2026 Winners CBC Graphic Novel Advocate Award

An annual award celebrating individuals with an exemplary commitment and advancement for graphic novels as a literary source for children & teens.

This annual award celebrates individuals who demonstrate a lifetime of exemplary commitment and advancement for children’s, middle-grade, and young adult graphic novels as a literary source over the span of their career.

The Graphic Novel Committee is excited to present the 2026 CBC Graphic Novel Advocate Award winners.

2026 Winners

Gina Gagliano — Publisher, Industry Consultant, and Outreach Director at Boston Comic Arts Foundation

Gina Gagliano is an industry consultant working with independent presses (including Avery Hill, Difference Engine, Graphic Mundi, Levine Querido, Rosarium, and Street Noise Books). She is the Outreach Director for the Boston Comic Arts Foundation and supports aspiring comics creators as a thesis advisor for SVA’s MFA Graphic Narrative and as a volunteer for WNDB.

Maia Kobabe — Author of Gender Queer: A Memoir, Oni Press

Maia Kobabe’s GENDER QUEER: A Memoir was the USA’s most challenged book from 2021 to 2023. Eir short comics and writing have been published in The Nib, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, NPR, and Time Magazine. Maia’s second book is the nonfiction comic, BREATHE: Journeys to Healthy Binding, created with Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier. Eir third book, OPTING OUT, written with Swati Lucky Srikumar, is coming from Scholastic Graphix in May 2026.

Andrea Miller — Senior Designer, Graphic Novels at Abrams / Abrams Fanfare & Abrams ComicArts

Andrea “Andy” Miller is a Senior Designer working on graphic novels and manga at Abrams Books on the Abrams Fanfare and Abrams ComicArts lists. They’ve designed and art directed books with folks at Union Square & Co. Kids, Clarion Books, Versify, Harper Alley, Square Enix Books & Manga, Bloomsbury Kids, Levine Querido, and more. In 2019, Andy pitched a graphic novel imprint called ETCH for Houghton Mifflin Books for Young Readers, which launched a year later. She adores talking shop, offering technical and aesthetic guidance to improve the process of graphic novel creation. Their favorite job perk is choosing head and tail bands.

In the spring, we hosted a one-hour virtual conversation with the winners, hosted by Meg Lemke from Publishers Weekly, a winner last year.

The Children’s Book Council will donate $250 to each of the following charities in Gina, Maia, and Andrea’s honor: