Hi-ho, it’s your friendly SpAN editor! Wow, it’s been just over two years since the first post of the Spoonie Authors Network, and a lot of cool things have happened. Let’s reflect!
New contributors!
We were so happy to have five new contributors donate their time and talents to bring us their most excellent posts. Thank you so much for being a part of our network!
You can click the following links to read their bios!
New series!
We saw two series this year, and I really liked how they turned out. If you have ideas about a series for 2019, please leave a comment on this post!
Disability Tropes 101
When Derek Newman-Stille approached me with their idea of a series about common tropes to avoid when crafting disabled characters, how could I say no? We received a lot of positive feedback on Disability Tropes 101. The articles make great reference material. You can read them all!
Spoon Stealers
SpAN contributor Jen Desmarais sent me an article about an upsetting experience she had using public transit while travelling with her toddler and using a large stroller. I wasn’t sure at first how we could incorporate it into the blog, but then it hit me: We’re Spoonies. We have things in our lives that steal our spoons! So, thanks to Jen, the six-part Spoon Stealers series happened! Click here to read them all!
Our contributors published stuff!
A few of our contributors had works published in 2018!
- Jamieson Wolf—Life and Lemonade (Renaissance)
- ’Nathan Burgoine—Of Echoes Born and Exit Plan for Teenage Freaks (Bold Strokes Books)
- Cait Gordon (that’s me)—A Night at the Rabbit Hole (short story) in the Alice Unbound Beyond Wonderland anthology (Exile Editions)
- Amy Young—A Desert Song (Amy M. Young)
- Derek Newman Stille (anthology editor)—Over the Rainbow: Folk and Fairy Tales from the Margins (Exile Editions)
- Dominic Bercier—SIGNAL Saga (Mirror Comics Studio)
- Angela S. Stone and ’Nathan Burgoine—Saving the Date (Decadent Publishing Company, LLC)
- Nathan Fréchette—Skin Deep (short story) in the Over the Rainbow: Folk and Fairy Tales from the Margins anthology (Exile Editions)
Awardy things happened!
Derek Newman-Stille won their eighth Aurora Award for Speculating Canada, and Jen Desmarais’ super-fun Travelling TARDIS blog was nominated for an Aurora!
Laurie Stewart was a producer on Reliving Marilyn, which won the silver at the International Independent Film Festival! Crickey!
Nothing Without Us anthology
This fall saw the launch of my dream as a disabled human and editor, thanks to Renaissance press. We published the call for submissions for the Nothing Without Us anthology, where we asked for short stories featuring main characters who identify as disabled, Deaf, blind, neurodiverse, Spoonie, and/or who manage mental illness. The best part is that I get to co-edit the collection with my BFF, sensitivity editor and SpAN contributor Talia C. Johnson. Submissions are still open until Dec 31, 2018!
I know I missed things!
I’m typing this report while functioning on half-a-spoon this morning, so a thousand apologies to my contributors if I’ve forgotten to list your 2018 achievements. Please write me using our contact us form, and I’ll update the report with your awesomeness. You are the best, folks, and there would be no network without you!!!
We welcome your articles!
The Spoonie Authors Network is still a volunteer-only blog because we don’t have funding to pay our wonderful contributors. We try to signal boost when we can and are so grateful to all of you. Your articles have expanded my views and I’m inspired (but not in an inspiration-porn way) by your amazing selves.
We’re always looking for new contributors, so if you’d like to write for the SpAN, please review our submission guidelines!
Have a wonderful holiday season and let’s hope for great things and a lot of spoons in 2019!
Much love,Cait G!
Editor
Spoonie Authors Network 
Congrats to all you talented people! Wishing you much inspiration and success in the coming year. Great work with SpAN, Cait. Thank you.
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