Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Emma Steinkellner, Last Day Pool Party

Last Day Pool Party, a Middle-Grade Graphic Novel by Emma Steinkellner

Last Day Pool Party, a new Middle-Grade graphic novel by Emma Steinkellner for 2026 from Labyrinth Road

Published Fri, 16 May 2025 05:57:08 -0500

Article Summary

Last Day Pool Party is a standalone middle-grade graphic novel by Emma Steinkellner set for spring 2026.
Six kids from Orange Grove Junior High find adventure and friendship at an epic last day of school pool party.
The story explores friendship, popularity, and the messy realities of growing up in a vibrant, relatable way.
Labyrinth Road, an imprint of Random House, will publish this anticipated book from the author of The Okay Witch.

Last Day Pool Party is a standalone middle grade graphic novel by Emma Steinkellner, author/illustrator of The Okay Witch series and Nell of Gumbling. It is an adventure set over one epic day as six very different kids from Orange Grove Junior High collide at an unforgettable last day of school pool party. The story is about friendship, popularity, and the messiness of growing up.

Last Day Pool Party by Emma Steinkellner — A pool party, at least, by Emma Steinkellner. Maybe from a different project, though.

Liesa Abrams at Labyrinth Road has bought world English rights, and publication of Last Day Pool Party is planned for the spring of 2026. Emma Steinkellner's agent, Daniel Lazar at Writers House, negotiated the deal.

Emma Steinkellner is a graduate of Stanford University's Department of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, where she created, wrote, and illustrated her thesis, It Gets Weird. She is the author and illustrator of the middle grade graphic novel The Okay Witch published by Aladdin in 2019 that told the story of 13-year-old Moth Hush, who learns that magic is to be expected when you're a Hush in an adventure that spans centuries, generations, and even worlds as Moth unravels the complicated legacy of witches at the heart of her town, her family, and herself. Working in print and webcomics, Emma has illustrated projects with her sister, writer Kit Steinkellner, including the teen rom-com webcomic Aces and also with Sebastian Kaedlecik, the Eisner-nominated superhero coming-of-age story Quince, published by Fanbase Press. She is the creator of the comic diary Pow Slam Sparkle.

Labyrinth Road is an imprint of Random House Children's Books with a focus on contemporary fantasy and realistic literary novels. Founded by Liesa Abrams in 2020, she is the vice president and editor-in-chief of the imprint. Featuring works from both debut and well-known creators, the imprint publishes primarily middle-grade series as well as select high-concept literary YA books.

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