March is Disability Awareness Month, “an opportunity to raise awareness about the support and rights of people with disabilities and to appreciate their contributions to our communities and society” (as stated by Vanderbilt University).
Northwestbooklovers.org recognizes and appreciates booksellers, authors, and readers with disabilities. Here are a few we would like to shine a spotlight on:
- Annie Carl, of The Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds, WA is a bookseller, bookstore owner, and author with disabilities. She is also a strong advocate for positive representation of the disabled community. Her store has a carefully curated Disability in Fiction section.
- Nicola Griffith is the author of favorites like Hild and Spear. Seattle writer who started #CripLit twitter chat (with San Francisco’s Alice Wong). On her website, Griffith self-describes as “Writer. Queer cripple with a PhD.” Nicola Griffith wrote the forward for the upcoming anthology edited by Annie Carl, Soul Jar: Thirty-One Fantastical Tales by Disabled Authors (10/23).
- Mickey Rowe is a Seattle-based author and actor who wrote the memoir Fearlessly Different. His website provides a wonderful resource of “Who to Amplify Next” to highlight other autistic authors as well as “Trans, Indigenous, and Global Majority Disabled Folx.” He was interviewed by Saint Bryan for KING 5 at Queen Anne Book Company in 2022.
What are some favorite books you’ve read by authors with disabilities and featuring positive representation of characters with disabilities?