about kayla e.
Kayla E. (she/her) is an award-winning Texas-born artist of Mexican American descent. She works as creative director at Fantagraphics and is a recipient of a 2023-2024 Princeton Hodder Fellowship. She is the co-founder and former President of Nat. Brut Inc., a non-profit that produces an art and literary magazine, of which she was the Editor-in-Chief for nine years. She earned her B.A. in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University, where she served as the Art Director for the Harvard Lampoon. Precious Rubbish, her graphic novel debut, is a work of trauma recollection told in the style of post-war children’s comics. Kayla lives in North Carolina with her wife and two dogs. You can find her at kaylaework.com and on Instagram @precious.rubbish.
Praise for Precious Rubbish by Kayla E.
“Kayla E. uses her medium to striking effect: her wry portrait reveals a fresh eye, at once vulnerable and undaunted.” —The New Yorker
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“Precious Rubbish is a scream as precisely pitched as a middle C from a tuning fork . . . Her work is such an unexpected mixture of control and frankness that it is impossible to ignore.” — The New York Times
“This four-color atomic bomb of a comic signals the arrival of a formidable talent.” — ★ Publishers Weekly Starred Review
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“[A] hauntingly shocking debut graphic memoir.” — ★ Booklist Starred Review
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“A landmark comics achievement. [Precious Rubbish] uses comics storytelling in unique ways that I’ve never seen before and am not sure I’ll ever see again. Precious Rubbish is an early book of the year contender.” — The Beat
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“Several times before I could finish it, I had to put Kayla E.’s Precious Rubbish aside ― [it's] just that intense and powerful. Before you think I’m being too coy or flippant about something so heavy and real, let me tell you that the book is also funny ― albeit in the driest, darkest, laughing-so-as-not-to-cry way.” ― Style Weekly
"Simply terrifying and truly unforgettable." ― Ms. Magazine
“★ ★ ★ ★ ★ FIVE STARS STUNNING! Precious Rubbish has the biblical-level artistry and poetry of William Blake combined with the playful commercialism of Mad Magazine.” — Maria Bamford
“This is the scariest book I have ever read.” — Mark Newgarden
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“Precious Rubbish may help you come to terms with some things you’ve been privately avoiding or even things about yourself you didn’t know.” — Chris Ware
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“Kayla E.’s comics remind me of the orphan-in-jeopardy genre. She is cast as a plucky heroine you root for and yet wonder, ‘How can she possibly escape?’ The answer is through the author’s courage, wit, and originality. If one person’s trash is another's treasure, Precious Rubbish is transmutation at its most therapeutic.” ― Tim Hensley
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“Precious Rubbish is a triumph of pure resilience―a psychic thick, dark syrup of personal pain, humiliation, and suffering. And it will make you laugh inappropriately (and guiltily), which is the highest praise I can give.” ― Ivan Brunetti
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“A staggering achievement.” ― Rob Clough
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“Precious Rubbish is a masterpiece.” ― Noah Van Sciver
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HONORS & AWARDS
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Mary Mackall Gwinn Hodder Fellow | Princeton University | Lewis Center for the Arts | 2023-2024
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Rockower Award in Layout and Design | American Jewish Press Assoc. | 2021
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American Illustration 40 | AI-AP | 2021
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Whiting Literary Magazine Prize | Nat. Brut | 2020
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American Illustration 37 | AI-AP | 2016
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Albert Alcalay Prize in Visual Arts | Harvard University | 2013