We Are All Star Stuff — Call for Contributors

Open call for contributors

The first three zines in this series made arguments. This one holds space for something different: the actual voices of the people the series is for.

Zines No. 1, 2, and 3 built the framework — the piezoelectric bones, the cosmology of care, the neurodiversity paradigm. They explained why you are made of star stuff and why that matters. We Are All Star Stuff is the zine that asks: what does that mean to you?

We're collecting short pieces — a few sentences to a few paragraphs — from autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, disabled, and otherwise neurodivergent people, and from the family members, educators, and community members who love them. No expertise required. No particular format. Just your honest answer to the question of what it means to be loved down to your star stuff, or to love someone that way.

This zine will be offered freely, the same as the rest of the series — print-at-home, shareable, open edition. Every contributor will be credited exactly as they choose: full name, first name only, initials, role, or anonymous.

Prompts

You don't need to answer any of these directly — they're starting points, not requirements. Write toward whatever feels true.

"When I first encountered the phrase 'Love You Down To Your Star Stuff' — or the idea behind it — something shifted. Here's what shifted, and why."

"The neurodiversity paradigm says my neurological difference is variation, not deficit. Here's what that reframe has meant in practice — in my life, my work, my relationships, my sense of myself."

"Here's a moment when I felt — or gave — the kind of love that goes all the way in. Past the hard parts. Down to the star stuff."

"The idea that the universe doesn't pathologize its own variation: here's what that means to me, or what I wish it had meant to someone in my life earlier."

"Something I want other neurodivergent people — or the people who love them — to know. Anything. L★S."

Format

Length A few sentences to a few paragraphs. No minimum, no hard maximum — but shorter pieces are easier to fit and we'll work with you on longer ones.

Form Prose, fragment, list, letter, poem — any form that fits what you want to say. Write in your own voice. Formal or casual, both welcome.

Credit You choose: full name, first name, initials, role ("an autistic parent"), or anonymous. You can also add a brief bio line if you'd like.

Edits We'll share any edits with you before publication and won't change your words without your approval.

Rights You keep all rights to your words. We ask for permission to include your piece in this zine and future print editions of it, nothing more.

Deadline No hard deadline yet. We'll publish when we have enough voices to fill a zine. Earlier submissions mean earlier inclusion.

A note on anonymity: You're welcome to share as much or as little about yourself as you want. You don't need to disclose a diagnosis, a label, or a relationship. If you want to write "someone who has been loved this way" and nothing more, that's a complete and welcome contribution.

L★S Love You Down To Your Star Stuff Send your piece → stimpunks@stimpunks.org Questions before submitting? Same address.
Or reach us through stimpunks.org/contact.