While I’ll admit that the Michael’s Walk project has taken up most of my life this entire year, it’s not all I’ve been doing! Here are some other things that are in the works:
Anthology of Queer Fairy Tale Adaptations
The next anthology I’ve been working on is going to be SO FREAKING GOOD! Coming from Affirm Press in October 2023, this is such a fun project that will be a colour-illustrated hardback and will definitely be one to get your mitts on! I’ll be making a proper announcement with the list of contributing authors very soon, so keep an eye out for that! (I’ll include it in my next email, too.)
I’ve been editing these stories with Meg Whelan, the editor at Affirm and we’re both so in love with the way people have responded to my brief!
Articles
This year I’ve had a number of articles published! The most exciting for me was being published in Archer which I have always dreamed of. So that’s a huge personal achievement. You can read it here: Processing emotional abuse: Tori Amos helped me heal.
I also did another round-up article for The Age/Sydney Morning Herald
And how to approach selecting Graphic Novels and Manga for Teachers and Librarians for Connections the journal of the School’s Catalogue Information Service
Other Secret projects
There are a couple of other anthologies that I’m in the process of establishing which you’re likely to be super excited about (I know I am!). But they’re still in the planning stage and so more on those when they progress.
Short Stories
On top of editing my own story that’ll be in the Queer Fairy Tale Anthology, I’ve been writing/editing another story that I’m planning to submit to an open call out for submissions for another collection (that someone else will be editing – haha!). Writing this story was the first piece of fiction I’ve written from scratch (indeed, at all) this entire year and it brought me so much JOY to be writing again, discovering new characters and worlds that were just hiding inside me until I started to tease them out, then BAM! There they were on the page and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve still got a bit of work to do on that one before it’s ready, but fingers crossed it’s liked by the selection team.
Grant Applications
I’ve applied, yet again, for an AusCo grant. I’m not holding my breath, because I’ve learned time and again that the competition is too great to assume anything when it comes to these grants, but I’m hoping they’ll see the worth in funding the writing of Michael’s Walk so that I can really do it justice. I’ve invested so much in this project, as have all the incredible people that donated to our gofund.me and helped us out in myriad other ways. So, fingers crossed, on that one too.
Bits and Bobs
I’ll admit there are a number of other things that I’ve been working on/planning/doing. I had planned to apply for the State Library of Victoria Fellowship program, but on the day I printed out the application form with the intention to read through it thoroughly that evening and get to working out what I would write, I got an email from the State Library asking me to be an assessor for it! Ha! That was such a warm encouragement. So I’ll be doing that instead, and then I’ll apply next year.
I’ve been maintaining my Patreon offerings, which is a job of its own, but one that lovely subscribers pay me for, so I love pouring myself into that. (More on it below).
I’ve been reading, reading, reading, too. I’m planning on upping my game on my instagram reviews on my @little_book_man account and I’ve got some fun tiktok nonsense planned, too.
And, you know, Life or Whatever
I occasionally find time for other things, like relaxing (ha!) and exploring and things.
- I’m having a good time trying different styles of nail polish. My skills are still not so great that I’d plaster them all over social media, but that’s something I do every other week.
- I’m watching Rings of Power and House of the Dragon and am yet to be swept up in them in the way I was with Game of Thrones (the first handful of seasons, anyway) and the LOTR films (not the Hobbit nonsense). So we’ll see how they progress.
- I’m trying to look after my body and have a weekly training session at T-Generation Gym. This is an awesome, queer-friendly, trans-owned gym that broke through the barrier I had of never wanting to find myself in a gym space because I never felt I’d fit in. T-Gen makes you feel like family (well… we are “Family”) and lets you approach it all in the way that suits you. This short paragraph is already a billion times more than I swore I’d ever talk about attending a gym, so consider that an even more glowing review.
- I went to Fish Creek this weekend just gone, to sell books at the Fishy Stories Children’s Literature Festival. Teague and I used it as an excuse to get down to Gunaikurnai Land and explore the incredible landscapes of Wilsons Prom. On Saturday Morning we went out for dawn photography and it was truly beautiful. I’m trying to get better at my photography, so I keep asking Teague all sorts of questions, as he’s the skilled one! (He was accepted into the Midsumma Pathways Program to receive a mentorship which is so exciting! He’s also launched his new website which you should check out!) It’s also made me realise I’d love to try my hand at portraiture… So that’s another hobby to add to my list!
- I have a few gorgeous Tarot decks (Oak, Ash & Thorn and Smoke, Ash & Embers as well as Tillie Walden’s The Cosmic Slumber) and I’m loving getting to know them and how they can offer insight and guidance with everything from life’s niggling questions to where to take a story I’m writing.
- I’m getting to know myself, and my ADHD, more and more all the time. I’m recognising when I have adaption strategies that I subconsciously put into place before I was diagnosed, and how they are either helpful or not, and how they change depending on if I’ve missed my medication or not. It’s really eye-opening and the most significant change is the way I’ve been able to stop berating myself when my brain doesn’t function in the same way as the people around me, or how I want it to in comparison to societal expectations. This little journey of getting to know me is incremental and comforting.
Well, I’ll leave it there for now, but as you can see, life is full and rewarding. There’s so much to be getting on with, and plenty in the pipeline. So stay tuned, and in the meantime, meet Luka… |
