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The Spoon Knife Anthology
Spoon Knife 8: Smoke & Mirrors
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 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
408 pages, Paperback
First published May 9, 2024
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 6, 2025
Nick Walker and Phil Smith bring us another excellent anthology from Autonomous Press. The Spoon Knife series brings us diverse stories (scifi, fantasy, horror, non-genre literature, poetry) from diverse voices, with a focus on stories by and/or about neurodivergent and queer folks.
There is such an array of stories and styles here. Do you want an academic paper on sasquatch hunting (Scott Nicolay's 'Notes on Field Notes on the American Sasquatch')? Thoughtful, possibly unreliable narrator, stories bordering on non-genre literature (James Fritz's 'Smoke Detector', R.J. Lynch's 'The Quiet Mind of Sunfish', Noley Reid's 'Sharp Objects', Cirrus Wood's 'The Allegory of the Cave')? Magical realism with more than a touch of sadness (Nick Walker's 'Fox Boy and the Picasso Kid', J L Royce's, 'Weeds', Guy Russell's 'The Obedient Poltergeist')? Dystopian science fiction (CB Droege's 'A Step Back', Mark McElroy 'Bloom')? Sword and fantasy (J.S. Allen's 'The Secret Canyon') or monster stories (Orrin Grey's 'The Blue Room)? Tongue in cheek story about god (Mark A Nobles, 'Determination')? Even Cosmic/Lovecraftian Horror (Charles R Bernard's 'All Aboard').
If you're looking for well crafted stories from under-represented voices you cannot go wrong with this or any of the excellent Spoon Knife anthologies.
There is such an array of stories and styles here. Do you want an academic paper on sasquatch hunting (Scott Nicolay's 'Notes on Field Notes on the American Sasquatch')? Thoughtful, possibly unreliable narrator, stories bordering on non-genre literature (James Fritz's 'Smoke Detector', R.J. Lynch's 'The Quiet Mind of Sunfish', Noley Reid's 'Sharp Objects', Cirrus Wood's 'The Allegory of the Cave')? Magical realism with more than a touch of sadness (Nick Walker's 'Fox Boy and the Picasso Kid', J L Royce's, 'Weeds', Guy Russell's 'The Obedient Poltergeist')? Dystopian science fiction (CB Droege's 'A Step Back', Mark McElroy 'Bloom')? Sword and fantasy (J.S. Allen's 'The Secret Canyon') or monster stories (Orrin Grey's 'The Blue Room)? Tongue in cheek story about god (Mark A Nobles, 'Determination')? Even Cosmic/Lovecraftian Horror (Charles R Bernard's 'All Aboard').
If you're looking for well crafted stories from under-represented voices you cannot go wrong with this or any of the excellent Spoon Knife anthologies.
Displaying 1 of 1 review