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ABOUT IN BETWEEN SPACES

In Between Spaces, Stillhouse Press’s first ever anthology, centers the experiences of thirty-three disabled poets, short-story writers, and essayists as they navigate the physical and emotional complexities of disability, chronic illness, neurodivergence, and mental illness. Compiled by an editorial team of disabled writers, this timely collection of often-overlooked voices celebrates joy, freedom, and the power of agency, while at the same time confronting and challenging the stigmas and barriers, visible and invisible, that too often come to define life with a disability.

Featuring poetry by Latif Askia Ba, Becca Carson, Kara Dorris, Kimberly Jae, Duane L. Herrmann, C.M. Crockford, Laura Mulqueen, Zackary Medlin, Sarah Allen, Chisom Okafor, Colleen Abel, Elizabeth Meade, Zoe Luh, Jess Skyleson, Kaleigh O’Keefe, Natalie E. Illum, Rob Colgate, and Willy Conley; fiction by Wendy Elizabeth Wallace, Cynthia Romanowski, Cristina Hartmann, Arria Deepwater, and Teresa Milbrodt; nonfiction by Nathan Viktor Fawaz, Anesce Dremen, Ann Zuccardy, Vanessa R. Garza, Zan Bockes, Tessa Weber, Teresa Milbrodt, Lili Sarayrah, and Rhea Dhanbhoora; and cross-genre work from Alton Melvar M. Dapanas and Jill Rachel Jacobs.

PRAISE FOR IN BETWEEN SPACES

“In Between Spaces addresses ableism in particular: the assumption that bodies and minds differing from social norms or notions of health are defined solely by that difference, and that they therefore need “fixing.” Look elsewhere, these writers collectively suggest–at infrastructure, attitudes, and institutions–for what needs fixing.”
–The Somerville Times

“The wise, funny, heartbreaking, and joyful work in these pages can show any reader, disabled or not, how to navigate an unpredictable world.”
–James Tate Hill, author of Blind Man’s Bluff

“Nobody is ever out of the woods. Life is all about the woods,” Teresa Milbrodt explains in “Cyclops Notes,” her nonfiction selection in this remarkable anthology of poetry and prose by thirty-three disabled writers. Each author guides the reader through the woods, along widely divergent paths of hope, fear, anger, humor, wisdom, patience, resignation. What they all have in common is the clarity and beauty of their writing. In “pain(t)-by-number,” Lili Sarayrah tells us, “… when you see more than one side, speak more than one language, and know more than one kind of pain, you have trouble filling out forms.” This book won’t help you fill out forms, but it will help you to confront and appreciate the complexities of life.
–Joanne Durham, poet and author of To Drink from a Wider Bowl

“[F]illed with unbridled vulnerability, searing empathy, and a sense of far-reaching hope."
–Tod Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author of Gangsterland

“This anthology celebrates the power of difference with all of its messy and blurred edges, brain and pain fogs, and vibrating words that welcome us to move in whatever way available to the rich hum of this collection.”
–Stephanie Heit, author of Psych Murders

“Long overdue and awaited, In Between Spaces explores disability and difference with humor, frankness, and hard-fought wisdom.”
–Julija Šukys, author of Siberian Exile: Blood, War, and a Granddaughter’s Reckoning

“Ultimately, this collection serves as an important piece of literary history, a recording of a status quo often unseen or ignored. It steps out to encourage disabled writers to share their stories, and, more importantly, shines a spotlight on disabled voices in a raw and honest way.” –passengers journal

“If you enjoyed other popular books by disabled authors like Disability Visibility…Sitting Pretty…or The Collected Schizophrenias…or if you’re simply looking to diversify your TBR list, then this is the anthology for you.”
–The Manhattan Book Review

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Rebecca Burke is the editor of the anthology In Between Spaces: An Anthology of Disabled Writers from Stillhouse Press. Born and raised in Springfield, Virginia, she is a graduate of George Mason University with a MFA in creative writing and a bachelor’s in government and international politics. As a graduate student, she served as the submissions and acquisitions manager at Stillhouse Press, and as the fiction editor at So to Speak. She is currently working on finishing her first book, a novel about PTSD, queerness, and navigating childhood trauma.

When she’s not writing, you can find her with her fiesty pomeranian, Cosette.

Her work has been published in Peatsmoke, Homology Lit, and the Nasiona, among other places. You can follow her on X and Instagram @BeccaBurke95, where she posts about living with a visual impairment, writing, horses, swimming, and all things feminism, or at her website.