UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — "Marry Me a Little," a nonfiction graphic novel by Rob Kirby that was published in February by Penn State University Press imprint Graphic Mundi, has landed on Oprah Winfrey’s list of the best books of 2023. In a November issue of O Quarterly dedicated to the year in literature, Kirby’s memoir was listed among the best “Conversation-Starting” books of 2023.
In "Marry Me a Little," Kirby recounts his experience of marrying his longtime partner, John, just after same-sex marriage was legalized in Minnesota in 2013, and two years before the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges made same-sex marriage the law of the land. Kirby relates how he and John navigated this changing landscape, how they planned and celebrated their wedding, and how the LGBTQ+ community is now facing the very real possibility of setbacks to marriage equality.
The graphic novel was called “wry, intelligent, compelling, and adorable” by Kirkus and an “intimate and urgent exploration of what marriage means” by Publishers Weekly. In addition to this latest accolade from Oprah, "Marry Me a Little" has also been named one of six “Vital New Works of LGBTQ+ Nonfiction” by Kirkus and listed among the "Top Ten Spring 2023 Adult Comics & Graphic Novels" by Publishers Weekly and "Top Ten Graphic Novels of 2023" by Booklist.
Graphic Mundi, the graphic novel imprint of Penn State University Press, launched in 2021 with the publication of "Covid Chronicles: A Comics Anthology," edited by Kendra Boileau and Rich Johnson. With the mission of “drawing our worlds together,” Graphic Mundi publishes graphic novels for adults and young adults from a wide variety of voices on topics such as health and human rights, politics, the environments, and science and technology. Learn more at graphicmundi.org.