Wallowing in Ink with Courtney Floyd • Issue 37
In which: new publications, a giveaway, and some recommended disability pride and justice reads!
Hey there fellow wallowers,
I’m uncharacteristically writing mid-month because there’s a lot going on I need to tell you about. In this missive you’ll find: new publications and media! a giveaway! And some disability pride and justice recs!
New Publications & Media
I wrote a thing for the Psychopomp blog: Updating the Curriculum: 2025 SFFH Dark Academia Novels You Won’t Want to Miss
My first published poem, “Renfield at His Windowsill,” is out in Small Wonders’s July issue
I got to talk to Kiri Callaghan (my fantastic fellow debut and release day buddy!) about writing neurodivergent characters!
Disability Pride Giveaway
Like my protagonist, Dorothe Bartleby, I have intense anxiety (and other undiagnosed neurodivergence). Also like Bartleby, I began to understand my anxiety as a disability during grad school.
Most days, I struggle to leave my house. When I do get out there, it’s a toss up how deeply I’m able to engage because the toll of simply showing up is so high. I lose my words and forget things I know and care about deeply, because my body is in fight or flight. Events that require mingling are boss-level hard for me. For years, I couldn’t sleep through the night because of panic attacks. I have such high standards for myself that I am constantly dancing on the edge of burnout (when I haven’t hurled myself smack-dab into the middle of it, like it’s the fire swamp in The Princess Bride.)
Almost all of that is invisible to the people around me. I wonder, sometimes, how they explain it to themselves when it does show up for them. Do they think I’m quiet (fair); or shy (probably, but it’s not true); or boring (fuck I hope not)? But that sort of wondering never leads me to good places.
What does help is opening up about my experience. Because I started writing about it, I’ve learned to talk about it. That, in turn, has helped me find community and feel less alone. I hope my stories do the same thing for readers.
So, to celebrate Disability Pride I’m giving away:
An electronic advance reader copy (e-ARC) of HIGHER MAGIC, and
A syllabus for the course my main character teaches (I geeked out when I made this and included recommended resources that connect to easter eggs in the book)!
All you have to do to enter is:
Follow me on IG or Bluesky by 11:59 p.m. on July 27th (Eastern time, or UTC−04:00)
NOTE: You will need a NetGalley account to claim your copy, if you win. (Accounts are free, though).
I’ll announce the winner and on my socials at the end of the month.
Celebrating Disability Pride and Justice
As a neurodivergent writer, disability pride (and justice) is very important not only in my work but in my day to day.
Here are some of my favorite entry points:
Alice Wong “COVID Isn’t Going Anywhere. Masking Up Could Save My Life.”
Mia Mingus “‘Disability Justice’ Is Simply Another Term for Love”
Sins Invalid “10 Principles of Disability Justice”
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha “The Future Is Disabled’ Imagines a World Oriented Around Care and Safety”
I’ll write again later this month to announce the giveaway winner, share my WorldCon Seattle schedule, and tell you about how to get your hands on swag if you pre-order Higher Magic!
Thanks for wallowing with me,
Courtney