Grace Needs Space Cover

Grace Needs Space!

A sci-fi middle-grade graphic novel about a young girl’s long-awaited trip to the moons of Saturn with one of her two moms — her first time visiting a planet! But when her relationship with her mom goes sideways, so does her vacation. Will Grace be able to save her special trip before it ends?

by Benjamin A. Wilgus and Rii Abrego

★ “A genuine thrill.”
—Booklist, starred review

“The sci-fi setting creates high stakes for this realistic story of a tween ready for adventure, navigating her relationships with separated parents.’”
—School Library Journal
 
“A tender story that explores the complexity of familial bonds as deftly as it does the outer regions of space.”
—Kirkus Reviews

"Though the story takes place among the cosmos, the earthly truths surrounding love and connection proves artfully rendered." 
—Publishers Weekly

The Mars Challenge

Other Recent Publications

Flying Machines
Chronin Vol 2
Chronin Vol 1

Benjamin A. Wilgus is an Ignatz Award-winning writer of comics and prose, who tells emotionally intimate stories about small people in a big world. His most recent solo work is Chronin, a graphic novel duology which debuted in 2019 from Tor Books. He’s also written two works of graphic non-fiction for First Second Books: The Mars Challenge, illustrated by Wyeth Yates, and Flying Machines: How the Wright Brothers Soared, which was illustrated by Molly Brooks. He’s currently working on Grace Needs Space!, a middle grade sci-fi adventure that will be illustrated by Rii Abrego and published by Random House Graphic.

In his capacity as a freelance editor with First Second Books, Benjamin is the lead developmental editor on a variety of titles, working closely with authors to shepherd their books from outline to print. His editorial work includes Bubble and the #1 New York Times bestselling The Adventure Zone series. Along with Gina Gagliano, he’s co-host of Graphic Novel TK, a podcast about the nuts and bolts of graphic novel publishing.

Benjamin got his start as an animation writer for Codename: Kids Next Door, and he cut his teeth on comics writing with Avatar: The Last Airbender, including Zuko’s Story and many of the shorts in The Lost Adventures.

Benjamin graduated from New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts, where he studied animation within the Undergraduate Film and Television program. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Represented by Eddie Schneider at the JABberwocky Literary Agency. 

Short Comics

Short Prose