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Nico Bell
Author, Editor (anthology)
Diet Riot: A Fatterpunk Anthology
Nico Bell, editor (anthology)
Diet Riot: A Fatterpunk Anthology features twelve fat-positive horror tales of people who come into their own, celebrate their curves, and save the day. There are babysitters and bakers, thieves and roller derby stars. Young women unsure about their bodies meet demons and water spirits who offer assistance–in their own way, of course. Danger lurks in hospitals, in the mysterious occult shop in the local mall, and in a house filled with cats. Campers, trash collectors, and house flippers alike uncover nasty secrets underground. A myriad of horrors await you–none of which comes at the expense of fat bodies. It’s time to reclaim the "f" word.
Reviews
For this refreshing anthology, Bell (Beyond the Creek) and Taylor (Please Give) bring together 12 horror shorts centering fat protagonists. Sometimes the characters’ weight is central, while in other entries it’s only briefly mentioned and the stories themselves explore entirely unrelated plots. E.E.W. Christman finds a way to make the Spice Girls song “Spice Up Your Life” unnerving in “A Curious Garden,” which is set at a fat camp. In Stephanie Rabig’s “Cinderella and Her Demon Godmother,” a teenage girl calls upon dark forces to exact revenge against her fatphobic tormentor. “Waterfall” by Christi Nogle follows a high schooler whose blossoming friendship with a beautiful and enigmatic couple turns sinister when she learns the secret behind their charmed lives. The London Underground employee central to Die Booth’s “Fluffers” finds a discarded camera filled with horrific footage of the subway system’s rats. In Nikki R. Leigh’s “The Floor Is Lava,” a women’s roller derby team faces a meteor strike that unleashes a flood of orange goo. That the stories vary so widely in tone and content will make some readers wish for more cohesion, but there’s no denying the joy in meeting larger characters whose bodies are neither treated as monstrous nor as punch lines. This is a step in the right direction. (Self-published)
Erica Robyn Metcalf

This collection includes life-threatening elements that range from zombies and curses, to a bizarre cosmic terror, and more! But this book goes much deeper than the horror. This is a huge step in the right direction on the path of how address we all talk about the bodies of ourselves and others not just on the page, but in everyday life!

Rain

Overall, though, a fun, fist-pumping, righteously affirming, vengeance taking, ass-kicking, second-helping-of-splatter-taking good time, that I hope makes horror people reconsider the place of fatness and fat people.

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