
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.
Early praise for Precious Rubbish by Kayla E.
“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
“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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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 | Harvard University | 2013