Whew! October is a busy month for this Spoonie author! But cool things are happening!

Speculative Shorts: Stories that fell out of my brain

If you follow me on the socials, you’ll have seen my top-ten countdown (I didn’t do the last day because it was the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and I felt it was better not to take away from the importance of that day). But yes, I had a notion to put all my favourite short stories over the last nine years into one place. It’s the first publication of Dinsdale Press, the brand-new adventure I am sharing with Bruce D. Gordon—that guy who was at my wedding but who still won’t leave my house! And today is the official release day where my book has gone wide!

Where to buy it

A nonbinary Alice accidentally enters their own clubbing wonderland because of a smiley app and Bong Guy. An autistic writing instructor who hates ABA but loves ABBA becomes an unexpected hero. A “silent” mermaid-siren noted for keeping oceans safe from poachers is guided to one who might not be like the others. A disabled space pilot couriers precious cargo for the Network while trying to evade the eugenics-based brigade who wants to keep people like her “safe at home.” A descendant of Frankenstein’s monster is having her sweet sixteen party, but her mother’s gift stops the teen in her rollator’s tracks. Explore this collection of fifteen tales of queer life, disability, romance, power, defiance, and resilience.

I spent this summer figuring out how to produce a book as my own publisher. Holy moly, what a learning curve. Probably should have given myself a longer lead time. But I love the result, and thanks to Nathan Fréchette, my cover spread fits the book! (Help is always a good thing to ask for.) And the book is blurbed by Kate Heartfield, Dr. Finnian Burnett, Jamieson Wolf, and Dianna Gunn! The biggest surprise was when Derek Newman-Stille agreed to write the foreword! Truthfully, the support I have received for this work has been such a blessing.

I thank everyone in advance for buying it and/or sharing about it! I love short stories. They’re like bedtime stories for grownups!

And…

I’ll be launching Spec Shorts and doing other awesome stuff at Can-Con 2025!

Holy molykins! I am more scheduled at this event than I have ever been! It’s a nice problem to have, and I will probably sleep for a week after. This year at Can-Con, I will be sharing a vendor table with Dark Fantasy author Dianna Gunn, so that will be a blast. I am also scheduled for a signing table, and the vendor room is opened to the public, so anyone can come! (I will gladly sign any of my books!)

Then there are the paying attendees events I’m in: Falling Back in Love with Writing, the launch of Speculative Shorts: Stories that fell out of my brain, and Cripping the ’Cosm: Writing Disability (my first workshop that I have the honour of co-leading with Derek Newman-Stille)!

Here’s an graphic of my schedule, in case you’re going and are interested!

Going to Trent University!

I never went to university, but my book did! I’m of course talking about the Nothing Without Us disability fiction anthology I co-edited with my BFF Talia C. Johnson. This work has been part of a syllabus at Trent University since the winter of 2020, and Talia and I have been guest lecturers (virtually) for years. This time, the plan is for us to attend in-person on October 31! *makes ghost noises* It should be amazing. I always love talking to the students, and Talia and I get to have a best-friend trip, which is nice.

I just hope our Vortex of Weirdness doesn’t show up and change the city of Peterborough forever…

So, that’s all for now, but that’s also a lot for me! You can also follow me on the socials (search for @caitauthor on Bluesky, Insta, and Threads) to get more updates, general silliness, and posts about cake.

Cait Gordon is an award-winning Canadian speculative fiction writer and anthology editor who advocates for disability, mental health, and neurodiversity representation in written works. She is the author of Speculative Shorts: Stories that fell out of my brain, Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! and the co-editor (with Talia C. Johnson) of the Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too disability fiction anthologies. Cait is also the host of The Disabled Crone podcast. She is autistic, disabled, and queer, and really loves cake.