Autistic readers perennially find themselves encountering literature that isn’t crafted from an autistic-centered point of view. On a yearly basis, we’re continually bombarded by books about autism written by parents of autistic children that either perpetuate harmful beliefs or disrespect their children in horrifying ways, failing to recognize their rights to privacy and personal agency. “To Siri with Love” by Judith Newman is the latest offender to make the rounds, but even books by so-called “experts” and journalists, such as “In a Different Key” don’t do the topic justice. Fortunately, Autonomous Press is committed to offering solid alternatives written by autistic people.
The Real Experts Lives Up to Its Name
Who better than autistic individuals to talk about their brand of neurodivergence? The Real Experts is an anthology about autism, with essays written by autistic folks from a wide range of backgrounds. The collection includes words of wisdom from respected activists like Kassiane Sibley and Amy Sequenzia, educators such as Nick Walker and autistic parents like Morénike Giwa Onaiwu. As one of the first wave of books released by AutPress, it’s evidence of one of our core fundamental beliefs: neurodivergent people should be the ones to craft and control the narratives of their lives.
Nantais: Autistic Space Adventures
Author Verity Reynolds describes their debut science fiction novel Nantais as “autistic as heck,” but the real genius behind the book is that the word “autism” never appears anywhere in its text. Instead, Reynolds shows rather than tells (which one of the fundamental tenets of masterful storytelling, after all) characters “interfacing autistically with a non-autistic world,” as they put it. Want to know the best part? Besides Nantais being an action-packed space opera full of slavers, biologically-evolved assassins and the dark underbelly of a supposedly legitimate organization being exposed, it turns the typical tropes on their heads, giving us a universe in which non-autistics are the ones “suffering mind-altering self-consciousness over their own vague-meaning, innuendo-stuffing” style of communication.
Need some post-holiday reading to curl up with? With our 101-style books like The Real Experts and science fiction thrillers such as Nantais, AutPress has exactly what you’re looking for. Feed your need to read by shopping for these and our other great titles in our AutPress store.