AWP recognizes July as Disability Pride Month and champions the importance of actively working towards a more inclusive and accessible global culture. Disability comes in all shapes and sizes, visible and invisible, internal and external, short-term and long-term. At AWP, we strive to foster an environment where writers and authors feel free to express themselves without judgement or discrimination. The staff at AWP have compiled a list of resources including articles from The Writer’s Chronicle, Disability Pride Month events, and informative resources on the history of disabilities and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

To learn more about Disability Pride Month and disabled writers, poets, and authors, check out our Disability Pride Month booklist.

Writer’s Chronicle

“What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Identity” by Eileen Cronin, Summer 2020

“Writing the Story of Mental Illness for Young Readers” by Ann Jacobus and Nancy Bo Flood, April 2022

“Disability in Children’s Literature: Not an Anomaly—An Imperative” by Melissa Hart, Brian Tashima, Rachel DeWoskin and Naseem Jamnia, February 2019

“The Lyric Mode: Crip Time & Its Metaphors” by Emily Rose Cole, April 2020

Writer’s Notebook

“Historical Scans” by T. K. Dalton

Rewatch Online Events from AWP

Virtual AWP: Writer to Writer Conversations & Readings with Mentor Eileen Cronin

#AWP19 The Strengths of Complexity and the Power of Limitations: Writers on Disability

#AWP21 Disability’s Influence on Literature: Realism as a Craft Concept, Sponsored by AWP

#AWP22 Since My Body Discovery and Embodiment of Disabled Voices, Sponsored by Zoeglossia

Online Resources

Learn about the Americans with Disabilities Act and find resources on the official ADA website.

Watch a short film by PBS about the measures taken by nineteen disability rights activists in Colorado in the 1970s and how these measures led to years of advocacy across the nation.

Visit the American Bar Association’s website to read about history, meaning, and diversity within the disabled community.

Learn about the differences between accessible and inclusive design from Toptal, a design-focused company.

Online Events

All the following events are listed in ET.

Tuesday, July 4

6:30 p.m.— Encounter community and make new friends with Dis-Queer: A Disability LGBTQIA+ Support Group. Socialize, self-advocate, and find comfort in a welcoming environment. The event organizer asks that only people who self-identify as belonging to both the LGBTQIA+ and disabled community attend. Registration is free, and this event will take place online.

6:30 p.m.— Peer Support Space, Inc. presents: Disability (Is Not a Bad Word). This group is for people who identify as disabled or have lived a personal experience outside of the neurotypical spectrum. Each meeting will feature a discussion on a different topic relating to disability. Registration is free, and this event will take place online.

Friday, July 14

2:00 p.m.— Attend a webinar centered on the importance of web accessibility with Making Visual Design Accessible. Learn about how design can become more inclusive and how inclusive design elevates the experience for all users. Registration is free, and this event will take place online.

Tuesday, July 25

2:00 p.m. — Celebrate the thirty-third anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act with an ADA Anniversary Update! Hear from representatives of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) provide an update on their litigation, technical assistance, and enforcement efforts. Human generated real time captioning and Sign Language interpreters will be available.

Thursday, July 27

10:00 a.m. — In celebration of the thirty-third ADA Anniversary, explore, connect, and learn about resources, training, and information on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and disability rights. This webinar is the seventh of ten sixty-min sessions in the fourth Thursday ADA Talks Series 2023 January to October). Human generated real time captioning and Sign Language interpreters will be available.