Special Interest Issue 0

Special Interest is an experimental magazine featuring the work of neurodivergent and mentally ill writers and creators. Issue 0 is a proof of concept showing what can be accomplished with minimal resources and staff.

Featuring a range of original reporting, fiction, essays, and photography by individuals who identify as neurodivergent or mentally ill the wide range of views and beliefs of the community are on full display. This represents a small part of what can potentially be accomplished. 

Artists, writers, and photographers were all compensated for their contributions at market rate. Donations are not necessary but will help defray out-of-pocket costs.

The Special Interest Mission Statement is as follows: 

There are already magazines about us. There are quality ones which feature our voices and let us tell our own stories, and there are those that reduce us to pathologies and ailments. The goal of this magazine though is not to tell stories about those of us with autism in all its varieties, ADD, depression, anxiety, PTSD, BPD, or any of the other myriad ways in which a human brain can differ from the norm. It is to tell stories by us. The diversity of the neurodivergent community is as extensive as that of any other human community, if not more. Our views, our passions, our joys and our sorrows naturally include things pertaining to the challenges we face from existing in a society not attuned to the way our minds work, but they also include topics that impact all of society but are seen through lenses few possess. Sharing our unique perspectives is the goal of this magazine, to explore the topics we as individuals are passionate about and try to let those who fit more easily in society see those ideas, whatever they may be, through our eyes.

The name of the magazine derives from the “Special Interest,” sometimes known as a hyperfixation, where an individual with various types of neurodivergence becomes deeply interested in a topic and dives headlong into it. Typically we are also eager to share what we learn. While there will be no particular dedication to telling happy stories, the hope is to share some amount of the joy that comes from exploring and sharing a special interest.