Traditional publishing says it wants diverse voices but when presented with them, they either tone them down to be more acceptable to the neurotypicals, or they make them so ridiculous and centre the neurotypicals, or worse, when speaking of POC, they center whiteness. I am very proud of a novel I wrote, which I have … Continue reading
Mild spoilers for the movie Soul ahead: Everyone is talking about Soul. The Pixar movie, released Dec. 25, 2020, is the first Black-led Pixar movie in the company’s 25 years of making films. It’s been lauded by critics for its messaging and direction, as well as criticized for its depictions of Blackness, mainly the fact … Continue reading
Editor’s note: Nicole’s piece was submitted on December 13, 2020 just after our holiday hiatus began. We are happy for it to start off our blog for 2021! Light spoilers ahead for The Happiest Christmas, Uncle Frank, and The Prom: The advertisements for The Happiest Season are everywhere. Maybe it’s because Instagram knows I’m queer, … Continue reading
Are you a Spoonie? Do you write? Then the Spoonie Authors Podcast wants YOU! The Spoonie Authors Podcast is dedicated to promoting disabled authors and educating the public about disability issues inside and outside of publishing. Each episode will feature an interview with a different author. If you are an author who is disabled, Deaf, … Continue reading
Editor’s note: I invited Derek Newman-Stille to share with us their own experience with writing fiction, as some people might only know them as a champion in elevating speculative fiction authors and/or disabled voices. Their short story, Charity™, is the grand finale of the Nothing Without Us anthology. Most of my writing about disability has … Continue reading
I have scars. Some are small, dots of white, thickened skin from IVs and needles. Some are grand and dramatic, hinting of glorious, terrifying wounds. I’ve written here and here about where they came from, so I won’t rehash it again. I always think of that day in May, shortly after my 37th birthday, as … Continue reading
The thing about sensitivity editing, and looking for content that might be inaccurate or offensive, is that no particular group is a monolith. This is the thought that entered my head when I was asked to be a sensitivity editor for any Indigenous content that appeared in the forthcoming anthology, Nothing Without Us. There are … Continue reading
This week I’m getting my geek on a bit. I am now in the post-Game-of-Thrones era, and while I pretty much despised most of the last three episodes, there’s one thing in particular that rubbed me the wrong way. WARNING: This article is spoilery, so maybe stop reading now if you want to watch Season … Continue reading
Rick Moranis’s character in the 1984 Ghostbusters movie asks everyone, “Are you the Gatekeeper?” When I first watched it in the theatre, for a measly $2.50 (and even that was free because my friend and I found a $5 bill outside the Sheraton Centre theatre), it was a fun plot piece. Now, 35 years later, … Continue reading
