About
Benjamin is a Brooklyn-based comics creator, an editor of New York Times bestselling graphic novels, and a passionate advocate for comics as a medium.
His most recent work is Grace Needs Space! with artist Rii Abrego, and his previous books include The Mars Challenge, illustrated by Wyeth Yates, and Chronin, a solo graphic novel duology.
As an editor, Ben has worked for First Second Books, Penguin Random House, and Chooseco, the publisher of Choose Your Own Adventure.
His next book, Cody Has Joined The Chat, will be illustrated by Eric Lide and is coming soon from Random House Graphic.
Baker's Man
Baker’s Man is a feature-length screenplay about an American trans man who unexpectedly inherits a thriving YouTube channel after the death of its founder, and whose life is once again transformed when he moves back home to Saratoga Springs, New York, to take over the business.
Written as an MA thesis project, Baker’s Man is a workplace comedy with layers of mystery (Why was this company left to our hero?) and multiple detours into sex and romance (How many terrible love life decisions can he make, and will he learn from any of them?)
In it, Wilgus draws upon long-time fascinations with various real-world corporate dramas, from the 2021 inheritance scandal at Scholastic Corporation, to the collapse of the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen YouTube channel in 2020.
Wilgus also explores themes of transformation, impermanence and the gulf between how one understands themselves and how they’re seen by others.
Cover for Grace Needs Space!, published in 2023 by Random House Graphic
Professional practice
Asian Festival of Children’s Content, 2026
Masterclass presenter, 'Words and Pictures: Editing for Comics and Graphic Novels'
Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, 2024
Panelist, 'Comics Visual Literacy'
Small Press Expo, 2024
Panelist, 'The Pitfalls of Time Travel'
Texas Library Association Conference, 2023
Panelist, 'Flying off the Shelves: Graphic Novels that Entice'
Bronx Book Festival, 2023
Panelist, 'Speech Bubbles: Shouting Our Love of Graphic Novels'
Maplewood South Orange Book Festival, 2023
Featured author
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy STEM League, 2022
Featured author and panelist
Nebula Conference, 2021
Moderator and panelist, 'Actually Writing the Comic You Promised'
Nebula Conference, 2020
Moderator and panelist, 'Writing a Graphic Novel Proposal'
Nebula Conference, 2020
Moderator and panelist, 'Writing for Comics and Graphic Novels: Process and Collaboration'
Wiscon 2019
Panelist, 'Comics as Collaboration'
Toronto Comics Arts Festival, 2019
Panelist, 'It’s Science! in Comics'
Queers & Comics Conference, 2019
Panelist, 'Nonfiction Comics & Comics Journalism'
Queers & Comics Conference, 2019
Panelist, 'Print, Pixel, and Beyond: New Landscapes in Publishing'
Baltimore Book Festival, 2019
Featured author
Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo, 2019
Panelist, 'The Future is Now'
Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo, 2019
Panelist, 'Magic & Mayhem'
Omaha Comic Con, 2019
Featured author
San Diego Comic Con, 2017
Panelist, 'Real Life on the Page'
San Diego Comic Con, 2017
Panelist, 'Content Literacy: Teaching STEM with Comics'
Worldcon (MidAmeriCon), 2016
Panelist, 'Exploring the Solar System'
New York Comic Con, 2014
Panelist, 'Avatar The Last Airbender: Legend and Legacy'
Grace Needs Space!
Random House Graphic, 2023
Illustrated by Rii Abrego
Booklist Starred Review
The Mars Challenge
First Second Books, 2020
Illustrated by Wyeth Yates
Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards Winner for Best in Young Adult Non-Fiction, Pop Culture Classroom
Nominated for the Space Hipsters Book Prize
Winner of the Panda Book Awards, Older Reader category, International School of Beijing
I Came Out Late in Life. And That’s Okay
In The Nib, 2019
Featured in Be Gay, Do Comics, winner of the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Anthology
Chronin: The Sword in Your Hand
Tor Books, 2019
Chronin: The Knife At Your Back
Tor Books, 2019
A Neighborhood for Someone Else
In Analog Science Fiction and Fact, 2019
The Backstitched Heart of Katherine Wright
In Interzone Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine #279, 2019
A Barrow for the Living
In Analog Science Fiction and Fact, 2018
Science Comics: Flying Machines: How the Wright Brothers Soared
First Second Books, 2017
Illustrated by Molly Brooks
Selected as a featured title by the Junior Library Guild
A Wrinkle Ironed Out
In Daily Science Fiction, 2016
Noise Pollution
In Strange Horizons, 2015
The Last Wild Place
In Fantastic Stories of the Imagination, 2016
King Tide
In Terraform, 2014
Push Me To Sea
In Fight Like a Girl, 2013
Ang Fonteyn
Dan Wong
Catalina Rembuyan
Pratima Balabhadrapathruni
Adi Jamaludin
He Jia Wen
