Writing Disability: Panel Discussion

Join us on Saturday, March 26 from 10:30am to 12:00pm for Writing Disability. This presentation is a moderated discussion between three writers, focusing on the presentation of people, with physical and mental disabilities, in literature. Topics covered include individualizing people and disabilities, social role valorization, dealing with the discomfort of social expectations, the role of society in the perception of people who do need assistance, and writing about people with disabilities in a sensitive manner. Questions from the audience are encouraged.

Registration is required. Register in advance for this meeting HERE. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Bios:

Anna Bellassai is the 2021 Emerging Writers Scholarship recipient for Sisters in Crime. Taylor’s Bond, a YA novel, features a protagonist with the same rare genetic disorder she has. She brings all the wisdom of her nineteen years living with this disorder to our discussion.

J. A. McIntosh, a recovering attorney, writes the Meredith, Massachusetts series. The next book in the series, Grampa Leary, will be published in March 2022. She has a degenerative joint disease, that required multiple surgeries and metal and polymer implants. She states: “I have held up security lines at metal detectors on four continents.” J. A. serves on the board of North Quabbin Citizen Advocacy, a nonprofit in Central Massachusetts that fosters one-on-one relationships between able-bodied volunteers and vulnerable people with mental impairments and disorders.

Jule Selbo’s debut mystery, Ten Days, features a heroine who must learn to cope with a prosthetic leg after a career-ending accident. Jule is a novelist, playwright and screenwriter and teaches screenwriting and film history at CSU-Fullerton. Able-bodied herself, Jule has never subscribed to the write-what-you-know philosophy. As a result of immersing herself in another character’s reality, Jule said, “I see parts of the world differently—and I hope the readers will too.”