AWP recognizes July as Disability Pride Month and champions the importance of actively working toward a more inclusive and accessible global culture and environment. Disability comes in many ways, visible and invisible, internal and external, short-term and long-term. The AWP staff has compiled a list of resources, including past online events, articles from the Writer’s Chronicle, upcoming 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 read books written by disabled writers, poets, and authors, check out our Disability Pride Month Reading List.

From the Writer's Chronicle

Audible Activism in American Sign Language Poetry by Delicia Daniels, September 2023

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

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

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

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

From The Writer's Notebook

Historical Scans by T. K. Dalton, July 2022

Rewatch AWP Events

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

#AWP23 Mutant, Monster, Misfit, Myself: Writing the Disabled/Chronically Ill Body, Sponsored by AWP

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

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

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

Online Resources

Check out the Americans with Disabilities Act website to learn more about the act and find a range of resources.

Visit the American Bar Association’s website to read about diversity within the disabled community and how to be an ally.

Learn about the differences between accessible design and inclusive design from Toptal.

Upcoming Online Events 

All events are listed in ET.

Tuesday, July 2

6:30–8:00 p.m. Disability (Is Not a Bad Word)

Disability (Is Not a Bad Word) is a peer-led space to build support and friendship. This group is for folks who are disabled (self-defined) and anyone who is navigating living outside of the spectrum of neurotypical and/or able-bodied norms.

Saturday, July 13

3:00–4:00 p.m. Disability Dialogues Book Club

Join Disability Dialogues Book Club! Their meetings are hybrid events, which means you can tune in virtually to meetings in real time while they take place at the Yarborough Branch of Austin Public Library. The month’s title is About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times, edited by Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson.

Wednesday, July 17

12:00–1:30 p.m. Disability PRIDE: Inclusion & Belonging Training

Join the staff of Michigan Disability Right Coalition’s Leaders for Inclusion (LFI) Program for a presentation about how community organizations can become more inclusive of people with disabilities, not only in terms of physical access but also in planning, programming, and ensuring people with disabilities’ voices are at the table and heard. Topics will include disability history and pride, ableism, inclusion, belonging, and steps toward making your organization more inclusive. LFI’s services also include technical assistance, follow-up, and accountability after training as organizations and professionals work to become more inclusive.

Thursday, July 18

6:00–7:30 p.m. DisLit Collective

DisLit Collective is a digital safe space and communal literary experience for, and by, BIPOC folks with disabilities, as well as BIPOC caregivers of folks with disabilities. This event offers a platform for voices that are often excluded and underrepresented. Join them for an immersive experience featuring interactive storytelling, live journaling, experiential narrative, and art. Feel free to bring a poem, book excerpt, quote, song, etc., or to create something new as you journal.

Tuesday, July 23

5:00–6:00 p.m. Inclusion Talk Series (Disability Pride Month) ft. Glenn Hartrick

Glenn Hartrick will share his insights and experiences on disability pride, promoting inclusivity, and celebrating diversity. Hartrick was an avid triathlete who was on a routine training ride the morning of June 12, 2014, when he was involved in a cycling accident that resulted in injuries that would change his life forever. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, connect, and be inspired.