My name is Elliott Dunstan, and I’m an Ottawa-based poet, historian and author. If you ended up here, and you’re sure you aren’t lost, welcome! I mostly write about queer history, mental illness, trauma, and the concept of liminal places, lost things, missing pieces of stories, etc. (The prologue of Carmen Maria Machado’s In The Dream House talks about the “tyranny of the archive”; the way that certain perspectives and histories are either actively or passively erased, and that’s where my interests lie.) I’m also, not coincidentally, a Classics major who graduated in 2019.
I’m an independent author by choice, and here you’ll find links to my books, my bibliography of works published elsewhere, and my ongoing webnovels. Ghosts in Quicksilver is free to read, and the prequel work After the Rain and Ruin is currently Patreon-exclusive, but will be posted in full once complete. (Both of these novels are part of the shared-world setting of Alkimia Fables Press– which will officially launch with the Chrysopoeia anthology.)
This site also has my book reviews and essays, which… I would love to say follow any sort of consistent theme, but I’m easily distracted. Please do contact me if you’re interested in me reviewing or talking about something; I don’t accept payment for reviews (beyond ARCs and review copies of books) so please keep that in mind. I post on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the exception of GIQ chapters (1st and 15th of the month) and Genrefvckery monthly roundups (last day of the month).
If you’d like to contact me, you can email me at elliott.dunstan@gmail.com, or contact me on Twitter at @elliottdunstan.
Third-person bio:
“Elliott Dunstan is an Ottawa-based poet, historian and author, previously published in Bywords.ca and Renaissance Press, and currently running Alkimia Fables Press. Elliott is a mixed-race autistic trans man who tries to speak to all of these things in his novels and poetry, which can be found at elliottdunstan.com.”
In the occasion that I do not provide one or the one I have provided is not appropriate, this one is available to use by any literary or media outlet.
Fun Stuff:
My Top Five Books: Heretic’s Guide to Homecoming by Sienna Tristen, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf, Then Again by Elyse Friedman, The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud
My Top Ten Bands: Within Temptation, Ladytron, Keane, Frightened Rabbit, Lorde, Pink Floyd, The Limousines, Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Lights
My Top Five Shows: The Umbrella Academy, Fullmetal Alchemist, Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Witcher, Good Omens
My Top Five Movies: Snowpiercer, Mirror Mirror, Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas, Princess Mononoke, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
My Top Five Webcomics: Dumbing of Age, Gunnerkrigg Court, The Phoenix Requiem, FreakAngels, Namesake
My Top Five Tropes: Slap Slap Kiss, Slow Dance of Romance, Exact Words, Alternate History
Elliott Dunstan 