Spondylux Press

22/08/2024

Just a sample of the beautiful feedback we receive from neurodivergent writers and our ND volunteers:

‘Thank you for making a company that understands the way my brain operates!‘

‘Thank you so much for your support …it made me quite emotional because I have almost given up on the book several times because of the discomfort that goes along with being seen by others, but your words have encouraged me a lot and it is a relief to be understood.’

‘Your response was so lovely to receive. It brought tears to my eyes and has a given me a new confidence to continue with my writing.’

‘You took the time to actually look at my work and provide decent feedback. Most publishers just say it's not a good fit.’

‘Thank you so much for sending me this! It made my day. I'm so glad I could help her so much.’

16/08/2024

We are now finally up to date with our email responses to all your book queries and requests for guidance 😊

However, a couple of messages were found in our spam folder, so if you haven't heard back from us, please do get in touch again.

Note: We are now closed for submissions, however, we continue to offer free support to ND writers/creatives, and of course our paid book production service.
Email us today if you need publishing advice, or for a quote to develop/produce your book.

10/08/2024

Another US award for MOOJAG , this time for our ND authored, produced and voiced audiobook 'Moojag and the Audicode Secret'!
Congrats to N.E. McMorran, David Watson and The Monostery, narrators comedian Ria Lina and actress Indica Watson, and the entire autistic audiobook cast!

Congratulations to N.E. McMorran, whose book, "Moojag and the Auticode Secret" earned Honorable Mention in the Audiobooks category at the 2024 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards!

22/07/2024

We are working through all the emails from ND writers received since January! We have 15 left to go :D

Inspiring submissions, requests for feedback or guidance, questions or concerns about the industry.

Thank you for your patience...

19/07/2024

MOOJAG AUDIOBOOK WINS PURPLE DRAGONFLY BOOK AWARD WITH HONORABLE MENTION

This July we share more award news with you as we celebrate our fourth win for the MOOJAG series, this time from STORY MONSTERS Book Awards in the USA for the audiobook of N.E. McMorran's dystopian cli-fi The Auticode Secret, produced by an all autistic / neurodivergent creative team and cast.

Enjoy a psychedelic whirlwind of an adventure for the whole family, narrated by comedian Ria Lina and actor Indica Watson, and other characters voiced by Emily Burke, Harry Thompson, Errol Kerr, Becky Davis, Sam Palmer, Simon Marchant, Tracy Foster, David Watson, Ciarán McGlynn, Tilley Milburn, Jack Monaghan, Catti Goodbody, Duckie Nella Moriarty, Jaz Bigden, Jordan Esau, and Mohamed Salim Sillah.

Listen to the award-winning audiobook now!
Download it from all audiobook outlets.


Story Monsters Ink Magazine

29/05/2024

'MOOJAG and the Lost Memories' by N.E. McMorran and illustrated by Kyra-Sky Foster, has won the NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD 2024! Selected from a record number of entries published between 2020 and 2023.

The first book 'Moojag and the Auticode Secret' also won in 2021, so now has two Nautilus Books Awards, a Firebird Book Award, and a Readers Favorite 5 stars to its name.

USA, thank you for loving and supporting Moojag! Now all fingers and legs are crossed for a UK win this year, too...🏆

Order your copy today from all bookshops!
https://www.waterstones.com/book/moojag-and-the-lost-memories/n-e-mcmorran/kyra-sky-foster/9781838097882

19/03/2024

Spondylux Press has been nominated for the National Diversity Awards 🤩

Please spare a moment to vote by clicking the link, and help us continue supporting the creative autistic and ND community so they can produce and publish their work in their own good time and space...

I have been voted for an Award at The National Diversity Awards 2023 in association with . Please vote for me

18/10/2023

Our first AWARD(s) for ‘Moojag and the Lost Memories’!
Winner in not one but two categories of the US based FIREBIRD BOOK AWARD (they can’t get enough of MOOJAG in the USA! 😄)
FIREBIRD BOOK AWARD WINNER - Neurodiversity + Children’s Cli-Fi
Have you ordered your copy yet?…✌👌

Just 2 days ahead of the official release date of ‘Moojag and the Lost Memories’ we have just received the wonderful news that it has won first place in the FIREBIRD BOOK AWARDS in categories: Neurodiversity and Children’s Cli-fi !

Thank you Firebird, and Speak up Talk Radio organiser of the award, profits of which go to supporting women and children in long-term shelters escaping homelessness, domestic violence, and trafficking.

12/10/2023

Come join us next Sunday 22nd, at 2pm, for the launch of N.E. McMorran's new book 'Lost Memories', stand alone sequel to 'Moojag and the Auticode Secret'.

She will be reading the dialogue from a few scenes in the book (as Gran-Nem Avti), along with some of the brilliant voice actors from the Moojag audiobook, including: Jack Monaghan(Wats), Duckie Nella Moriarty(Sophia / Pari), Indica Watson(Nema), Simon Marchant(Moojag), and David Watson(Brix).
There will also be book signing and art activities, drinks and treats.
Hope to see you there! 🤩

26/08/2023

21/07/2023

Another fab review, this time from Alex Falase-Koya…

20/07/2023

Some fab industry reviews coming in for ‘MOOJAG and the LOST MEMORIES’…
Preorder your copy now from Waterstones or Amazon and help us get the book into independent physical stores on release day!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Moojag-Lost-Memories-N-McMorran-ebook/dp/B0BSTD1S46
https://www.waterstones.com/book/moojag-and-the-lost-memories/n-e-mcmorran/kyra-sky-foster/9781838097882

19/07/2023

READER'S FAVORITE have just awarded our new book, 'MOOJAG and the LOST MEMORIES' (inspired by the author's gran who recently passed on the 4th of July 2023), a FIVE STAR REVIEW.
And the book is also entered for their 2023 award - fingers crossed everyone!!!

Here is their review (NB: there are a couple of little SPOILERS):

"Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Readers’ Favorite -

Moojag and the Lost Memories is the sequel to N.E. McMorran's award-winning sci-fi novel, Moojag and the Auticode Secret. After reversing the code of the Gajoomstik robots with her friends, thirteen-year-old Nema travels back to the underground world of Gajoomdom to bring her brother Moojag back to the Real World. But she never imagined that her trip back to the place ruled by the nefarious Conqips would bring her face to face with her Gran, Nem Avti. Unfortunately, Gran and two other Wrinklies, Sophia and Stella, suffer from memory loss, and the Conqip leader, Aldon, refuses to let Nema and Moojaq leave until he gets a taste of his medicine. But now, Aldon's former underling Brix has taken over the Conqips and plans to bomb the Real World. Will Nema, Moojag, and the Wrinklies be able to stop him?

Featuring neurodivergent, autistic, non-binary, and POC characters in primary roles, Moojag and the Lost Memories is an inclusive and captivating sci-fi novel for kids and young adults alike. Inspired by her own grandmother's experiences with dementia, N.E. McMorran has crafted an imaginative futuristic adventure tale that draws you in from the first page and keeps you hooked until the last. McMorran's pacing is brisk, with an intricate plot that twists and turns its way to keep you wondering what's coming next. But it's the characters who win your heart. These characters are vivid and vibrant, with personality traits that make them distinct and compelling. I enjoyed the dynamic between Nema, Moojag, and the Wrinklies. There are also some moments in the book that genuinely made me laugh out loud. If you enjoy sci-fi adventure stories, this will be right up your alley."

Lost Memories is available now to order https://www.amazon.co.uk/Moojag-Lost-Memories-N-McMorran-ebook/dp/B0BSTD1S46
https://www.waterstones.com/book/moojag-and-the-lost-memories/n-e-mcmorran/kyra-sky-foster/9781838097882

10/07/2023

We are proud to announce that our memoir GOALKEEPER was shortlisted for the The International Rubery Book Award 2023.
You can now read the the judges‘ super review of Peter‘s childhood biography on their site, and quoted below... https://www.ruberybookaward.com/2023-winners.html

Congrats to all the other shortlisted titles and final winners!
Enjoy :)

*****Review by the RUBERY BOOK AWARD 2023 judges*****
Peter Street – Goalkeeper, Memoir of Poet Peter Street ed. Nema McMorran
“This is a touching account of the poet Peter Street's childhood, particularly his struggle to understand and adjust to conventional life in mid-twentieth century Bolton. He can't work out why he's different, unable to fathom schoolwork, always missing the point of jokes, particularly those aimed at him. His only real talent is goalkeeping, and he looks set for a professional career until diagnosed with epilepsy as a young man. The book is written in a direct, often humorous style. He describes events with very distinctive figurative language, and his fondness for personification is unusual but effective. He says things like 'All the drums were gawping at me. The fifes were grinning'; this extends to descriptions of his own body 'My fingers became dizzy', not to mention his emotions, 'I walked away without saying a word, anger and ignorance shouting at me'. What initially seems like childish expression gradually becomes endearing as our understanding of Street's predicament deepens, and our fondness for him develops. It’s a lovely book about the traumas of growing up in a world ignorant of neurodiversity, told with more humour than bitterness.“

Peter Street N.E. McMorran

Reviews to follow:

07/07/2023

*****
"A thrilling adventure with a memorable cast of characters!"
- Ben Davis, Award-winning author of 'Lenny Lemmon'

03/07/2023

GREAT NEWS to start the week — GOALKEEPER has been shortlisted for the RUBERY BOOK AWARD for non-fiction, along with 5 others!

Fingers crossed for a WIN too! They will be uploading reviews of all short-listed soon. https://www.ruberybookaward.com/2023-winners.html

13/06/2023

Wonderful reviews and feedback from our The StoryGraph giveaway last month for MOOJAG AUDIOBOOK and EBOOK :D

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13/06/2023

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27/04/2023

•Disability Book Week Review•
Title: Goalkeeper
Author: Peter Street (Spondylux Press)
Disabilities Included: Autism Spectrum Disorder, PTSD, epilepsy

In “Goalkeeper”, British author and poet Peter Street pulls back the curtain and welcomes us into all of his yesterdays, but through the lens of how he has always lived. His brutal honesty about world and life events carries a heavy sweetness, a knowing naivete. Simply yet vividly written, I have never had such insight into the challenges of growing up in a mentally and sensorily challenging world.
Peter was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of sixty-six. While his memoir is fascinating, it does contain heavy topics and events. I would recommend Goalkeeper for anybody high school aged and older.

27/04/2023

Our first advance review for 'Moojag and the Lost Memories' just in from Sarah Bauer! And 5 stars, too
(We've omitted a bunch of spoilers, but you can read the full review on Goodreads) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/87559771-moojag-and-the-lost-memories

"The sequel to Moojag and the Auticode Secret zooms in on Moojag and Nema as they find their grandmother, who along with two other older women is bedridden with apparent dementia. The depiction of dementia is honest, heartbreaking, and empathetic. There are scenes of elder abuse that are shockingly real. I nearly threw my phone in anger at the Conqips for treating the older women so terribly.
Despite Gran’s condition, she is as colourful in her characterisation as the rest of the cast. She plays an active role in the story and adds levity, pathos, and even some moral greyness to the journey.

Gran was around pre-Surge, so we get a lot of information about what life was like before the apocalypse and how the new world was created. It both answers and raises many questions.
The characters all have great chemistry as they did in the first book, with their various strengths and weaknesses combining to create a lot of unique dynamics and situations. The Spondylux and PIE technologies are used in clever ways, though I’m not sure how I like the idea that apparently people can voice control other people’s PIEs at will. That seems like a recipe for trouble.

Although most of this book takes place in a few key locations in the Conqips’ underground bunker, near the end of the book we are introduced to a horrifying new location and higher stakes that leave me eager to see what happens next. It’s a cliffhanger ending for sure, but still a satisfying one.
I can’t wait to see what Nema, Moojag and friends get up to next time."

21/04/2023

Thank you Disability Book Week and sensitivity reader Wendy Moses for including Peter Street’s GOALKEEPER in their 2023 recommends list! 👍

•Disability Book Week Review•
Title: Goalkeeper
Author: Peter Street (Spondylux Press)
Disabilities Included: Autism Spectrum Disorder, PTSD, epilepsy

In “Goalkeeper”, British author and poet Peter Street pulls back the curtain and welcomes us into all of his yesterdays, but through the lens of how he has always lived. His brutal honesty about world and life events carries a heavy sweetness, a knowing naivete. Simply yet vividly written, I have never had such insight into the challenges of growing up in a mentally and sensorily challenging world.
Peter was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of sixty-six. While his memoir is fascinating, it does contain heavy topics and events. I would recommend Goalkeeper for anybody high school aged and older.

20/03/2023

The buzzterm for weaponising disability used to be "resilience", now it's "capacity building".

We're still coming at this from a neuronormative perspective.

What remedies one person, ails another.

Neurodivergent folks are not neuronormative folks.

We need different supports, different tools, different approaches.

In my own family, supporting my children by assisting them with daily tasks, preparing outfits and meals, tying their laces, co-sleeping and collaborating with them to create a safe, trusting home environment and relational safety is capacity building.

Doing it for them, doing it with them, then celebrating them doing it for themselves is wonderful.

AND so is doing it for them, doing it with them, doing it for them, doing it with them.

Sometimes the end "goal" won't be that they do it for themselves, and this is okay.

This is disability.

Our goals should not be about our children losing their diagnosis, their identity, their neurodivergence; and suddenly not needing support.

"Goals are supposed to improve a person's quality of life", I said to the internal review person at NDIS..
"They're supposed to lead to independence" said she.
"Whose definition of independence?" I asked, "and based on what? You, a stranger, reading a report written by another stranger to our family, then deciding how my child can be less disabled, as though it's a horrid thing she needs to overcome?"

Capacity building is not expecting a disabled person to no longer be disabled.

It is about improving the quality of someone's life based on a realistic measure that does not traumatise them or burn them out.

- KF

12/03/2023

Wonderful news — the National Poetry Library, London, has added our ‘GOALKEEPER: Memoir of Poet Peter Street’ to its main collection, and to its ‘Little Library’!

The National Poetry Library receives between two and three hundred new items every month for consideration and do not accept everything that is sent for the collection.


National Poetry Library Southbank Centre