Monday 24th March 2025: Back 2 Lyfe!

Hello everyone!

I hope you’re all keeping on keeping on, I certainly have been. A quick list of what I’ve been up to:

This Saturday

Beyond The Spectrum’s festival of autistic writing is on THIS SATURDAY! From 11:00 – 12:00, I will be hosting a panel event with some remarkable guests: Emma Robdale, Chris Bonnello, and Clare Lawrence.

After that (and a lunch break), I will be speaking from 13:00 – 13:55. My talk is called Authentic Against the Grain: Teeming and Autistic Mindstyles. It will be a way for me to bench a lot of things I have on my mind about my first novel, my approach and the need for autistic minds to be placed at the centre of our art, while facing a publishing industry that’s given up on even the appearance of inclusivity. I can’t wait to see as many of you there as possible. The entire day is looking amazing – I have interviewed several speakers for Feeling Fast and Slow (Laura Kate Dale, Joanne Limburg and Chris Bonnello), Aoife Mannix was my writing mentor for Teeming back in 2021 and my JKP editor Lynda is on the publishers’ panel! It all looks pretty incestuous when listing it out like that, but it’s looking like it’ll be a wonderful day. Come join us there.

Book News!

Breaking the Boundaries will be out in three weeks! It’s very exciting – the third book I’ve written is the first one that will actually come out. If there is interest, I will run a (free) Zoom session where I will read from the book and take questions. HMU if you’re interested in joining and share the book far and wide. I will release a blog celebrating Breaking the Boundaries next month to coincide with its release.

Feeling Fast and Slow is progressing – and progressing very well. However, the release date is now Q1 2026, for the purpose of dotting i’s and crossing t’s and such like. My own deadline for Lynda is now 1st June, which will allow me to properly finish things.

In October last year, I started writing a novella, called The Mighty, until I think of a better title. Having time, space and the the absence of burnout will massively increase my capacity to write fiction again. As you know, this entire business was a way for me to run away from writing fiction. But with my life more and more settled – how the fuck did that happen? – I will have more time to spend making stuff up and writing it down.

Other things!

I will be running a trial session for SurvivorsUK in late April, hopefully to be followed by me running a group for neurodivergent men on a monthly basis.

QND Network is still going strong. Join us twice a month, via our QND Zoom session. Our next sessions are Tuesday 1st and Sunday 13th April. Of course, we are also always about on WhatsApp and Discord. Let me know if you’d like me to add you and I will.

The Autistic Wellbeing Group or AutWell is running Bath Spa University’s 3rd annual Autistic Pride event on 27th April, too. I’ll be there, there’ll be biscuits, it’ll be fun.

I’m also going outside more, having left the house every single day since Sunday the 16th. Touch grass, as they say.

I did a bit too much of that yesterday, having fallen into stinging nettles on our weekly walk. I could barely sleep from the itching. I still have a mild rash. But that’ll be sorted soon.

Also exercise is nice! I went to the gym/swimming pool four times this past week. That’s a personal record. I’ll write a blog soon about the annoying basics of life making such a big difference…

…especially considering I’ve spent several years sleeping in a room that was too mouldy for human habitation. Moving into the box room at the back of the house has made a significant difference to my overall health. My mum was right after all – they’re good at that kind of thing.

For now, though, all the hugs and cuddles sent. I’m going to prepare for Saturday, do some more mentoring and rest.

Lots of love,

Jorik