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Why Aren't You Dead Yet?
Not yet published
Expected 20 Jul 26A woman donates her fat for money. A woman must buy hormones in secret. A young man survives surgery when he wasn't meant to.
Sixteen disabled and chronically ill authors challenge our ideas of who is allowed to survive the end of the world in stories that are by turns visceral, heartbreaking, romantic, and at times, gooey. From deeply speculative to almost too real, these stories not only twist dystopian tropes and narratives on their head, but actually let disabled characters live.
From editor Ella T. Holmes who brought us the Amazon Bestselling Artifice & Access anthology, comes this heart pounding disability in dystopian anthology. Why Aren’t You Dead Yet? continues the project of uplifting some of the most marginalised voices in publishing.
While Artifice & Access boldly proclaimed “we belong!” This time we’re screaming “you can’t get rid of us!”
Stories include:
Cat and Mouse by Ashley N.Y. Sheesley
Mind For Sale by Morosia Tindilos
Someone’s Gotta Shovel It by Sally Sultzman
Reduce, Reuse by Ellis Nye
Heartbeats by Kara Siert
Toward The Light by S. Leigh Ann Cowan
If You Go Into The North Today by Shantell Powell
Redheads by Gabriella Hassan
Opportunity Cost by Alexis Ames
Mirror Image by Morgan Greensmith
Fat Is An Essential Medicine by Ella T. Holmes
Soft Edges by Ceinwen Langley
Cattle and Mulch by Nora Black
Vermin & Whimsy by Casper E. Falls
The Storm Runners Julie March
The Holes in Her Head by Kate Orman
Sixteen disabled and chronically ill authors challenge our ideas of who is allowed to survive the end of the world in stories that are by turns visceral, heartbreaking, romantic, and at times, gooey. From deeply speculative to almost too real, these stories not only twist dystopian tropes and narratives on their head, but actually let disabled characters live.
From editor Ella T. Holmes who brought us the Amazon Bestselling Artifice & Access anthology, comes this heart pounding disability in dystopian anthology. Why Aren’t You Dead Yet? continues the project of uplifting some of the most marginalised voices in publishing.
While Artifice & Access boldly proclaimed “we belong!” This time we’re screaming “you can’t get rid of us!”
Stories include:
Cat and Mouse by Ashley N.Y. Sheesley
Mind For Sale by Morosia Tindilos
Someone’s Gotta Shovel It by Sally Sultzman
Reduce, Reuse by Ellis Nye
Heartbeats by Kara Siert
Toward The Light by S. Leigh Ann Cowan
If You Go Into The North Today by Shantell Powell
Redheads by Gabriella Hassan
Opportunity Cost by Alexis Ames
Mirror Image by Morgan Greensmith
Fat Is An Essential Medicine by Ella T. Holmes
Soft Edges by Ceinwen Langley
Cattle and Mulch by Nora Black
Vermin & Whimsy by Casper E. Falls
The Storm Runners Julie March
The Holes in Her Head by Kate Orman
200 pages, Paperback
Expected publication July 20, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 26, 2026
(rounded down from 4.25)
The idea of exploring dystopia through the explicit lens of disability rather than able-bodied main characters who persevere, sometimes at the expense of sidelined disabled characters, is an incredibly interesting one, and I was incredibly keen to read this anthology that promised to be dark and gritty enough to look dystopian disability in the eye and not flinch.
I especially appreciate that this anthology does not shy away from looking at things like sex work and self-sacrifice because you are less disabled than the person you love, but also at hopeful topics like seeing past the othering of someone in a zombie apocalypse and finding love and connection.
Each of the stories is short, sets up an interesting corner of a dystopian world, and highlights an aspect of chronic disability or chronic illness that most dystopian settings ignore. I especially enjoyed the little commentary after each story from the author that talks about what they wanted to accomplish/highlight in their story and what their inspirations were for it. I do wish some of the stories were longer because it takes a little bit to get fully immersed in a new dystopian setting, and the characters presented, and most of the stories are relatively short, so we are whisked out of them quickly. That is a minor quibble, however, since most of the stories are impactful and will make you view the world a bit differently, even if you have no direct experience with disability.
The idea of exploring dystopia through the explicit lens of disability rather than able-bodied main characters who persevere, sometimes at the expense of sidelined disabled characters, is an incredibly interesting one, and I was incredibly keen to read this anthology that promised to be dark and gritty enough to look dystopian disability in the eye and not flinch.
I especially appreciate that this anthology does not shy away from looking at things like sex work and self-sacrifice because you are less disabled than the person you love, but also at hopeful topics like seeing past the othering of someone in a zombie apocalypse and finding love and connection.
Each of the stories is short, sets up an interesting corner of a dystopian world, and highlights an aspect of chronic disability or chronic illness that most dystopian settings ignore. I especially enjoyed the little commentary after each story from the author that talks about what they wanted to accomplish/highlight in their story and what their inspirations were for it. I do wish some of the stories were longer because it takes a little bit to get fully immersed in a new dystopian setting, and the characters presented, and most of the stories are relatively short, so we are whisked out of them quickly. That is a minor quibble, however, since most of the stories are impactful and will make you view the world a bit differently, even if you have no direct experience with disability.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Where Artifice & Access was a love letter to disabled people, Why Aren't You Dead Yet? is a hate letter to the systems that want disabled people to disappear.
A big thing to note is this anthology is NOT Artifice & Access. It's much darker, and many of the stories fully lean into grimdark dystopian stories full of disabled rage and warnings of what could be if we don't do anything to stop it now. However, there are also many stories along the way that have hope, community, rebellion, and the promise of a better future even when the present is crappy.
Do definitely pay attention to the content warnings. Some of these stories are almost more horror and some have elements of body horror that I ended up having to skip through because I am wimpy baby.
As a disclaimer, I am the author of Cat and Mouse in this anthology and am reviewing the contributor copy and also received a copy from Netgalley!
A big thing to note is this anthology is NOT Artifice & Access. It's much darker, and many of the stories fully lean into grimdark dystopian stories full of disabled rage and warnings of what could be if we don't do anything to stop it now. However, there are also many stories along the way that have hope, community, rebellion, and the promise of a better future even when the present is crappy.
Do definitely pay attention to the content warnings. Some of these stories are almost more horror and some have elements of body horror that I ended up having to skip through because I am wimpy baby.
As a disclaimer, I am the author of Cat and Mouse in this anthology and am reviewing the contributor copy and also received a copy from Netgalley!
June 26, 2026
Most anthologies are a bit of a mixed bag, but the vast majority of works in this collection with their sharply pointed criticisms of contemporary ableist culture and displays of disabled resilience and not in frequently revenge were truly a delight. The writing stiles lean toward clean contemporary language without a lot of flowery lyricism, or intense surrealism, though there are moments here and there. And with more than one story, exploring themes of the economic value and disposability of bodies, there is no particular shortage of body horror or gore.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews