Spark Artist

Shay Mirk (they/she) is a graphic journalist, editor, and teacher who has lived in Portland since 2008. Shay is the co-founder of Crucial Comix, a teaching press devoted to publishing narrative nonfiction comics and building comics communities. Shay’s newest book, Making Nonfiction Comics: A Field Guide to Graphic Journalism, debuted from Abrams ComicsArts in November 2025. They are the author of five other books, including Guantanamo Voices: True Stories from the World’s Most Infamous Prison, an illustrated oral history of Guantanamo Bay. Shay started their career as a journalist for independent media outlets, including working as a reporter for the Portland Mercury and as the online editor for Bitch Media. For six years, Shay was a contributing editor at comics publication The Nib, where projects they worked on won both Eisner and Ignatz awards. From 2019-2023, Shay worked as a digital engagement producer at Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, co-writing the investigative comics series In/Vulnerable, which won an RFK Human Rights Award for Journalism in 2021. They are also a prolific zine-maker who runs a zine of the month club and truly loves giving zines away for free.