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All About Collaboration! A KCU Roundtable
January 22 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST
In this free roundtable discussion, we’ll get in-the-trenches insight from 3 sets of creators on a very hot topic in graphic novels: collaboration!! As you know, producing a graphic novel is a heck of a lot of work, and sometimes it makes sense to have more than one person involved!
But how do you find collaborators, what sort of payment and rights splits are typical, and how do you avoid problems in the relationship?
In this roundtable, we’ll get some answers to those questions! We’ll discuss:
1) how to find a great collaborator;
2) what you need to know about collaboration agreements;
3) what payment and rights arrangements make sense for your project;
4) how to ensure good communication and workflow
And we’ll be covering both traditional publishing and self-publishing collaboration situations!
Speakers
Ben O’Grady
Ben is a part time comics creator, having contributed to several anthologies in the last several years, including the first two volumes of Tales from the Cloakroom, the official anthology for the Scott Snyder online writing class. He was also an editor on volume 1 of Cloakroom, which fulfilled on Kickstarter for over $15,000. In his day job, Ben is an SEO expert, having spent 9 years as a senior SEO manager for Disney Parks and Disney+. He also provides freelance SEO services for select clients, including Kids Comics Unite and Comics Beat. Ben lives in Orlando, FL and has a 4 year old daughter named Lily and a black cat named Magic.
Briana Lawrence
Briana Lawrence is working to become the kind of woman her child self would consider giving a high five. She’s a writer, author, panelist, fanfiction enthusiast, manga hoarder, cat mom, professional puppy petter, and understands the importance of a well-timed save point. Briana is the Senior Features Editor at Crunchyroll News, where she works with an amazing team of writers to find ways to talk about how sports anime is good for your mental health (among other topics). She has a wide selection of book releases, like her self-published magical girl series “magnifiqueNOIR,” her award winning middle-grade “Fantasy Pin World” series (Andrews McMeel Publishing), “The Essential Manga Guide” (Running Press) and the fourth book in Andrea Towers’ “Gamer Girl” series that she helped coauthor (Andrews McMeel Publishing).
Website: https://www.brishouldbewriting.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/brichibi
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/BrichibiTweets
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/brichibisky.bsky.social
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brichibi
Brian Gonsar
Brian is an award-winning producer with a resume of feature films, music videos, art installations, and even a Super Bowl commercial. He is also a self-proclaimed donut aficionado, who has traveled the world to find the best donut. His middle grade graphic novel, Dracula’s Brunch Club (Oni Press, 2025) was on the Comic Beat’s Best Kids Comics of 2025 list. The sequel, DBC2: The Future Looks Bite, comes out with Oni Press in 2027. When he’s not writing and creating, Brian’s most likely reliving his glory days on the soccer field. He is a proud #girldad and lives with his wife and daughter in New Jersey.
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