— a Disability in Fantasy Anthology.
Fantasy media has long been criticized for its lack of inclusive, compassionate, and authentic disability representation. Too often, disabled characters are relegated to the sidelines, portrayed through harmful stereotypes, or depicted as needing to be “fixed” or “overcome” their disabilities in order to achieve belonging and inclusion.
This short story anthology collection seeks to help bridge this gap by showcasing fourteen stories penned by disabled and chronically ill authors from around the world, each bringing their unique perspective to the realm of fantasy.
All profits from the sale of this book go towards funding the next project aimed at uplifting disabled and chronically ill writers!
This anthology came to fruition through the passion, creativity, and generosity of so many people in the disabled writing community.
It features authors from various cultural and social backgrounds, and various identities, making for a rich collection of fantasy tales.
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Mission Statement
Published: Jan 25th, 2025
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Meet the contributors (and their stories):
Ella T Holmes (The Girl & The Gum-riddle): Ella T. Holmes always dreamed of being a Mad Hatter, Trojan horse, or a cunning princess who is definitely not a witch, but reality intervened. Fortunately, she’s got a knack for escaping it. Ella maintains corporeal existence by way of having a million shiny writing ideas, drinking enough coffee to bring down the moon, and being confused about human behaviour. Her work has been published in or is forthcoming in Coffin Bell Journal, Antithesis, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Orca, and Macfarlane Lantern Publishing Seasonal Anthologies, among others. You can find her on socials as @ellatholmes
Ashley N. Y. Sheesley (Hope, Be It Never So Faint): Ashley Sheesley is a disabled author and scientist. She loves all things fantasy and mostly decided to become a scientist because you can’t be a wizard in real life. When she’s not writing about dragons and werewolves and archery, she loves drawing, painting, knitting, crochet, and night sky photography, and was an archer before she got too sick. Her debut YA contemporary fantasy, Child of the Dragon, is due to release early 2026. She lives with her husband and small zoo of three cats, two rabbits, and a bearded dragon.
M. Stevenson (To Make Her Eat): M. Stevenson (she/her) is a writer, educator, and naturalist with degrees from Brown University (B.A., Geology-Biology) and the University of Idaho (M.Ed., Environmental Education). An avid swing dancer, she’s often found dancing lindy hop or wandering the woods talking to plants and birds. She is a dual US/Irish citizen and is based in the Fingerlakes region of New York.
Lynne Sargent (The Knife That Makes The Cut): Lynne Sargent is a queer writer, aerialist, and holds a Ph.D in Applied Philosophy. They are the poetry editor at Utopia Science Fiction magazine. Their work has been nominated for Rhysling, Elgin, and Aurora Awards, and has appeared in venues such as Augur Magazine, Strange Horizons, and Daily Science Fiction. Their work has also been supported through the Ontario Arts Council. To find out more visit them at scribbledshadows.wordpress.com
Kara Siert (City of The Sun): Kara Siert is a Chinese-American author who began crafting stories at the age of four, although they were rather nonsensical. She is passionate about using fantasy to explore themes of mental health, disabilities, and platonic relationships… but that’s assuming she’s actually writing and not making mood boards, playlists, or talking to her friends on Discord. Kara also dabbles in trying new baking recipes, adding books to her bookshelf that she’ll forget to read, and making colorful digital art. She currently resides in the Appalachian mountains with her beloved husband and son.
Adie Hart (Stroke of Midnight, Shoes of Glass): Adie Hart is a lover of stories and the words behind them. With a background in the history and literature of the Ancient World, and an abiding love of classic fairy tales, she writes fun queer-norm fantasy rom-coms and adventures, many of them set in her District Witch world. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found reading, knitting, or trapped under her large cat!
Harper Kinsley (One Cream, Five Sugars): Harper is an ace, disabled author who has been writing since she could hold a pencil. She loves to write empowering stories of hope for those who might feel otherwise alone, and hopes others will feel an honest comfort when they read her work. In addition to writing, Harper is also a part-time educator and full-time DM who lives with her partner and their cat in the Midwestern United States.
Natalie Kelda (The Changeling of Brushby): Storytelling and inventing new worlds has been a part of Natalie’s life since before she could read or write. Nowadays she mostly writes in English but you’ll often discover hints of her native Danish or some of the other languages she has picked up along the way. Her stories are focused around trauma, healing, mental health, disability, grief and finding your joy and place in the world.
Rascal Hartley (A Witch’s Tale): Rascal Hartley is from the southern United States, and when they aren’t busy binding books or collecting various bones, you can find them curled up in their favorite chair, writing. Their favorite author is a tie between Jack Kerouac and J.R.R. Tolkien, but the book they re-read every year is The Last Unicorn.
Casper E. Falls (Lessons in Botany): Casper E. Falls is a transmasc writer/poet passionate about intersectionality, disability justice, and dreaming up a better future. His poetry collection SURVIVAL & OTHER SURPRISES (April 2025) explores chronic illness grief, unloving those who hurt us, and survival as an act of rebellion. When he isn’t busy fighting the follies of a mortal body or writing worlds that make more sense than this one, fae loves buddy reading with faer wife, battling zombies as a cheese-obsessed Victorian mouse (TTRPG), and replaying Mass Effect for the millionth time. Looking for him? Just follow the trail of cats. (Or go to his website www.casperfalls.com)
Zira MacFarlane (Use Your Words): Zira is a nonbinary queer biologist. They live with a small menagerie of cats, geckos, snakes, and humans. As a writer, they use horror and fantasy to explore ecological themes and stories of queer love and pain. In the wild, they can be found standing in ponds, storytelling, birdwatching, and trying to discover the latest mischief their cats have caused.
Tam Ayers (Angharad ferch Truniaw): Tam Ayers is a music teacher by day and a writer of queer fantasy by night. He began writing at a young age and has pursued it throughout his life, delighting and amazing his friends, who also live in fear of the times he uses his power for evil and brings them great sorrow. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, where he spends what time he has in between lesson planning biking around the local lakes and eating as much cheese as possible. This is his first published work.
Elior Haley (A Night For Mischief): Elior Haley is a university student studying linguistics and mathematics. He has been writing stories, most of them science fiction or fantasy, since he was a small child. When not writing or studying, he can be found drawing, painting, and practicing circus arts.
Rory G (In Another World, I Twist The Knife): Rory G. is an essayist, educator, and horror writer currently based in Texas, where they teach medieval literature for a living. Their short fiction has featured in British Fantasy Award-nominated anthology series “The Book of Queer Saints” (Medusa Haus 2023) and will feature in the forthcoming “Little Guts,” a gore anthology from Little Ghosts press. Their nonfiction has featured in the Austin-American Statesman and Apocalypse Confidential. You can find Rory online @gilhouligan on all platforms.
Ella T. Holmes | Writer • Editor • Designer 