Carousel: Comics Performance

THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2026 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT
Readings of graphic novels and comics, as performed by a diverse group of creators, featuring vivid projected imagery. A selection of some of the most exciting and inventive trends in graphic memoirs and fiction. Followed by a book signing.
Featuring: Morgan Boecher (Chicken Heart)
Makee (Call Me Emma: One Chinese Girl Finds Her Way in America)
Corinne Halbert (Scorpio Venus Rising)
Maria Hoey (The Shadower)
Kriota Willberg (Cadaver Chronicles)
and more.

Morgan Boecher is a Brooklyn-based comics writer and illustrator dedicated to telling trans stories with humor and heart. Their latest graphic novel, Chicken Heart, debuted in February, published by Street Noise Books. Their first book What’s Normal Anyway? started as a webcomic and became a traditionally published book that has now been translated and sold to educators and readers internationally. https://www.instagram.com/chickenheartlove/

Makee is a cartoonist based in Brooklyn, NY. A passionate advocate for hand-drawn art, she conveys her voice through bold ink strokes and fluid watercolors. In her debut graphic novel CALL ME EMMA, which was published in 2025, she created the story that was based on her personal experience of coming to America from China at 16 with family.
The book was chosen as a finalist for the 2026 Graphic Medicine Award.
https://www.instagram.com/makee_art/

Corinne Halbert is an Ignatz award-nominated cartoonist and horror artist living and working in the NYC area. Her art is heavily influenced by an avid obsession with 1970s cult films, vintage comics and the occult. She’s the creator of the comic book series, Acid Nun and Scorpio Venus Rising. Halbert received her BFA in Film Video from Massachusetts College of Art and her MFA in Painting and Drawing from School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
https://www.instagram.com/corinnehalbert/

Maria Hoey is an artist living in Brooklyn, New York. Together with her brother she makes the three time Eisner-nominated independent comic series: Coin-Op.
Publishers Weekly calls her latest graphic novel, The Shadower, “an unsettling postmodern espionage thriller crafted with mousetrap precision.” It is her fourth book published by Top Shelf/IDW
https://www.instagram.com/coinophoey/

Kriota Willberg is a graphic medicine cartoonist known for Draw Stronger: Self-Care for Cartoonists and Visual Artists (Uncivilized Books). Her memoir, Over My Dead Body, will be published by Fantagraphics in April 2027. Her comics appeared in 4PANEL.ca, SubCultures, Comics For Choice, Graphic Canon, Strumpet 5, Meandering Realms, etc. Her comic Silver Wire was nominated for a 2019 Ignatz Award. It’s in the BCALA and ALA Black Lives Matter Reading List.
https://www.instagram.com/kriotawillberg

R Sikoryak is the host of Carousel and his latest graphic novel is Declaration/Emancipation Illustrated.
https://www.instagram.com/carousel_comics_performances/