KNEE BRACE PRESS

A place for stories about chronic illness, disability, mental health, and neurodivergence.

The Magazine

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  • A white woman with short, white hair reads a book at a microphone.

    Holding it Together

    By

    “Grandma held us together/Small and wiry/a Granny Clampett/fortunately/without a rifle.”

  • A white person with long, blonde hair smiling at the camera. She is wearing a red and white plaid shirt.

    Let Down

    By

    Sarah Steinbacher is a disabled nonbinary author, poet, disability advocate, instructor at The Writing Barn, and member of both SCBWI and Storyteller Academy.

  • An interview with Priyanka Taslim

    By

    While Bangladeshi teen Zahra Khan’s plans for financial security this summer involve working long hours at Chai Ho and saving up for college writing courses, Amma is convinced that all Zahra needs is a “good match,” Jane Austen-style. We spoke with author Priyanka Taslim about her debut novel, The Love Match.

  • The photo is in black and white and depicts a white person with long, dark hair smiling to the right of the shot.

    Box-bed in a Doorway

    By

    Mandy Beattie’s poetry’s been published in Poets Republic, Drawn to The Light, Lothlorien, Ink, and now, Knee Brace Press!

  • A white woman with dark hair is smiling and looking off-camera. She wears a white, long sleeved shirt.

    Temporarily non-disabled

    By

    “My body holds a secret. It demands/to tell me, but won’t whisper it to you.” Poet Christa Fairbrother is back with a piece about invisible illnesses and the pressure to hide them.

  • A white man with a shaved head and light brown eyes gazing at the camera. He wears a navy hoodie.

    Leverage

    By

    “Now you can’t help thinking that the first call being made is to order beer. You look up at Jerry, knowing you should say something, then look down helplessly at all these pieces of the disassembled frame as if they are parts of a puzzle you know in your heart won’t fit together.”

  • A white woman with long, curly, brown hair. She is wearing a purple sweater and we can see her from the waist up. The background is white.

    An interview with Lillie Lainoff

    By

    For our seventy-fifth post at Knee Brace Press, we interviewed award-winning novelist Lillie Lainoff about POTS rep, feminist retellings, and her future writing plans in the context of her YA debut, One For All.

  • A person in a brown tanktop and a white helmet climbing a rope and smiling at the camera.

    Hiding in Plain Sight: Life With and Without Masks

    By

    “I feel faint. Even a common cold leaves me sick for months and sometimes lands me in the emergency room. I have been assiduously masking since the beginning of the pandemic and so far, to the best of my knowledge, have avoided catching COVID. I will not be able to wear my mask for the…

  • An interview with Etaf Rum

    By

    We spoke to award-winning author Etaf Rum about her latest book, Evil Eye, and her 2019 debut, A Woman Is No Man. In this interview, we discussed mental health, writing as therapy, and Rum’s future plans.

  • A white person with long, blonde hair smiling at the camera. She is wearing a red and white plaid shirt.

    All In My Head

    By

    In her poem, Sarah Steinbacher writes about medical gaslighting, invisible disabilities, and the link between mental and physical health.