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"Two people fall in love on earth and have a child together. But as the planet becomes uninhabitable and everyone starts evacuating to the space station orbiting above, the family gets separated. Told in three interwoven stories, this graphic novel follows the journey of Hannah, Leah, and Bird as they experience love and loss, joy, loneliness, desperation, and hope for a new future"--
About the author
FIONA OSTBY is an illustrator and comic artist with a PhD in illustration from Tokyo Zokei University. Their work focuses on atmosphere, feelings, and the experience of growing up LGBTQ+.
Space Story is their debut book, a graphic novel that explores those themes. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fiona currently lives in Tokyo, Japan. Visit her at FionaOstby.com.
Summary
A quietly powerful graphic novel of hope, separation, and perseverance in the journey to reunite with those you love.
"Set in a near future of apocalyptic threat and space colonization, Fiona Ostby's debut graphic novel, Space Story, is a queer love story full of wistful longing. . . Refreshingly, most characters are women or nonbinary and are matter-of-factly represented as queer. Many particularly touching spreads create parallels: a left-hand panel in red, opposite one in blue, show Leah and Hannah in separate beds, facing each other across an impossible divide. The simple layouts and focus on relationships turn a cosmic dystopia into something universal."
—Shelf Awareness, featured as one of the Best Books of the Week
"This is a story filled with bitter-sweet moments (but with a happy ending), and I am in love with it."
—BookRiot
"Economical and poignantly told, Ostby’s debut graphic novel sets a queer family’s separation drama against an apocalyptic backdrop. . . This is a touching love story for hard times."
—Publishers Weekly
Two women fall in love and start a family on a dying Earth.
Only one escapes to space.
Her family is still on the planet.
They won't give up until they find each other again.
From debut author Fiona Ostby, Space Story weaves an interstellar tale of discovering love and finding strength, courage, and hope—even in the darkest moments.
Foreword
AWARDS: submit widely for LGBTQ book awards (e.g. Stonewall Awards) and graphic novel awards
EVENTS: virtual/in-person events with indie bookstores and libraries (esp. queer focused)
REVIEWS: comprehensive outreach to LGBTQ reviewers and graphic novel reviewers (print, online, RTV/podcast)
ONLINE: social media campaign using illustrations
PROMOTION: DRC via Edelweiss; giveaways on LibraryThing and Goodreads; early outreach to key librarians and booksellers who focus on LGBTQ books and graphic novels
TRADESHOWS: giveaways and feature at ALA
