by

Transcription of our Kickstarter video

Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too

We had a request for a transcription of our Kickstarter video. The video has closed captioning, but this transcription offers another way for people to enjoy what our authors and editors had to say about this project!

Cait Gordon, co-editor: Do you know any books that have main characters who are disabled and such? And I knew one!

Laurie Stewart, author: Well, there was nobody anywhere…who was like me.

Emily Gillespie, author: We don’t see ourselves represented.

Joanna Marsh, author: We grow up thinking that we can’t be heroes.

Shannon Barnsley, author: Like 20% of people have a disability and like 1% of the people on the screen do.

Elliott Dunstan, author: Often, the representations are awful.

Nathan Fréchette, publishing director and author: I’m tired of seeing myself as a serial killer.

Tasha Fierce, author: I think it’s self-evident why you would want, you know, people writing about their…

View original post 357 more words

by

NWU Author Interview: Derek Newman-Stille

Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too

Nothing Without Us is an own-voices, multi-genre collection of short stories where the protagonists identify as disabled, Deaf, neurodiverse, Spoonie, and/or manage mental illness.

Co-editor Cait Gordon interviews eight-time Prix Aurora Awards winner Derek Newman-Stille, author of Charity™, which will appear in the Nothing Without Us anthology this fall.

Story summary: It’s fundraiser time, when all the disabled folks are on display, hoping to entice the ever-so curious able-bodied donors to cough up some cash. After all, money from the Normies is all they have to live on, now that there are no other financial assistance programs. The better the inspiration, the higher the donation. Except . . . not every Crip wants to play the game.

Tell us about yourself! Also, maybe clarify the rumours that you’re planning on building an “Iron Throne” out of Prix Aurora Awards.

I am a Disabled, Queer writer, activist, artist, and academic…

View original post 2,404 more words

by

NWU Author Interview: Jamieson Wolf

Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too

Nothing Without Us is an own-voices, multi-genre collection of short stories where the protagonists identify as disabled, Deaf, neurodiverse, Spoonie, and/or manage mental illness.

Publishing director Nathan Fréchette interviews Jamieson Wolf, author of The Descent, which will appear in the Nothing Without Us anthology this fall.

Story summary: A wizard seeks a mystical Oracle to find out how he can be cured of his debilitating condition, known only to him as the pesky Max Shadow. He must descend a seemingly never-ending staircase unassisted, with Max as his constant companion.

Editor’s note: This interview was originally on video, but because of technical issues, has been transcribed with minor edits, for flow and clarity.

Tell us about yourself!

My name is Jamieson Wolf. I am first and foremost a writer, also an artist, storyteller, poet . . . If there are ways to be creative, I’ll do it! I’m married to…

View original post 1,386 more words

by

NWU Author Interview: George Zancola

Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too

Nothing Without Us is an own-voices, multi-genre collection of short stories where the protagonists identify as disabled, Deaf, neurodiverse, Spoonie, and/or manage mental illness.

Co-editor Cait Gordon interviews George Zancola, author of Flight, which will appear in the Nothing Without Us anthology this fall.

Story summary: It’s summertime in Toronto, during a heatwave in ’76. Tom and his sidekick Cathy have just escaped detention, hoping to begin a new way of life as they march through the city’s sweltering heat.

Tell us a bit about yourself as an author. Have you any published works? What sort of stories do you gravitate to as a writer?

I term myself a ‘mad’ writer, at least for the time being. I do this because I tend to write exclusively about the psychiatric experience. 

I published a poem last year in the Open Minds Quarterly. The poem was called Ode On Insanity…

View original post 624 more words

by

NWU Editors Interview: Cait Gordon and Talia Johnson

Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too

Nothing Without Us is an own-voices, multi-genre collection of short stories where the protagonists identify as disabled, Deaf, neurodiverse, Spoonie, and/or manage mental illness.

Nathan Fréchette, Publishing Director of Renaissance, interviews Cait “Pinky” Gordon and Talia “The Brain” Johnson, editors of the Nothing Without Us anthology this fall.

Story summary: In the beginning there was the Spoonies Author Network, then came the anthology

Watch now! Closed captions are available for this video.

Interview with Cait Gordon and Talia Johnson. Closed captions are available.

Please support our Kickstarter (April 1–April 30, 2019!)

Check out the rewards you can get for pledging to this anthology! We thank you for your support!

ID: Multi-coloured brick graffiti wall with Nothing Without Us spray-painted on it. The list of editors and authors is included in the text of this page.

Editors: Cait Gordon and Talia C. Johnson

With stories by:  Aus Bahadur, Carolyn…

View original post 47 more words

by

NWU Author Interview: Laurie Stewart

A disabled main character in a Samhain story? I’m feeling downright catered to.

Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too

Nothing Without Us is an own-voices, multi-genre collection of short stories where the protagonists identify as disabled, Deaf, neurodiverse, Spoonie, and/or manage mental illness.

Nathan Fréchette, Publishing Director of Renaissance, interviews Laurie Stewart, author of The Blessing Cookies, which will appear in the Nothing Without Us anthology this fall.

Story summary: It’s the Harvest Festival and time for the Blessing ritual. The family matriarch has been the Voice of Lethe for decades. The cookies must be doled out, and the crystal will decide. This will be a miserable day.

Watch now! Closed captions are available for this video.

Interview with Laurie Stewart. Closed captions are available.

Please support our Kickstarter (April 1–April 30, 2019!)

Check out the rewards you can get for pledging to this anthology! We thank you for your support!

ID: Multi-coloured brick graffiti wall with Nothing Without Us spray-painted on it. The list of…

View original post 71 more words

by

NWU Author Interview: Elliott Dunstan

Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too

Nothing Without Us is an own-voices, multi-genre collection of short stories where the protagonists identify as disabled, Deaf, neurodiverse, Spoonie, and/or manage mental illness.

Nathan Fréchette, Publishing Director of Renaissance, interviews Elliott Dunstan, author of Oliver Gutierrez and the Walking Stick of Destiny, which will appear in the Nothing Without Us anthology this fall.

Story summary: Oliver must make a decision about xyr cane, which is set against the corner, stalking xem. But before xe can figure it out, two familiar voices pipe in with their opinion on the subject.

Watch now! Closed captions are available for this video.

Interview with Elliott Dunstan. Closed captions are available!

Please support our Kickstarter (April 1–April 30, 2019!)

Check out the rewards you can get for pledging to this anthology! We thank you for your support!

ID: Multi-coloured brick graffiti wall with Nothing Without Us spray-painted on it. The list…

View original post 72 more words

by

NWU Author Interview: Tom Johnson

Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too

Nothing Without Us is an own-voices, multi-genre collection of short stories where the protagonists identify as disabled, Deaf, neurodiverse, Spoonie, and/or manage mental illness.

Co-editor Talia Johnson interviews Tom Johnson (no relation), author of Jungle Demon, which will appear in the Nothing Without Us anthology this fall.

CW: Tom mentions a genre of the past that used ableist/antiquated terms.

Story summary: In an African wood of dense trees and vines resides a monster who could even be part of the jungle itself. N’Domo Demon is the game given to this creature, once a man, who now observes human life from the fringes.

Tell us a bit about yourself as an author. Do you have any published works. What sort of stories do you gravitate to as a writer?

I was born in Seymour, Texas, in the summer of 1940. My dad was a cowboy and cook. He tried to…

View original post 635 more words

by

NWU Author Interview: Diane Koerner

Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too

Nothing Without Us is an own-voices, multi-genre collection of short stories where the protagonists identify as disabled, Deaf, neurodiverse, Spoonie, and/or manage mental illness.

Co-editor Talia Johnson interviews Diane Koerner, author of Panic in Paradise, which will appear in the Nothing Without Us anthology this fall.

Tell us a bit about yourself as an author. Do you have any published works? What sort of stories do you gravitate to as a writer?

I worked as a journalist for the Big Island Weekly newspaper for several years, contributing a weekly Holistic Approach and a Greener Hawaii column. They were written to inspire people to make positive changes for their own health and the health of our environment. After attending the Kauai Writers’ Conference last November, I decided to try my hand at fiction and am excited about being part of an ongoing critique group now. The next story I’m working…

View original post 923 more words

by

NWU Author Interview: Jennifer Lee Rossman

Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too

Nothing Without Us is an own-voices, multi-genre collection of short stories where the protagonists identify as disabled, Deaf, neurodiverse, Spoonie, and/or manage mental illness.

Co-editor Cait Gordon interviews Jennifer Lee Rossman, author of Names, which will appear in the Nothing Without Us anthology this fall.

Story summary: When a coyote crosses Beck’s path, it’s jolting. Mostly because the animal has ‘people’ eyes. And Beck might be the only one in the town who knows why.

I follow you on Twitter and you seem to write all the things! Tell us a bit about yourself and why you love writing short stories.

That I do! I am autistic and have spinal muscular atrophy, and I write because real world is boring. It doesn’t have time travel, or dinosaurs, or monsters with people eyes. Writing is a way for me to… fix that.

What was it about NWU that made you…

View original post 776 more words