KNEE BRACE PRESS

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

The Magazine

At Knee Brace Press, we publish a wide variety of creative content. Check out our:

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  • An interview with Camri Kohler

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    When twenty-three-year-old surly (and slightly tipsy) Frankie finds her hag of a grandmother dead on the sofa, her best friend Ben introduces her to the magical underbelly of Aspen Ridge, Utah. We spoke to debut author Camri Kohler about her horrifying urban fantasy novel, Peachy.

  • A person with long, brown hair, bangs, and black rimmed glasses hides half their face behind a black and brown cat with blue eyes.

    Ghosts

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    “I think about ghosts and love./I think about haunted houses and empty spaces.” So begins AM Rodriguez’s ethereal poem, Ghosts, about the grief that haunts us, the longing we can’t escape, and a morbid curiosity the speaker can’t shake.

  • A white woman with short hair wears round glasses and a black sweater. She gazes at the camera. The photo is in black and white.

    An interview with Amba Elieff

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    Amba Elieff spent most of her life a closet poet. Now, she’s put her work out there for all to see in her debut collection, Maiden, Mother, Crone. We spoke with Elieff about sacred spaces, womanhood, and what it means to be in community with other through her work.

  • The picture shows the cover of The Recall Paradox by Julian R. Vaca. The text on the top says, "In this war, memories are weapons."

    Book Excerpt: The Recall Paradox

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    Author Julian R. Vaca is back with the sequel to his YA dystopian debut, The Memory Index, in which alliances are made, memories disappear, and no one is who they seem to be. The Recall Paradox is out April 11, 2023.

  • A white person with yellow-rimmed glasses and long, blonde hair. Their shirt reads, "THE FUTURE IS NONBINARY."

    free.

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    Grief is a funny thing. It can be heart wrenching, devastating, or even performative. Jess Bareslow’s poem, free., details how hyperaware they were of how they needed to act after their father’s death.

  • A white woman with short hair wears round glasses and a black sweater. She gazes at the camera. The photo is in black and white.

    Spoon Tattoo

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    Researchers at the University of Massachusetts found that nearly ninety-six percent of chronic medical conditions can be considered “invisible illnesses.” Poet Amba Elieff details her own experiences with chronic illness via one small tattoo.

  • Notes From A 10 a.m. Appointment

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    In which our protagonist enters the Zoom room for a psych evaluation, eager and nervous to uncover the next phase of her healing journey. Poet and author Clara Olivo details what happens when nothing goes as planned.

  • Searching for Bunker Norms

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    It’s the end of the world. Then again, we Spoonies have always been able to adapt. While the non-disabled, richest one percent were hidden underground in bunkers during the catastrophe, a network spearheaded by a disabled woman had secretly gathered to protect the most disregarded of the population.

  • A person with long, dark hair smiles as she looks off to the left. She wears a pink shirt with pink, purple, and blue flowers on it.

    Food: A Relationship

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    In her essay, Knee Brace Press EIC Nicole Zelniker chronicles her relationship with food through the lens of OCD, anorexia, and Crohn’s disease. The essay is an ode to recovery as well as community in the form of “badass, body positive friends.”

  • Ode to Chronic Illness

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    “Music is my liberation/the medicine to my soul/the bridge between two realms in which/I coexist.” Poet and author Clara Olivo is back with a poem about music, chronic pain, and resilience.