Engen Books and Quadrangle are proud to reveal three more authors to-be-featured in ACCEPTANCE, their collaboration anthology featuring stories by and about the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Quadrangle’s mission is to create a community centre for 2SLGBTQAI+ individuals and organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador, a space that is a resource for building community resilience and connection, and that provides supports for existing initiatives of our 2SLGBTQAI+ community. As a registered charity, both working toward having a community centre, and taking up projects like this one contribute to Quad’s vision of contributing to sustainable, positive, community connections. All profits from this collection will go towards that goal.
The title of this year's collection will be Acceptance: Stories at the Centre of Us. Stories were selected by Ailsa Craig, Sulaimon Giwa, AJ Ryan, and, Sarah Thompson.
Stacey Oakley is an author originally from Moncton, New Brunswick who became a vibrant part of the local Newfoundland writing scene after the publication of ‘The Sorrows of War’ in the 2016 edition of Sci-Fi from the Rock. Oakley is a Rocker, an Engen short story contributor that has proven themselves at all genres of fiction. She has since gone on to independently publish her own novel, Hunter’s Soul, it’s follow-up The Necromancer, and in 2018 was crowned the winner of the 48 Hour Novel-Writing Marathon. "It feels validating," said Oakley, when asked about emotions surrounding her contribution. "Like I'm part of the community, especially as someone who figured out their sexuality a little later than a lot of people. It's also nice to contribute to better representations of bisexual characters."
Secondly, Engen is proud to announce that Thomas Wills will be joining our collection. Wills is a relatively new author from Corner Brook, Newfoundland, having been published previously in ZAUM Magazine #24. Wills is an avid gamer and could often be seen at the Engen Books panels held at Atlanticon. "It feels great to be included!" says Wills. "It will be the passing of a personal milestone of mine to see my work in print." Wills brings with him his short story Ghost Page.
Thirdly we have are proud to announce the inclusion of Hannah Jenkins. Jenkins is an incredible up-and-coming author who is taking the Newfoundland writing community by storm. She has won the monthly Kit Sora Flash Fiction competition twice with her stories "Coming Out" (February 2020) and "Waiting" (July 2020), as well as within the pages of 2020's Mythology from the Rock. She has ranked highly in the competition many other months in addition, placing as a runner-up in March 2019 with "Flicker." She was published in the special COVID-19 issue of Word Magazine with her article "How to Succeed in Skip-Bo by Really, Really Trying." In 2020 she was awarded the Moynes-Keshen John McCrae Poetry Award. Her first poetry collection, The Birds Come Back in the Spring, will be released from Engen Books in 2022.
From Jenkins: "Anytime a piece of my writing is considered for publication, there is a mixture of nerves, pride, and excitement that accompany it. In the case of this particular anthology, there was a feeling of community that surrounded the news as well. The creation of a collection such as this, which highlights the diverse storytelling abilities of people in the 2SLGBTQ+ community and gives back to 2SLGBTQ+ organizations, is incredibly important to me. The idea that there is both a platform, and an audience for these stories fills me with gratitude and appreciation. There are so many important storytellers who came before me, and there will be so many more after me. For my spot in between them, I will forever be grateful. I sincerely hope that this book is a launching point for authors with truths to write, and for readers and allies who are hoping to learn from them."
Interested parties can click here to preorder Acceptance: Stories at the Centre of Us from Engen Books, expected in the Fall of 2021. All profit from the collection goes toward Quadrangle's community efforts.
Acceptance: Stories at the Centre of Us will feature twenty-two stories from twenty amazing authors. Stay tuned to Engen Books for more author announcements and reveals.