The writers (and editors and publishers) of the book you now hold in your hands have this in common: we all diverge in some way(s) from the normative, the expected, the acceptable. We've all been pathologized, scrutinized, corrected - often, in horrible ways.As [we] write this, the United States finds itself in a new test chamber, one whose outputs will inevitably affect the rest of the world. Those of us throughout the world who find ourselves already marginalized, like the authors represented here, will suffer first, but we will not suffer alone. We all need the tools of defiance and resistance.In Spoon Knife 2: Test Chamber, we explore what happens when the tools of defiance and resistance are applied to a particular purpose or demand. We test the test chamber in which we find ourselves, and in so doing, we find the power to subvert it.

The Spoon Knife Anthology collects the work of over 25 authors, including Autonomous Press partners, disability studies scholars, established prose and poetry artists, and emerging storytellers from a variety of backgrounds. Together, these writers deliver a series of meditations on compliance and consent that are simultaneously intimate and alienating. "This jewel of a collection had me crying, laughing in parts, and becoming outraged. I hope that everyone in the care-taking communities of medicine and mental health reads these rare and wonderful first hand accounts for their own education." - Judy Grahn, author of A Simple Revolution, Another Mother Tongue, and Love Belongs to Those Who Do the Feeling "At the nexus of sexuality/sexual identity and disability resides a community that is as othered as one can be. And as has always been true, there resides in such a marginalized community wisdom about the human condition that is timely and necessary. We who do not understand the gradations and dynamism of Autism and other neural and generally physical challenges, who do not understand the gradations and dynamism of human sexuality, must humble ourselves before the varied voices of this community. They are our teachers. Michael Monje and her associate have gathered and produced an important anthology." - Richard Katrovas, author of Raising Girls in Bohemia and Swastika into Lotus

Fiction, memoir, and poetry by 23 writers.Navigating life can be joyous, frustrating, frightening, sorrowful, and complex. Among all these realities we usually find one truth that always remains: the unknown. And what do we do when confronted with the unknown? We might fear it, try to avoid it entirely, or charge towards it with aplomb or gusto.Speculative fiction has long dealt with themes surrounding the unknown. Sci-fi and fantasy themes have allowed their creators to conceptualize how space and time can exist, merge, warp, or even disappear in strange and terrifying ways. How in the hell do you map a black hole? Can you really kill your own grandfather? And what happens if your past self travels forward and meets the present iteration of you? What do past, present, and future even mean?

This third volume of the annual Spoon Knife anthology features new stories from three generations of cutting-edge queer and neurodivergent authors:Ada HoffmannAlexeigynaixAlyssa GonzalezAlyssa HillaryAndee JoyceAndrew M. ReichartB. AllenDora M. RaymakerEliza RedwoodJeff BakerJudy GrahnMelanie BellMike JungN. I. NicholsonNick WalkerOld Cutter JohnR. L. MosswoodSean CravenSteve SilbermanVerity ReynoldsIn these pages you'll find speculative fiction, magical realism, memoir, poetry, alternate history, and more, side-by-side or fused together into genre-bending mutant hybrid literary forms.In these pages you'll find night terrors, ancient goddesses, cyborg burglars, autistic superheroes, zeppelin armadas, interdimensional space pirates, spiritualist robot mechanics, and the meddlesome agents of the Reality Patrol.Spoon Knife 3: Incursions is a book that will expand your horizons, challenge your perceptions, invade your dreams, and inject its larvae into your brain. Read it before the Reality Patrol bans it.

Rest stop: a respite of last resort. This sixth installment of the Spoon Knife anthology brings together genre-bending fiction, memoir, and poetry about road trips, desperation, and solace. Featuring works from 20 authors.

Lambda Literary Award 2014 Finalist in LGBT Nonfiction Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award 2014 Finalist in Family & Relationships Independent Publisher Book Awards 2015 (IPPY) Silver Medal in Sexuality/Relationships Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2015 Winner in LGBT -- What if you weren't sexually attracted to anyone? A growing number of people are identifying as asexual. They aren’t sexually attracted to anyone, and they consider it a sexual orientation—like gay, straight, or bisexual. Asexuality is the invisible orientation. Most people believe that “everyone” wants sex, that “everyone” understands what it means to be attracted to other people, and that “everyone” wants to date and mate. But that’s where asexual people are left out—they don’t find other people sexually attractive, and if and when they say so, they are very rarely treated as though that’s okay. When an asexual person comes out, alarming reactions regularly follow; loved ones fear that an asexual person is sick, or psychologically warped, or suffering from abuse. Critics confront asexual people with accusations of following a fad, hiding homosexuality, or making excuses for romantic failures. And all of this contributes to a discouraging master narrative: there is no such thing as “asexual.” Being an asexual person is a lie or an illness, and it needs to be fixed. In The Invisible Orientation, Julie Sondra Decker outlines what asexuality is, counters misconceptions, provides resources, and puts asexual people’s experiences in context as they move through a very sexualized world. It includes information for asexual people to help understand their orientation and what it means for their relationships, as well as tips and facts for those who want to understand their asexual friends and loved ones.

The work of queer autistic scholar Nick Walker has played a key role in the evolving discourse on human neurodiversity. Neuroqueer Heresies collects a decade's worth of Dr. Walker's most influential writings, along with new commentary by the author and new material on her radical conceptualization of Neuroqueer Theory. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the foundations, terminology, implications, and leading edges of the emerging neurodiversity paradigm.

DIVAn American poetry classic, in which former citizens of a mythical midwestern town speak touchingly from the grave of the thwarted hopes and dreams of their lives. /div

This eighth volume of the annual Spoon Knife neuroqueer lit anthology features two dozen strange tales in which things are never quite what they seem -- tales of smoke and mirrors, both literal and metaphorical -- from 24 authors: J S Allen, Charles R Bernard, Chris Campeau, Samantha Carr, C B Droege, James Fritz, Orrin Grey, Amanda Hard, Brian Jenkins, Eben Lou, R J Lynch, Mark McElroy, Donna J W Munro, Scott Nicolay, Mark A Nobles, Noley Reid, J L Royce, Guy Russell, Dani Alexis Ryskamp, Heather Truett, Alice G Waldert, Nick Walker, George Wehrfritz, Cirrus Wood