Fableself
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Gift guide · Graduation

A Graduation Gift for the Story So Far

Graduation gifts tend to point forward, pens, watches, luggage. But the moment itself looks backward: at the friendships, the all-nighters, the person they slowly became. That story deserves a binding.

An illustrated page from a Fableself book, Graduation

Comic book and pop art styles fit the energy of the milestone; manga suits the friend group that lived in the library. The graduate is the protagonist; the campus, the dorm, the team, all supporting cast.

Parents often commission it as the surprise at the family dinner. Have the photos ready two weeks ahead and the proof arrives in time.

Before you order

When should you order?
Three weeks before the ceremony is comfortable: a few days for the proof, one to two weeks for printing and delivery once you approve it. Graduation has a quieter advantage over a birthday, though. The book lands just as well in the flat month afterwards, when everyone has stopped congratulating them and the next thing has not started.
The detail that brings the story to life
Not the grade and not the degree title. The years are the story: the shared flat with the broken boiler, the module they nearly failed, the friend who talked them out of dropping out in the second year. A book about achievement is dull. A book about what it cost is the one they keep.
Who is it actually for?
Often the graduate, sometimes the parents, and the two want different books. A book for the graduate can be funny and specific and full of in-jokes. A book the parents will keep needs the outsider to understand it too, which usually means fewer private references and a style with more gravity, like vintage engraving over comic book.

Styles that suit the occasion

Four illustration worlds we reach for most often. There are twenty-four in total.

See all 24 styles

How it works

Send a few photos and the moment you want remembered. We write an original story, illustrate every page in your chosen style, and send you a digital proof. You approve it before any payment is taken; then we print and ship the hardcover.

The whole process, step by step

From the journal

Start their book

Most books are proofed within days. Tell us the moment; we do the rest.

Begin the story

Hardcover, $137.50, shipping included. You approve a digital proof before paying.