Tuesday, November 14, 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET
Free for WMG members; pay what you wish for non-members (suggested donation is $15.00)
Did you know that disabled people are the largest minoritized group in the United States? According to the CDC, one out of every four adults in the U.S. live with a disability. And according to the World Health Organization, “Almost everyone is likely to experience some form of disability – temporary or permanent – at some point in life.” For many of us, it affects us day-to-day in our working lives now. How can we challenge the stereotypes and stigma that surround disability in our society and create more inclusive and diverse stories and spaces?
Join us for a virtual program on Disability in Publishing and media, where you will hear from a panel of experts who are authors, screenwriters, journalists, bookstore owners, marketers, and activists with disabilities. They will share their insights and experiences on topics such as ableism and microaggressions in the workplace, tips for senior leaders to be inclusive when it comes to hiring and managing employees with disabilities, and the importance of supporting disabled writers and groups. This is a unique opportunity to learn from and connect with some of the most influential voices in the disability community and to celebrate their contributions to the world of publishing and media.
Speakers:
Keah Brown is a journalist, screenwriter, and author of The Pretty One and Sam’s Super Seats. She is the creator of #DisabledAndCute. Her other work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire UK, and The New York Times, among other publications. She has been featured in anthologies including the New York Times-bestselling You Are Your Best Thing edited by Brené Brown and Tarana Burke. To learn more, check out keahbrown.com.
Annie Carl was born with a rare spinal disability (lipomeningomyelocele – according to Seattle Children’s Hospital 1 in 10,000 children are born with this condition) and is a Stage IV Non-Hodgkins survivor. She manages an ANCA Vasculitis autoimmune disorder on a daily basis. She owns and runs The Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds, WA. Annie is the author of My Tropey Life: How Pop Culture Stereotypes Make Disabled Lives Harder, Nebula Vibrations, and the editor of Soul Jar: Thirty-One Fantastical Tales by Disabled Authors.
Jen Deerinwater is a bisexual, Two-Spirit, multiply-disabled, citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and an award-winning journalist and organizer who covers the myriad of issues hir communities face with an intersectional lens. Jen is the founding executive director of Crushing Colonialism and a 2019 New Economies Reporting Project and 2020 Disability Futures fellow. Hir work has been featured in a wide range of publications, including Truthout, Bitch, Rewire.News, In These Times, and several anthologies. While a nomad at heart and raised in rural areas of her nation’s reservation in Oklahoma and in rural Texas, Jen currently lives on occupied Piscataway land known as Washington DC. To learn more, visit jdeerinwater.com.
Moderator:
Erin Madison is one of the co-founders and current president of Disability in Publishing, a new organization created to advocate for disability representation and support disabled and neurodivergent people working in the publishing industry. She is also a marketing manager specializing in backlist marketing at Penguin Publishing Group. Diagnosed with Stickler syndrome at a young age, she is passionate about increasing disability representation in both the industry and the books we publish. Originally from Arizona, she currently lives in western Massachusetts with her wife and a tiny tuxedo cat.
All proceeds from this event support the Women's Media Group Educational Foundation. You can also make a donation here.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Penguin Random House, this event will offer an ASL interpreter. We will also offer closed captioning, a transcript of the event, and a recording of the event.
If you would like to request additional access features for this event or submit a question to the panelists before the event, please email us at info@womensmediagroup.org.
This is a ⚡️️️WMG Power Hour️⚡️️ event! WMG Power Hours are part of a series of events focused on diversity and inclusion that will help members learn more about our diversified society and enhance our abilities to be supportive women, colleagues, citizens, and allies.
