KCU Pitchfest Showcase 2026 (Shortlist)
Entire 2026 Gallery | List of Judges | 2025 Showcase
Comics creators from around the world have submitted their unpublished projects to be previewed online by editors and agents. A panel of judges have selected the top pitches. The projects are archived here so that industry pros may view them and discover new talent.
The Every Day You
At a high school in Georgia, a teen struggles with things they don’t understand: undiagnosed mental illness, depression, isolation, and, ultimately, gender dysphoria. In order to try and work through these problems they’re drawn to volleyball- an all girls sport- as a boy.
In this graphic memoir, The Everyday You tells a quiet, funny, and deeply personal story about one transfem teen’s search for self-hood, and all the battles they face on the way to get there.
Age Range:
Young Adult (approx ages 13+)Genre:
BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Memoir, Neurodiversity Content, Nonfiction, Own Voices, Social-Emotional, Social Issues, SportsPage Count Estimate:
180
My Why:
Suicide attempts in trans and nonbinary teenagers rise up to 72% when anti-trans laws are passed- that stat was from 2018-2022. Since then, over two thousand anti-trans laws have been drafted.
Our world doesn’t want trans kids to exist- that’s suffocating! It’s isolating! When I was a kid, there were no stories or resources at all about what it meant to be trans. I felt alone.
With this memoir I want to show people- trans and cis teens, their parents, anyone- my experience, and what being trans is actually like. I chose sports as the focus because it's one of the biggest angles of attacks against transgender people. I want to confront and expose the misconceptions around why we get into sports- they’re the same as everyone else!
Comp Titles:
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, Funhome by Allison Bechdel, Spinning by Tillie WaldenMargaret-Bonibelle Mattson
Hey! My name's Margaret, and I'm a SCAD Grad (class of 23), and I'm a cartoonist living in Harrisburg Pa. I love cooking, drawing, and training MMA. (My best afternoons involve an hour on the mats and then a night of drawing!) I'm a debut author, although I've participated in the odd anthology here and there.
I like to make works that are full of care and as heartfelt as I can get them.