This workshop will show various techniques and exercises for writing autobiographical comics with the goal of starting a personal graphic storytelling collection, or a graphic memoir. Starting to tell the story of your life can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! For ten years, I made one-page comics that expressed aspects of my life that resonated with a wide audience. It started with a sharpie drawing with not-so-perfect figures. In this workshop, I will share exercises for turning your daily life into graphic expressions, as well as tools for structuring a narrative in interactive, visual ways. Whether you are just starting to express yourself through comics, or you’re looking for inspirations to add to a growing project, in this workshop you will learn about creating spontaneous, expressive autobiographical comics.

Yao Xiao is an award-winning author, cartoonist and illustrator. She is a MacDowell Fellow, Lambda Literary Award Finalist, Ignatz Award Nominee, and author of the graphic novel Everything Is Beautiful, And I’m Not Afraid. She is the creator of Baopu, a cartoon column on Autostraddle running in its 10th year, and is a cartoon contributor to The New Yorker. She has spoken about being a queer immigrant at The Stonewall National Museum and Archives, Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles, and Columbia University, and is named 100 Women We Love by GO Magazine. A prolific illustrator for clients such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and TIME Magazine, her work has been supported by Define American, Th!nk Chinatown, the Peter Bullough Foundation, and has received recognition from the Society of Illustrators. Yao Xiao currently teaches at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City where she lives and creates.