign and a blurb which reads "In a world where there is so much either/or, Saachi is going to need to find her own options..."

A stack of all of the books Maia Kobabe signed at the Powells location on Hawthorne street in Portland Oregon: 2 copies of Opting Out, 7 copies of the softcover Gender Queer, one Gender Queer hardcover and one Annotated Edition of GEnder Queer

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 21

HR 2616, text below, just passed today in the House. Now it's time to call your Senators & tell them to vote NO ON HR 2616/S 2251 (and the very similar bills: HR 2617 & HR 7661 which aim to ban all trans books from every public school in the country!) www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...

A BILL

To require public elementary and middle schools that receive funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to obtain parental consent before changing a minor’s gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form or sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.

SECTION 1. Short title.

This Act may be cited as the “Parental Rights Over The Education and Care of Their Kids Act ” or the “PROTECT Kids Act”.

SEC. 2. Parental consent requirement related to gender markers, pronouns, and preferred names on school forms and sex-based accommodations.

(a) Requirement.—As a condition of receiving funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), a public school that receives funds under such Act shall obtain parental consent before changing a covered student’s—

(1) gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form; or

(2) sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.

(b) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) COVERED STUDENT.—The term “covered student” means a minor who is—

(A) an elementary school student; or

(B) a student in any of the middle grades.

(2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms “elementary school”, “middle grades”, and “parent” have the meanings given such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 19

From the Annotated Edition of Gender Queer :)

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 19

From the Annotated Edition of Gender Queer :)

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 19

From the Annotated Edition of Gender Queer :)

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 19

More excerpt pages in this thread from the Annotated Edition of Gender Queer!

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 19

18 people contributed: Jadzia Azelrod, Andrea Colvin, Alex L Combs, Dr Sandra Cox, Eli Erlick, Mel Gillman, Ashley R Guillory, Justin Hall, Kori Michele Handwerker, Phoebe Kobabe, Tara Madison Avery, Ajuan Mance, Hazel Hewlevant, Matthew Noe, Hal Schrieve, Matt Silady, Rani Som & Shannon Watters 🌈📚🏳️‍⚧️

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 19

GENDER QUEER: THE ANNOTATED EDITION is out today from @oni-press.bsky.social! I'm so grateful to everyone who read, bought, recommended & defended this book over the past 7 years (5 of which it spent within the top 3 most challenged books in the US). www.simonandschuster.com/books/Gender...

Three copies of Gender Queer resting on the ground amid small leaves and plants- the original softcover, the hardcover, and the new annotated edition.

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 18

We toured!!! Find signed copies of OPTING OUT at the bookstores that hosted us- The Nonbinarian in Brooklyn, Cover to Cover Books in Columbus OH, All She Wrote in Boston, Left Bank Books in St Louis, & Under The Umbrella in Salt Lake City. Also Half Priced Books on West Lane Ave in Columbus OH 📚🌈🏳️‍⚧️🥰

A photo of authors Maia Kobabe and Lucky Srikumar posting in front of a large cover posted of their new book, OPTING OUT, on a yellow stage with flower decorations. The authors are smiling and looking cute!

A photo of authors Maia Kobabe and Lucky Srikumar posting in front of Left Bank Books, a red brick bookstore in St Louis. The authors are smiling and looking cute!

A photo of authors Maia Kobabe and Lucky Srikumar posting with a large cover posted of their new book, OPTING OUT, and large stacks of their book which they've just finished signing. The authors are smiling and looking cute!

A photo of authors Maia Kobabe and Lucky Srikumar during a talk about their new book, OPTING OUT. Lucky wears purple overalls and sits in a wheelchair, Maia wears a loud floral shirt and yellow pans and sits in a chair. The authors are looking towards each other and smiling.

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 18

Thanks for the great show 💜 #방탄소년단 #BTS_WORLDTOUR_ARIRANG #BTS_WORLDTOUR_ARIRANG_STANFORD #bangtan

A photo of the stage from BTS's Arirang World tour day 1 at Stanford, with fireworks in the air above the screen

A photo of the stage from BTS's Arirang World tour day 1 at Stanford, with a teal tree of light on the screen and teal lightsticks around the stadium

A photo of the stage from BTS's Arirang World tour day 1 at Stanford, with the air full of confetti and light

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 16

Maia Kobabe wrote Gender Queer as a tender attempt to explain non-binary identity and the journey of sexual discovery to immediate family. “I tried to make it as sensitive and thoughtful as possible, especially given that I knew that my mother would read it,” the author says. “I was trying to build bridges, trying to connect with people, trying to be understood as my full authentic self by my family and my friends and my community.”

But then came culture wars and a concerted effort by reactionary forces to turn back the clock. For three consecutive years, Gender Queer was the most challenged title by would-be book banners. Speaking from Santa Rosa, California, Kobabe, 36, recalls: “Many of the people who challenged my book in the early years, when it was conservative parents speaking up at school in board meetings, would hold it up and say this book is inappropriate or it’s pornography and then they would proudly say: ‘I’ve never read it.’”

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 3

All my book tour stops in the next two weeks for OPTING OUT with @luckyscomix.bsky.social in one post! Links to all of the events here: linktr.ee/maiakobabe Book is out on TUESDAY! bookshop.org/p/books/opti...

Maia and Lucky Opting Out May Book Tour!

Tuesday May 5 from 7-8pm The Nonbinarian Bookstore hosting at:
Brooklyn Community Pride Center, 1561 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn

Thursday May 7 from 7-8pm Cover to Cover Books For Young Readers: 2116 Arlington Avenue, Columbus, Ohio

Saturday May 9 10am All She Wrote Bookstore hosting at:
Connexion United Methodist Church, 149 Broadway, Somerville, MA. This event is ticketed.

Monday May 11 from 6-7:30pm Left Bank Books hosting at: the
Carpenter Public Library, 3309 South Grand BlVd, St Louis, MO

Wednesday May 13 from 6-8pm Under the Umbrella Queer Bookstore hosting at: Vieve Gore Concert Hall, Salt Lake City, Utah. This event is ticketed.

Registration links in the Linktree in my bio. See you there!

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· May 1

I drew these pages in my sketchbook a year ago to explain my thought process on thumbnailing while working on Opting Out. I co-wrote this book with Lucky Srikumar @luckyscomix.bsky.social and it's out from Scholastic Graphix on May 5! bookshop.org/p/books/opti...

PAGE ONE:
For most projects I pick a "base" panel grid for normal pages that don't need extra emphasis. For Saachi, that was a 6 panel grid. I made a digital template to drop in every page. There are easy variations that include an establishing shot (single tier on top, middle, or bottom). Shifting the gutters to give some panels more space. Occasional 3 panel tier. Dropping panel borders.
Other page types:
4 tiers-used for a specific character or when Saachi is uncomfortable.
9 panels- used for phone calls and hard, wordy conversations. I like to alternate characters in 9 panel grids to create a checker pattern.
In grids I also like to alternate close-ups with medium or long shots on diagonals or patter speaking characters on diagonals.
Fantasy pages! Some pages contain stories, daydreams, or poems and these break out of the grid entirely and often have no borders!

PAGE TWO:
I use a large panel on top with just two below, or two on top and one below, when introducing a new setting- big establishing shot
The fight scene gets diagonal gutters- rare.
A fairy tale gets rounded panel borders.
Sometimes I "shrink" the last panel on a page at the end of a scene to transition to a new setting. Two times I used 4 tightly packed panels in combo with border-less panels in storytelling-mode.
There are only 5 full page images in the book. First & last are in the "real world" and the middle 3 are in Saachi's "poem world"
Most used Saachi page layouts- 181 of the 253 pages fall into these 8 categories:
85- 6 panel grid but with adjusted size
52- even 6 panel grid
20- even 3 tiers
5- full page
5- even 4 tiers
5- square 4 grid
5- establishing shot either above or below an even 6 tier grid
4- 9 panel grid

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Apr 27

Berkeley California- Saturday May 30 from 2:15 to 3:15pm- Bay Area Book Festival. Lucky & I are speaking on a panel with a signing after at the Berkeley Public Library! Also on the panel: Alina Chau, LeUyen Pham, Nadine Takvorian moderated by Elaine Tai. www.baybookfest.org/session/artf...

A graphic for an upcoming event on Saturday May 30 from 2:15 to 3:15pm at Bay Area Book Festival. Lucky Srikumar and Maia Kobabe are speaking on a panel with a signing after at the Berkeley Public Library! Also on the panel: Alina Chau, LeUyen Pham, Nadine Takvorian moderated by Elaine Tai. Masks are encouraged!

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Apr 27

OHIO- Thursday May 7 from 7-8pm- Cover to Cover Books for Young Readers, hosting at 2116 Arlington Ave, Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221. This event is free, and masks are encouraged! www.covertocoverchildrensbooks.com/event/evenin...

authors Maia Kobabe and Lucky Srikumar with the cover of their book Opting Out

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Apr 27

A thread for OPTING OUT book tour events in May! @luckyscomix.bsky.social and I are doing events in New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, Missouri, Utah, and California next month :D 🧵

The cover of OPTING OUT, a middle grade graphic novel by Maia Kobabe and Swati "Lucky" Srikumar. The cover shows the main character, a 12 year old Desi teen named Saachi who has short black hair and brown skin, wearing a tshirt and shorts and gleefully dumping out a backpack full of eclectic items: a soccer ball, a sword, candy, pens, paper, a magazine, a book, a sunflower, a pumpkin vine, tape, a ruler, earrings and a nazar amulet.

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Apr 21

Gender Queer will be 7 years old in May. It's spent 5 of those years being in the top 3 most challenged books in the US. I am so grateful for everyone who is still reading it & defending it. 🧡💛💚💙 Read banned books! Fight for freedom of speech! Share trans stories! No on HR 7661!

A spread from Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition, a large coffee table size book, held open in front a background of green leaves. This spread has a penciled version of the one comic page, a small black and white comic, as well as notes in the margins.

A spread from Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition, a large coffee table size book, held open in front a background of green leaves. This spread has a small comic drawn by Mel Gillman as well as notes in the margins.

A spread from Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition, a large coffee table size book, held open in front a background of green leaves. This spread has a three black and white comics, a digital drawing by Ajuan Mance, and notes in the margins.

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Apr 21

A spread from Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition, a large coffee table size book, held open in front a background of green leaves. This spread has a digital drawing by Ajuan Mance as well as notes in the margins.

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Apr 21

The Annotated Edition of Gender Queer is almost here! from @oni-press.bsky.social In stores May 19. Many people, including myself, added notes, comments, thoughts, drawings, & extra comics to this edition! Pre-order here: bookshop.org/p/books/gend... more photos & gratitude in thread.

Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition, a large coffeetable size book, held open in front a background of green leaves so that the full wraparound cover art can be seen

A spread from Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition, a large coffee table size book, held open in front a background of green leaves. The book is so heavy it's rather hard to hold to up with one hand.

A spread from Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition, a large coffee table size book, held open in front a background of green leaves. This spread has penciled versions of the two comic pages as well as notes in the margins.

A spread from Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition, a large coffee table size book, held open in front a background of green leaves. This spread a small colored drawing by Rani Som as well as notes in the margins.

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Apr 11

A second starred review for OPTING OUT! This is my forthcoming book with @luckyscomix.bsky.social and Kirkus called it "Nuanced, necessary, and heartfelt" 🥰 review here: www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews... preorder here: bookshop.org/p/books/opti... The book is out on May 5 2026!

Kirkus reviews OPTING OUT by Maia Kobabe and Swati "Lucky" Srikumar and calls it "Nuanced, necessary, and heartfelt."

n this collaboration between Kobabe, celebrated for eir memoir, Gender Queer (2019), and debut creator Srikumar, middle schooler Saachi struggles with change.

Saachi loves fantasy novels, creative writing, and spending time with best friend Lyla. But the rising seventh grader doesn’t understand why Lyla and their other Waldorf school classmates are so excited about crushes and dating. Making matters worse, Saachi’s first period arrives, and with it, feelings of dysphoria. A puberty book from the library that covers trans and nonbinary identities helps Saachi realize that “I think I prefer things that fall in the middle.” Uncomfortable and miserable, Saachi withdraws socially, becomes hyperfocused on being published, and instigates conflict with classmate Isaac, all of which leads to a huge fight with Lyla, who, like Isaac, presents white. Indian American Saachi’s Tamil-speaking parents and younger sister are loving, offering both the support and space needed for figuring out questions of identity. Having an autobiographical poem accepted by a magazine is a confidence booster, leading to Saachi’s opening up to family and accepting that, as Appa said when the family visited their Hindu temple, change is a part of life. The co-authors expertly craft Saachi as a sometimes frustrating, often relatable, and very real tween, and the 12-chapter structure gives the yearlong story a consistent pacing. Kobabe and Srikumar’s artwork spotlights the characters’ facial expressions and body language. The artists effectively use color and other visual cues to convey Saachi’s feelings of being in between.
Nuanced, necessary, and heartfelt. (Graphic fiction. 9-13)

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Apr 6

I drew this zine in a workshop as part of the Earthly Procession series of Earth Day events in Santa Rosa, CA! You can still RSVP for the community build day on 4/12 at the Arlene Francis Center & build a puppet/costume/kinetic sculpture for the parade itself on 4/25: www.earthlyprocession.com

Back cover: Find info on light pollution at darksky.org. Zine made as part of The Earthly Procession, 2026.

Front cover: Seeing Stars by Maia Kobabe, @redgoldsparks

Page 1: Black and white ink drawing of a woman and a child point towards the starry night sky. The woman says "The two stars that make up the heads of the twins in Gemini are Castor and Pollux." The child asks "There?" Narration: I grew up in very rural Northern California with a neighbor who loved astronomy and taught me the names of stars and constellations.

Page 2: Narration: As an adult I share what I remember on group camping trips. Black and white ink drawings of silhouettes on a hillside pointing up at the night sky. Maia says "Polaris is the brightest star in Ursa Minor. That M shape is Cassiopeia." A friend says "Wow, how do you know all this?"

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Apr 3

HR 7661, the Federal book banning bill, is unfortunately still alive. Please call your reps and say NO ON HR 7661! You can read the bill's full text here and see if your Congressperson is one of the 19 co-sponsors: www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...

A digital drawing of author Maia Kobabe, a white nonbinary person with short brown hair wearing a patterned blue shirt, who scowls while holding up a copy of eir book GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR. Maia is saying: H.R. 7661 is a national book banning bill which seeks to remove any book that "involves gender dysphoria or transgenderism" from all public schools in the US. This would ban my books, and any other book with trans themes, from public schools. PLEASE call your House Reps and say: NO ON H.R. 7661!

Maia Kobabe@redgoldsparks· Apr 2

@luckyscomix.bsky.social and I will be at PLCAF in South San Francisco this Saturday April 4! smcl.org/comicartsfest/ Tabling from 10am-4pm, speaking on a panel together from 1-2pm. RSVP here: www.eventbrite.com/e/plcaf-smal...