MoCCA 2025 Application
Yao Xiao is a writer and artist based in New York City. She is a MacDowell Fellow, and the author of graphic novel Everything Is Beautiful, And I’m Not Afraid, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, Catapult, Lit Hub, and Autostraddle. She is working on a book about nostalgia and artmaking. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Hunter College and teaches at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Every year, Xiao brings new work to MoCCA for the New York audience. In this year’s application, the theme is language, homecoming, and nostalgia. Readers will find original comics that take us to the 2000s, outer space, and ancient China, through Xiao’s thoughtful comics fit for all ages.
Books and Zines to be Exhibited At MoCCA Fest 2025:
Book
Everything Is Beautiful, And I’m Not Afraid (2020)
This one-of-a-kind graphic novel explores the poetics of searching for connection, belonging, and identity through the fictional life of a young, queer immigrant. Inspired by the creator's own experiences as a queer, China-born illustrator living in the United States, Everything Is Beautiful, and I'm Not Afraid has an undeniable memoir quality to its recollection and thought-provoking accounts of what it's like to navigate the complexities of seeking belonging—mentally and geographically.
Zines
No Word Island PDF
<What can’t you express in English?> No Word Island is a comic that challenges the convention of how non-English words are depicted in immigrant comics, and explores the limit of language and the power of visual imagination.
Printed locally in New York Chinatown
::NEW:: Escape Pod
An astronaut keeps a journal about their life in space with a mysterious green cat. One day, they crash land a planet that the cat seems to recognize. Nestled in the form of an adventure story, the comic discusses themes of home, departure, and nostalgia.
Read work-in-progress
::NEW:: Autumn Tiger: Comics from Chinese Folklore
A collection of comics from Chinese folklore and classical poetry. Rendered in colorful digital style, these ancient folklores come to life in Yao Xiao’s new and original interpretation.
Sample Pages
Autumn Tiger: a folk proverb for the sudden rise in temperature in the Fall.
Ode to Goose: originally a poem by a child poet from the 700s, it is re-interpreted as a silent comic.
Lu Mountain’s Waterfall: comic translation of a romantic poem emblematic of Tang Dynasty poetry by Li Bai.
Alien Sketchbook
A zine about language, immigration, and art. A teenager who doesn’t speak English well makes friends and expresses herself through sketchbook drawings.
Drawing Grief
In 2020, grieving the loss of normalcy and grieving the loss of time with family in China motivated me to draw the shape of grief.
Select Prints
Passage
A comic based on the film series Yao Xiao curated at the Metrograph cinema: Coming of Age In A Disorienting World.
New York Summer Bingo Link on The New Yorker
New York vs. L.A. Link on The New Yorker | Link on Etsy
Best Friends Do Everything Together Link on Etsy
