Presenting And Seek (Not) to Alter Me: Queer Fanworks Inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”
Duck Prints Press has launched our second Kickstarter, running now through April 14th, 2022 – And Seek (Not) to Alter Me, a gorgeous collection featuring the work of 16 authors and 16 artists in a full-color, A4 size soft cover size-style book!
Today, we’re highlighting 2 more of our authors…
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Author Spotlight: Adrian Harley
Biography: Adrian Harley is an almost-lifelong North Carolinian and a fantasy fiction aficionado who didn’t start delving deep into fandom until adulthood. They are an editor of research by day and an aspiring novelist, also by day. They go to bed early. They have short stories forthcoming in OFIC Magazine and future Duck Prints Press anthologies. They live with their husband and a perfectly reasonable number of cats.
Link: Twitter
Story Title: Some Sparks That Are Like Wit
Tags: coming out, found family, modern setting, trans character
Teaser:
He lost count of the articles he read on transmasculinity. He joined a Reddit group. He checked out books from the library. He spent so long on name websites that diaper and baby store ads stalked him throughout the internet. Early in the haze of this process, he picked the name Ben, but he still went to four different name sites just to be sure. Just to be sure! He’d never been indecisive in his life! No, he picked a stance or food or outfit or bar and stuck with it. And if people made fun of him or looked down on him for it, he made a joke out of the whole enterprise but, crucially, did not budge a fraction of an inch. That was his way.
With all the pep talks he was giving himself about decisiveness, he should have known that he’d end up coming out by accident.
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Author Spotlight: nottesilhouette
Biography: Hi! I’m notte (she/they). I’ve been a writer since I was 12 years old, which is when I started reading fanfiction and almost immediately felt compelled to write some, too. I started in the Percy Jackson fandom, then moved through various medias until my stories started becoming so AU they were practically my own. While I’ve never published original fiction before, I’ve been publishing fanfiction steadily over the last decade across various usernames, and have published articles under my given name for multiple genres: interview, research, and more. I’ve also begun songwriting, and recently had one of my songs incorporated into a video game!
My fiction writing tends towards introspective, character-driven short stories, often laden with metaphor and double meanings. I love flowery imagery and poetic prose, and making characters suffer in the name of growth. More than that, I love using fiction as a way to connect with others: both through the text and through the process of writing. I’ve been running a fandom server for the past two years to build community and support other fanfic writers. I’ve also run two to three prompt months per year, and I’m excited to take on the beta and co-head mod role for a current zine!
When I’m not writing, I’m studying (for grad school, for a future medical school, for research work). Any time after that goes into reading as much as possible, or recently, graphic design, as I start creating graphics to enhance the quality of my events. I love talking to people who want to talk to me, and I will sleep anytime I’m presented with a soft surface to lay on (and sometimes even without). I can’t wait to share my work with you, thank you for taking the time to read it!
Links: Archive of Our Own | Tumblr (fandomsilhouette) | Tumblr (nottesilhouette)
Story Title: find ourselves unstuck
Tags: character growth, modern setting, panic attacks, self-destructive behavior
Teaser:
“That’s fucking different. I could’ve made better choices; you had no other choices to make. This was my fault.”
You can’t take my mistakes away.
But Hero can take herself away. She flees, retreating to a rooftop where the air is thin enough to breathe past the terror in her chest, and somehow this surrender feels like a victory.
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