'Someone Like Me' Tarntanya Launch

Join us at Imprints Booksellers for the Adelaide launch of Someone Like Me: An Anthology of Non-Fiction by Autistic Writers (UQP), co-edited by Jo Case and Clem Bastow. Neurodivergent writer Kylie Maslen will launch, with short readings by contributor Khadija Gbla (this year’s South Australian Woman of the Year: Community Champion) and Jo Case. This even is free but please register.

About SOMEONE LIKE ME

While the ‘nerdy white man’ stereotype of Autism dominates in media and popular culture, other Autistic people miss out on seeing themselves, their unique experiences, their hardships and their triumphs.

In Someone Like Me, edited by Clem Bastow and Jo Case, twenty-five Autistic gender-diverse and women writers explore their experiences – and explode stereotypes. This groundbreaking anthology ranges from sex, living room dance parties and the natural world to eating disorders, all-encompassing passions and religion. Autistic people of all kinds are invited to find company in these pages – and maybe even see themselves, too.

Contributors include Fiona Wright, Sara Kian-Judge, CB Mako, Jess Ho, Kay Kerr, Khadija Gbla, Adele Dumont, Erin Riley, Shadia Hancock, Amanda Tink, Tash Agafonoff, Kai Ash, Anna Whateley and Kate Gordon.

Jo Case (she/her) is a writer and editor who lives in Adelaide. Her memoir of autistic motherhood, Boomer and Me, was published by Hardie Grant in 2013, and she has contributed personal essays to Mothermorphosis (MUP) and Rebellious Daughters (Ventura). She is the deputy editor of Books & Ideas at The Conversation and has worked in various roles in books and publishing, including as a festival programmer and literary editor. Her writing has been published in The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, The Monthly, Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings, The Big Issue Fiction Edition and Best Australian Stories.

Khadija Gbla (she/her/they/them) is a renowned, award-winning, intuitive speaker; human rights activist; and compassionate thought leader. Born in Sierra Leone, Khadija came to Australia as a refugee at the age of thirteen. Khadija is determined to build a more inclusive, culturally aware, safe and accepting society, no matter our differences, through heart-centredness.

Kylie Maslen (they/them/she/her) is a writer and critic living on Country stolen from the Kaurna people of the Adelaide plains. Kylie identifies as a disabled and neurodivergent person and their pronouns are they/she. Kylie’s first book, Show Me Where it Hurts: Living With Invisible Illness is out through Text Publishing. Kylie has contributed an essay on The Club to Melbourne International Film Festival’s Melbourne on Film: Cinema That Defines Our City, published by Black Inc. in August 2022. Kylie also writes essays, features and reviews that cover subjects including health and disability, the arts, feminism and social justice. Sometimes people even let them write about the footy.