Autonomous Press is now accepting submissions of short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry for the 10th volume of Spoon Knife, our annual genre-bending lit anthology.

Please read this whole page carefully before submitting; some details have changed this time around!

Theme

The theme for Spoon Knife 10 will be Polarities.

Polarities: pairs of opposite forces or qualities or tendencies. Good and evil. Love and hate. Life and death. Heroism and villainy. Feminine and masculine. Night and day. Vice and virtue. Old and new. Order and chaos. The public persona and the hidden shadow self. The mundane everyday world and that which lies beyond.

What polarity lies at the heart of your story? In what ways does it manifest? What happens when the two sides of the polarity come into contact or conflict, or when one transforms into the other?

What We’re Looking For

One of the things that’s always set Spoon Knife apart from other anthology series is the wild diversity of genres represented in each volume. Each volume has its own theme, and we aim to show how that theme can be woven into stories across multiple disparate genres.

In a given volume of Spoon Knife, you might find the theme explored in tales of magical realism, science fiction, absurdist satire, swords-and-sorcery, historical romance, and horror, not to mention creative nonfiction and poetry. We especially love stories that defy established genre categories or creatively blend genres.

Ultimately, our criteria for assessing a submission boil down to this: is it a good, engaging, and well-written story that plays with the volume’s theme in an interesting way?

If you’re not familiar with Spoon Knife, please have a look at our most recent volume (that would be volume 8 at the moment, since 9 is still in press) to get a sense of what we’re after.

What We’re Not Looking For

We don’t accept simultaneous submissions, or work that’s already been published elsewhere.

We don’t accept fanfic; any fictional characters or settings featured in your work must be your own original creations.

Though we love well-written tales of social satire, we don’t accept preachy or transparently didactic work that beats the reader over the head with some simplistic political lesson which could have been summed up in a social media post. 

Editors

Spoon Knife 10 will be co-edited by Nick Walker and Azzia Walker.

Timeline

The deadline for submissions is July 31st, 2025.

Contributors will be notified of acceptance or rejection in January 2026.

Spoon Knife 10 will be published in May 2026.

Submission Format

We only accept submissions in the form of Word documents (either .doc or .docx files).

All submissions must meet the following formatting criteria in order to be considered for publication:

• 1-inch margins all around.
• No headers, footers, or page numbers.
• No title page, just the title and your name at the beginning of the first page.
• 12-point Times New Roman font.
• Line spacing set at 1.5 (not single-spaced or double-spaced).
• Absolutely no underlining; use italics instead.
• For em dashes, please use the em dash character (not a hyphen or pair of hyphens), with no space in between the em dash and the surrounding words.
• Use serial commas (aka Oxford commas).
• Thoroughly proofread and spell-check your submission before sending.

Non-poetry submissions must also follow these formatting guidelines:

• First line of each paragraph indented this one doesn’t apply to poetry submissions.
• No extra whitespace between paragraphs (i.e., only hit Return once after each paragraph)

Maximum length for submissions is 10k words. Exception: You can assume this limit to be as flexible as you need it to be if you’re an author whom we’ve published in a previous Spoon Knife volume or whose submission the editors have actively solicited.

Submission Process

Email all submissions to info@autpress.com. The subject line of your email should be your name plus the words “Spoon Knife 10 Submission.” Because we get a ridiculous amount of email, it’s important that you follow this email title format in order to prevent your submission from accidentally getting overlooked.

Due to limited space and the large number of submissions each volume receives, we’ll only accept one story per author.

If you’re submitting poetry, you may send up to three poems (please send all of them in a single email).

There’s no need to send an author bio with your submission. If your submission is accepted, we’ll be reaching out to you for a bio closer to the date of publication.

Our editorial process for accepted submissions includes a close copy-edit. We’ll check in with you if it looks like there needs to be any change to your piece beyond basic typo fixes. Please note that we do not send pre-print author proofs.

Payment and Rights

Payment for accepted submissions will be $30 plus 1 cent per word, sent near the time of the book’s release. You’ll also receive a free contributor copy of the book, with the option of purchasing additional copies at a deeply discounted wholesale rate.

You retain the rights to reprint your work elsewhere in the future, as long as you wait until at least six months after this volume of Spoon Knife is published.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful writing with us. How do you feel with Soul Writing out in the world?

First I feel deep gratitude to Autonomous Press for ushering it out into the world with such skill and care. So, thank you. I’m learning just how much faith it takes to do something like this. I know it doesn’t hold a candle to parenting, but I do feel like I’ve launched my little creation into the world knowing I’ve done all I can, and now just have to trust that it’s doing OK, making friends, connecting with the people it’s meant to. Maybe it’s even helping in some way, and at the very least doing no harm.

I’m also still a little shocked at how this unfolded. My original intention had been to create something like an e-course or pamphlet-type thinggie that would give folks a sense of what Soul Writing workshops are like. But once I started writing, so much poured through me that before I knew it I had nearly enough words for a book. This is very unusual for me, so I took this as a sign that it was ready to become… something. Luck and serendipity landed it in the hands of Autonomous Press who helped me realize it fully, and it became much more than I ever thought it would. So yes, I’m still reeling a bit.

We imagine that your audience ranges from experienced writers to anyone looking to awaken their creativity. What would you like your readers to gain from the experience?

That is very true—folks attracted to this work run the gamut in terms of writing experience, but I have to admit that there is a special place in my heart for beginners. I love when folks show up at workshops saying, “I’m not a writer,” or “I don’t actually know I’m here,” and who are ultimately surprised by what comes through them. I suppose that is my hope for the book as well: for people to work with the prompts and discover that they have more to say than they thought, that the process is fun and cathartic, and maybe even that they are creative and can write.

Also, since sharing and supportive feedback are such essential elements of Soul Writing, I’d be over the moon if folks worked through the book together. Like, maybe an existing writing group uses the prompts or concepts for a while, or maybe a new group or community even forms around it. There is actually a Discord server that I created with that second intention in mind—anyone who is working through the book is more than welcome to post their writing there.

In terms of your own creativity, what are you up to these days to alight that spark? And is this orientation shifting as your work develops?

Great question. I think part of why I created Soul Writing is because it’s always been difficult for me to create alone. I’ve always preferred the atmosphere of a class or informal gathering over shutting out the world and creating in a vacuum. Of course solo work is necessary sometimes, but for me (ironically an introvert), there is something about a mix of souls that brings the juice. For that reason I’m part of a few different groups—Soul Writing and otherwise—to share the creative process with.

And yes, it certainly shifts. Lately I’ve been playing with different forms of writing… for instance I just took a course where we wrote three lines every day in response to a particular prompt, and have since begun playing with verse on my own. I’ve also been craving doing more visual art. I found a cool journal that gives a daily drawing prompt that I respond to with the tools at hand—namely the same trusty pens I use to write.

Funny, in writing this response I’m seeing how much of a role prompts—including these questions!—play in sparking my creativity.

Lastly, movement is vital for my creative expression and my life in general. I walk every day and travel as much as I can. It’s hard for me to see, process, or create if I’m physically stagnant or doing the same thing over and over.

We read your blog avidly and it sounds like a phenomenal experience of discovering your birth family. Do you have plans for another book?

Aw, thanks for reading! It has been a phenomenal experience indeed. Yes, there are plans… and then there’s what’s happening.

This story is (perhaps all stories are) its own being: one that is big, complex, sensitive, and still unfolding. Yes, it’s “my” story, but it also feels like something I exist alongside and must cooperate with. When I come at it, arms outstretched, saying “Imma make a book out of you!” it—the story itself—shrinks back in alarm. So I’m giving it space, letting it tell the pieces of itself it’s ready to reveal—publicly and otherwise. It’s allowing me, as you’ve seen, to capture snippets in the form of essays. Maybe one of these days there will be enough of those to compile into a [whispering, so it doesn’t hear] b-o-o-k. I actually think this is what I’ve needed as a soul, as a person, so it makes perfect sense that the story is echoing that.

In the meantime I keep the door open and the light on to welcome whatever is ready to be written. I’m always curious about how I can be an ever more capable vessel to convey whatever wants to come into the world, and am open to wherever that inquiry leads me.

Thanks for asking these questions. I learned a lot by answering them.

How has the experience been so far of having a book in the world?

It’s a sense of relief that I have finally achieved a dream that one day I would write a book about Vietnam to honor my mother and my homeland. I have known for years that I wanted to do that and it finally happened. It’s like sending a gift to those I know and also don’t know, and maybe for years to come. 

What got you engaged with Autonomous Press?

I am thankful to Nick Walker, Chief Editor of Autonomous Press and Aikido Sensei of the Aiki Arts Dojo in Berkeley, who offered to publish this book after another Press I was working with went bankrupt.

Have you reconnected with any of the people that we meet in your book since it came out?

The book is a collection of short stories about people and the defining moments in my life. Since I started writing about them, I have reconnected with Titus Peachy, a Mennonite who taught me English in Saigon back in 1973. We reconnected about 4 years ago when I set out to look for him and found him through the Internet. Although we don’t see each other much, Binh and I remain life-long friends. I see Dr. Ni every time I return to Vietnam and we travel together to see the progress he has made in poor villages.  Of course, I have written about family members and they are closer to me than ever before.

What advice would you offer to new writers, or experienced writers looking to get started with memoir?

I didn’t start out writing a book like this. Trained as a career scientist and manager, I didn’t know much about creative writing and it is a totally different way to communicate. I am still a novice writer as this is my first book.  From my experience, I’d say take some classes, surround yourself with other writers who give you honest and helpful feedback, and employ good editors. Nothing beats fresh eyes. Write from the heart and make the reader care.

Are there more stories you would like to share in a future project?

Yes, I am thinking of a second book, a sequel if you will. In Skinny Woman in a Straw Hat, the theme is about a Viet Kieu returning home and finding himself between the two worlds, not belonging totally to either. In the next book, perhaps I will explore the life of a Viet Kieu with current challenges and issues here in America. 

Has the process of getting this book into the hands of readers changed you? 

Yes.  I am humbled by the amount of work it takes to write and get a book published. Further, it is a challenge to get the book widely recognized and I am still working on it. So far, I am pleased with the positive response from the readers. Often, the audience are people who have lived through the Vietnam “era” and have experienced the war from different perspectives. Sometimes, the reception comes from people who don’t know much about Vietnam and love to explore other cultures. However, the most rewarding feedback to me comes from the next generation of Vietnamese Americans. They want to know more about their refugee parents who have focused on survival and don’t want to look back and talk about their own harrowing journeys.

We are delighted to share two new books: Spoon Knife 7 – Transitions and Tinfoil Hats. These anthologies are designed to show beautiful new ways of living outside of social norms. When we imagine freely and make bold choices, amazing paths open up. You can order on our website, and the paperbacks will ship in April 2023.

Please stay tuned for Spoon Knife 8 – Smoke and Mirrors. Submissions are open through July 2023, with publication in Spring 2024.

Submissions for Spoon Knife 8 are now closed, unless you’re a contributor to previous volumes and have a prior agreement with an editor regarding a late submission.

Submissions are open for Spoon Knife 10. See the Spoon Knife 10 Call for Submissions here.

Autonomous Press is now accepting submissions of short fiction, short literary memoir, and poetry for the eighth volume of Spoon Knife, our annual genre-bending lit anthology.

We are accepting submissions until July 31st, 2023.

Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection by the end of 2023.

Spoon Knife 8 will be published in Spring 2024.

The theme for Spoon Knife 8 is Smoke & Mirrors. All submissions should touch in some way or another on this theme, but it can be interpreted as broadly and strangely as you like, and as literally or figuratively as you like (i.e., actual smoke and actual mirrors need not appear).

Please note that above all else, Spoon Knife is an anthology of stories, which we select primarily based on the quality of the storytelling. Many would-be contributors, in past years, have been unclear on the nature of Spoon Knife and have wasted their time sending us pieces that read more like blog posts or political activism. We highly recommend reading a recent volume of Spoon Knife in order to make sure you understand what this series is and what it isn’t.

All submissions must be sent as Word documents (.doc or .docx files).

Prose submissions (fiction and memoir) must meet the following criteria:

• 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced.
• First line of each paragraph indented.
• No extra whitespace between paragraphs.
• Consistent use of Oxford commas.
• Thoroughly proofread and spell-checked.

If you’re submitting poetry, you may send up to 3 poems (please put them all in a single document). Poems should also be in 12-point Times New Roman font, but do not need to be double-spaced.

Maximum length for submissions is 10k words. Exception: you can assume this limit to be as flexible as you need it to be if you’re an author whom we’ve previously published or whose submission the editors have actively solicited.

Payment for accepted submissions will be $20 plus 1 cent per word, sent near the time of the book’s release. Our process, on acceptance, includes a close copy-edit, and we’ll check in with authors if it looks like there should be any change beyond basic typo fixes; we don’t send author proofs.

Spoon Knife 8 will be co-edited by Nick Walker and Phil Smith.

Email all submissions to nick [at] autpress [dot] com. The title of your email should be your name plus the words “Spoon Knife 8 Submission.” The body of your email must include a 1–4 sentence bio written in the third person, with the exact name under which you wish to be credited; this is the bio we’ll use for you in the book.

• How did you get involved with AutPress?

a number of years ago, wandering around the inter-webs looking for new and interesting ideas about neurodiversity, while teaching at a university, i discovered some blogs written by people who became founding members of the Autonomous Press collective. i was smitten with their ideas, which approached neurodiversity and neurodivergence and queering in ways i hadn’t seen before. i started sharing those ideas with my students and colleagues. i also realized that this way of thinking saw neurodiversity as a big tent – that it included Madness. as i began to claim Mad identity for myself, i began also to see how i fit within that bigger, broader neurodivergent community. 

when I began seeing the first books that AutPress put out at conferences and elsewhere, i was really excited – here were people that thought like me, had ideas and experiences that were jammin’ and exciting, and wrote for the kind of diverse and wild audiences i hoped to reach. one of the original editors at Autonomous Press reached out to me and asked if i thought i had a book in me that might be of interest to AP. i thought some, and read some, and wrote some, and the result was Writhing writing: Moving toward a mad poetics, which AP went ahead and published in 2018. it was a somewhat complicated project getting it into print, because my writing style is sometimes a bit, uh, unusual. AP went above and beyond putting it into a format that matched my vision, and put awesome cover art done by a wonderful writer, artist, and former student, Dr. Jacquie St. Antoine, on the front. i was pretty much stunned when it received the 2020 American Education Studies Association Critics Choice Award in 2020 – i never expected anything like that kind of recognition.

perhaps two years ago or so, Nick Walker, managing editor for Autonomous Press, put out a call to folx, asking if there were people who might be interested in doing some work for AutPress, perhaps eventually joining the collective. because of my interest in the broader communities AP reaches and touches, my experiences as a writer and editor, and the generosity that AP had offered me as a writer, it felt pretty natural to offer up my time and effort – to give something back to folx who had given something to me. AP collective members were gracious in welcoming me, helped me understand some of the processes and history of the press, and continue to mentor me about – well, all kinds of things. it’s been an exciting process of learning and doing and being (do-be-do-be-do).

• We are looking forward to the Mad Studies books, both the anthology and the collection of personal stories. Can you tell us what prompted you to begin these projects, and what you are hoping to accomplish with them?

Writhing writing has always been the beginning, for me, of a trajectory of work looking at Mad life, knowledge, and experience, growing out of my increasing awareness and understanding of my own Mad identity and life. it reflects my own growth of understanding of Disabled and Mad people in the world, along with my own life as a Mad academic, poet, and writer. i’d been presenting and writing bits and pieces, here and there, about Madness, and listening and reading the work of other Mad writers and thinkers. i began to realize that the broader life knowledge of Mad people had long been left out of psy-complex understandings of the world, and wanted to add to the growing body of work that shared Mad knowledge and life-experience. i knew that the first place to start would be by asking Mad people to share what it was like to live in a world dominated by saneist and ableist ideologies and approaches to Madness and so-called “mental health” (a term i generally reject). 

much of the ani-psychiatry movement work that i saw going on around me, even to the current time, while doing important things to critique the psy-complex, still didn’t go far enough, to my mind, in bringing forward the work of Mad people in and outside the ivory tower. so i put out calls to the broad Mad community to share two kinds of stories: one about their own lives in the world, and the other about how they see Mad Studies taking a place alongside Disability Studies and other social justice approaches to exploring and being in the world. what would those stories look like/sound like/read like? how would they be different from the kind of stories about Mad people that we usually see or read about from the dominant, normative culture?

the proposals i’ve received back are – amazing. they, and the writing that is starting to come in, is everything i’d hoped for – different words, different knowledge, different ways of looking at the wider wurd whirled. the writing, and the people behind that writing, are hilarious, vulnerable, insightful, poetic, horrifying, glorious explorations of the kinds of lives Mad people experience every single day. i think these two projects will put Autonomous Press even more at the forefront of broadening the already big tent of neurodiverse, queered thinking and writing than it already has been.

• What is a typical day for you?

well, first, there is no typical day. i live in a cabin beside Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, far off the beaten path – like, literally. my mailbox and the nearest paved road is a half mile away. the closest place that is plowed in the winter is a quarter of a mile away, up a pretty steep hill that most people find a little scary. so my days often involve a fair amount of what colleagues call “bread labor” – doing the work needed to keep mind and body together. i heat mostly with wood, so that takes a bunch of time to cut, split, stack, haul, and burn. getting supplies up and down the hill is not small project, especially in the winter, and given that i have to drive an hour and a half each way to get to the decent size city i go to for food and provisions.

mornings are spent, in large part, reading and writing and editing. i’m fortunate to have pretty decent internet access, so i’m able to communicate with friends and colleagues around the world on the projects we work on together. as long as the power doesn’t go out (we had a big storm before thanksgiving a couple of years ago that knocked electricity out for eight days, and left my path up the hill clogged with trees under a heavy load of ice until spring), i’m able to keep up with the writing and learning that are important to my way of being. afternoons i spend taking care of firewood, working in the garden, harvesting fruit – all of the things needed to keep my small homestead going.

it’s a fair amount of work – and I love every minute of it.

• What sparks joy in your life?

i feel so privileged to be able to live the life that i do. looking out from my cabin porch is a bay on the largest body of freshwater in the world by surface area in the world. it has the best sunsets on this or any planet, and its moods and beauty changes with every moment. when a gale is blowing, with twenty or thirty foot waves crashing against the shore, and the snow blowing sideways so it can’t even land on the ground, sitting inside by the woodstove is such an incredible experience.

i see very few humans unless i go to town (and then only to talk to the folx at the post office or the grocery store or hardware store or the guy who fixes my chainsaw). but the neighbors – animal people of all kinds – are the most amazing people i’ve met. the turkey hens bring their bunch of poults down to the field for me to admire parading around the field. fawns bound through the grass – once, one lay down in the grass right in front of me, and i reached out to touch it. ravens nest nearby – earlier this summer, one flew from the tree they were nesting in, flying directly to me, hovering overhead, to see if i was a threat. i told them that i was the same guy that had been here last summer, and they turned and flew back to their nest. pileated woodpeckers, porcupines, bald eagles, chicadees, hummingbirds, nuthatches, garter snakes, a big ole hoppy toad that lives underneath my rhubarb leaves – these people check on me daily, and i on them.

being outside in all weather, amongst the tree people and lupine people and black-eyed susan people, water people and rock people – picking blueberries that will end up in my pancakes, writing about my life, reading and learning, spending time doing real physical work that will have a direct impact on whether i’ll be warm enough that night – i’ve been so lucky to build a life that keeps me safe and whole. yes, i experience Madness every day, but my daily habits and chores and delights of weather and sky and animals and water – these give me so much – i’m not even sure i can put it adequately into words. it suits me.

Autonomous Press seeks submissions of abstracts for two upcoming anthologies, Tinfoil Hats: Stories by Mad People in an Insane World and A Mad Turn: Anti-methods of Mad Studies.

The Basics

Autonomous Press seeks submissions of abstracts for two upcoming anthologies, Tinfoil Hats: Stories by Mad People in an Insane World and A Mad Turn: Anti-methods of Mad Studies.

We’re looking for abstracts of 500 words or less, with short accompanying author bios of 150 words or less (written in the third person), for each anthology. Deadline for abstract submissions is October 31, 2020. Selected authors will be notified by November 31, 2020, with final submissions by March 1, 2021 for Tinfoil Hats and July 1, 2021 for A Mad Turn.

What We’re Looking For

Tinfoil Hats will include stories by neurodivergent people who identify as being Mad, about living Mad in a saneist world. We see these stories as intensely personal – or as intensely as can be done when the intensity can be difficult to write or talk about. They may include stories about incidents and experiences that might seem intensely shameful, horrifying, scary, or hard. We look for narratives about what it looks/feels/sounds/smells like to be Mad, and experiences of interacting with those who stigmatize/psychiatrize/traumatize Mad people.

A Mad Turn will envision Mad Studies as a field, and and what it means to “do” Mad Studies. It will explore and think through what Mad Studies might bring to academia, education, culture, and other social institutions. It will be a place to talk about what Mad Studies offers Mad people and Mad activists. A Mad Turn will explore intersections with anarchism, disability justice, Mad justice, as well as gender and queer and race studies. Writing will generally be plainly spoken, working to step away from jargon, while understanding that there are things that need to be/can only be said with complex language, and working to explain that complexity.

Format and Length

For each book (authors are invited to submit pieces for one or the other or both), we’re looking for 10,000 words or less of fully-polished prose, submitted in standard manuscript format (title page with contact info, double-spaced Times New Roman 12-point font, pages numbered with either title or author’s name in the header). All submissions must be in a Word-compatible format (.doc, .docx) – no other file formats will be accepted. Writing may be poetic, in the form of memoir, or other alternative means of written expression.

How to Submit an Abstract

Email all abstracts to phil@autpress.com

When submitting your abstract, please put in the subject line one of the following:

“A Mad Turn Submission”

“Tinfoil Hat Submission”

Please send only one submission for each anthology, and only put one submission in each email.

Please include a cover letter that clearly specifies the name under which you want to be credited in the body of the email.

Abstracts (as well as final submissions) must meet the following criteria:

• Double-space all text.

• Indent the first line of each paragraph, and do not put extra whitespace between paragraphs.

• Make the first page a cover page with title and author contact info.

• Number all pages.

• Use Oxford commas consistently.

• Thoroughly spell-checked and proofread (we recommend it be reviewed multiple times, by the author and by at least two other readers who have a sharp critical eye for detail, punctuation, grammar, and clarity of writing).

The Editor

Phil Smith is a recovering Professor of Special Education. He identifies as Mad (as hell) and Disabled, and also works as Development Editor at Autonomous Press. He’s published widely, including Writhing Writing: Moving Towards a Mad Poetics (2018, published by Autonomous Press). A poet, playwright, novelist, and visual artist, he’s an activist, and served on boards of directors of national and state organizations, including President of the Society of Disability Studies. He lives in a cabin beside Lake Superior, where he makes maple syrup, heats with wood, and yells at chipmunks.

It was a pleasure for Azzia Walker to connect with Dr. Phil Smith, author of Writhing Writing: Moving Towards a Mad Poetics and our newest collective member.

“I’ve been reading since – really, I can’t remember NOT reading. I can’t imagine not having a book to hand; I’m literally always in the middle of one. Or two. Or three or four. I prefer real paper books, and hardcover, but failing that, anything in print will do. At school, I remember disliking recess, because it meant I had to do something other than read – I have a vivid memory of sitting against a baseball diamond fence backstop, in the sun, reading a book. Books make sense to me, in ways that people often don’t.

“I’ve been reading science fiction since my early teens. I’ve diversified since then – mysteries, all kinds of non-fiction – but science fiction is still pretty central to my existence.

“I wrote my first poetry when I was 14, for an assignment in English class. I didn’t think much of it, but my teacher did, and said so. It was awful stuff, really, but I haven’t stopped messing about with words on paper and screen since. The juxtaposition of words and sounds is something that resonates and excites my being – when I’m in the zone, I’m at my happiest. Much of the writing that I think is my best is stuff that I just let flow – it requires no effort, no intent. It just comes. I literally sit in front of my computer for hours, making words happen, and the time feels like it doesn’t pass at all. I think that writing is literally the only thing I’m truly good at. There are many things that I enjoy – but writing is the one thing I make that is really worth doing.

“I wanted to be part of AutPress because I’ve believed in its mission, work, and the people behind it almost since it began. The writing that I’ve seen come out of it – the thinking and being that folx have created – is truly the kind of work that I want to support and help create. It’s among the most powerful, profound, and life-affirming work that I know of.

“I’ve always got writing and reading projects floating around in my head. I’ve had in mind a text exploring the meaing of Madness, and what Mad Studies might look like, for awhile. There are a couple of books of poetry that I’m working on, as well as a couple of books of photographs that need to be finished. For AutPress, I have in mind two books at the moment – one an edited collection of stories by Mad people, exploring their life experience. The other is an edited work looking at Mad Studies as folx are currently thinking about. I’ll be going to several conferences this spring, and hope to talk to people I meet about AutPress, and explore with them what kind of writing they’re working on or thinking about that might fit with what AutPress does.

“I’m at my happiest when I’m exploring the edges of what seems possible, or likely, or reasonable. Adventures of the mind and body are what I live for. Meeting new people, exploring new landscapes, creating beauty and joy – these are incredibly important in my life. Folx reading this should feel free to get in touch about what excites them, and to explore with me the boundaries of queer, neurodivergent life and being.”

Stay tuned for Spoon Knife 5 coming out in fall 2020, and you can join the email list to become notified of new publications.

The Basics

Autonomous Press seeks submissions of poetry, short fiction, and short memoir
pieces for an upcoming anthology, Spoon Knife 6: Rest Stop.

Scheduled for publication in Spring 2022, this sixth volume of the Spoon Knife Anthology series continues to bring some of the best short format works by both established and new writers with a focus on queer, neurodivergent, and disabled voices.

Deadline for submissions is Thursday, December 31, 2020.

What We’re Looking For

Original work exploring the theme of Rest Stop. A product of mid twentieth century car culture and the US interstate highway system, a rest stop can be clean and welcoming. Or it might be filthy and frightening. Because you never know until you enter, the rest stop is a respite of last resort.

Think transitional spaces/times/experiences.
The space between where you are and where you will be.
Times in which the present has a self awareness of impermanence.
If desired, season with dirt and compromise, and garnish with implications of seediness.

The Editors

B. Allen is a memoirist who serves as CFO and Development Editor for Autonomous Press. Since the 1980’s, in venues ranging from indie weeklies to the Huffington Post, Allen has been writing highly personal stories of disability’s intersection with poverty, feminism, queer culture, and abuse.

J. S. Allen, PhD, is a neurodivergent writer of imaginary stories. By day he is a data scientist who dons pants as necessary and uses the power of statistics to make the world suck less for children in his community. By night the pants are gone and Dr. Allen is in front of his computer composing his life’s work, a sweeping fantasy epic called The Waters of Life and Death.

Format and Length

Fiction and Memoir: We’re looking 10,000 words or less of fully-polished prose, submitted in standard manuscript format (title page with contact info, double-spaced Times New Roman 12-point font, pages numbered with either title or author’s name in the header.)

Poetry: You may submit pieces of any length and style, provided they fit the theme of this collection.

Please submit no more than three pieces total.

All submissions must be in a Word-compatible format (.doc, .docx, .odt).

When and How to Submit

The submission deadline is Thursday December 31, 2020.

Authors will be notified of their acceptance or rejection by Sunday, February 28, 2021.

Payment for accepted submissions will be 1 cent per word, to be sent by check or PayPal during the second quarter of 2021.
Email all submissions to info@autpress.com.

When submitting your work, please put in the subject line one of the following:

“Spoon Knife 6 Submission – Fiction”
“Spoon Knife 6 Submission – Memoir”
“Spoon Knife 6 Submission – Poetry”

Please include a cover letter that clearly specifies the name under which you want to be credited, along with a 3-4 sentence bio of no more than 150 words written in the third person. The name and bio should be typed exactly as you want them to appear in the book.

Previous Anthologies in this Series

• The Spoon Knife Anthology: Tales of Compliance, Defiance, and Resistance
  (Spring 2016)
• Spoon Knife 2: Test Chamber (Spring 2017)
• Spoon Knife 3: Incursions (Fall 2018)
• Spoon Knife 4: A Neurodivergent Guide to Spacetime (Fall 2019)
• Spoon Knife 5: Liminal (upcoming)