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Adult Authors
Helen Hoang (she/her)
ID: A young woman with brunette hair wearing a plain black t-shirt. She is stood outside and is smiling at the camera.
Helen Hoang is an American author of romance fiction who works to create space for characters on the autism spectrum within her genre. After discovering that her daughter was on the autism spectrum, Hoang researched the topic and she, too, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2016. Before becoming an author, she gained an undergraduate business degree and then worked in finance, but her journey of self-discovery influenced her first novel 'The Kissing Quotient' (2018). The book centres on an autistic protagonist exploring her sexuality, and emphasises consent, respect, and individual boundaries. Her second, 'The Bride Test' (2019), was written with the aim of subverting the harmful tropes surrounding perceptions of autism. Both works were USA Today best-selling novels. 'The Kissing Quotient' also won the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Romance, and 'The Bride Test' was nominated for the same in 2019, and the 2020 Audi Award for Romance.
Helen Hoang is an American author of romance fiction who works to create space for characters on the autism spectrum within her genre. After discovering that her daughter was on the autism spectrum, Hoang researched the topic and she, too, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2016. Before becoming an author, she gained an undergraduate business degree and then worked in finance, but her journey of self-discovery influenced her first novel 'The Kissing Quotient' (2018). The book centres on an autistic protagonist exploring her sexuality, and emphasises consent, respect, and individual boundaries. Her second, 'The Bride Test' (2019), was written with the aim of subverting the harmful tropes surrounding perceptions of autism. Both works were USA Today best-selling novels. 'The Kissing Quotient' also won the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Romance, and 'The Bride Test' was nominated for the same in 2019, and the 2020 Audi Award for Romance.
Riva Lehrer (she/her)
ID: A middle aged woman with white and red hair looking at the camera. She is wearing a black shirt and silver seahorse earrings.
Riva Lehrer is an American artist, curator and writer. She was born with spina bifida and has undergone numerous surgeries throughout her life. Her work focuses on people's physical identity as well as political themes, especially in regards to disability. She is best known for her art series 'The Circle Stories'. She teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her memoir, 'Golem Girl', was published by the One World imprint of Penguin in October, 2020. It won the 2020 Barbellion Prize.
Riva Lehrer is an American artist, curator and writer. She was born with spina bifida and has undergone numerous surgeries throughout her life. Her work focuses on people's physical identity as well as political themes, especially in regards to disability. She is best known for her art series 'The Circle Stories'. She teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her memoir, 'Golem Girl', was published by the One World imprint of Penguin in October, 2020. It won the 2020 Barbellion Prize.
Maggie O'Farrell (she/her)
ID: A woman with reddish-brown, curly hair that reaches her chin looks at the camera. Her body is turned slightly to the side and her arms are crossed. Her top is a floral pattern, with different greens, yellows, and blues. She wears a thin silver necklace with a blue pendant.
Maggie O’Farrell is an Irish-British novelist specialising in Fiction and Historical Fiction. Her debut novel, 'After You’d Gone' (2000), received international acclaim and won a Betty Trask Award. Her later novel, 'The Hand That First Held Mine', won the 2010 Costa Novel Award. She has since twice been shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award, in 2014 and 2017. Her novel 'Hamnet' won the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020. At age eight she was hospitalised with encephalitis – an inflammation of the brain – and missed over a year of school. These events were echoed in her novel, 'The Distance Between Us' (2004), and described in her 2017 memoir, 'I Am, I Am, I Am'.
Maggie O’Farrell is an Irish-British novelist specialising in Fiction and Historical Fiction. Her debut novel, 'After You’d Gone' (2000), received international acclaim and won a Betty Trask Award. Her later novel, 'The Hand That First Held Mine', won the 2010 Costa Novel Award. She has since twice been shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award, in 2014 and 2017. Her novel 'Hamnet' won the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020. At age eight she was hospitalised with encephalitis – an inflammation of the brain – and missed over a year of school. These events were echoed in her novel, 'The Distance Between Us' (2004), and described in her 2017 memoir, 'I Am, I Am, I Am'.
Rebekah Taussig (she/her)
ID: A young woman with short blonde hair wearing an orange cardigan, sat in a wheelchair. The background shows a collection of shelves with various books.
Rebekah Taussig is an author and teacher with a doctorate in Creative Writing and Disabled Studies from the University of Kansas. Her first book 'Sitting Pretty' (September 2020) is a collection of memoirs that explore a portrait of the disabled body. Taussig’s creative efforts have achieved five awards, including a Creative Non-fiction Editors Award for The Florida Review. She has led academic workshops on accessibility, disabled identity and representation at the University of Michigan and the University of Kansas. Taussig participates in several interviews and podcasts to discuss her work and body positivity.
Rebekah Taussig is an author and teacher with a doctorate in Creative Writing and Disabled Studies from the University of Kansas. Her first book 'Sitting Pretty' (September 2020) is a collection of memoirs that explore a portrait of the disabled body. Taussig’s creative efforts have achieved five awards, including a Creative Non-fiction Editors Award for The Florida Review. She has led academic workshops on accessibility, disabled identity and representation at the University of Michigan and the University of Kansas. Taussig participates in several interviews and podcasts to discuss her work and body positivity.
Raymond Antrobus (he/him)
ID: A man with short black hair stands with his arms crossed against a grey background. He is wearing a white and green jumper and a necklace with a pendant.
Raymond Antrobus' accolades include the Ted Hughes award, PBS Winter Choice, A Sunday Times Young Writer of the year award, Somerset Maugham award and The Guardian Poetry Book Of The Year 2018, as well as a shortlist for the Griffin Prize and Forward Prize. In 2018 he was awarded The Geoffrey Dearmer Prize (judged by Ocean Vuong) for his poem 'Sound Machine'. Also, in 2019, his poem 'Jamaican British' was added to the UK's GCSE syllabus.
Raymond is a founding member of Chill Pill and Keats House Poets Forum. He is an ambassador for The Poetry School and a board member for English PEN (an organisation that promotes freedom of expression and literature across frontiers).
Raymond also writes for young readers. His debut children's picture book, 'Can Bear's Ski?' is illustrated by Polly Dunbar.
Raymond Antrobus' accolades include the Ted Hughes award, PBS Winter Choice, A Sunday Times Young Writer of the year award, Somerset Maugham award and The Guardian Poetry Book Of The Year 2018, as well as a shortlist for the Griffin Prize and Forward Prize. In 2018 he was awarded The Geoffrey Dearmer Prize (judged by Ocean Vuong) for his poem 'Sound Machine'. Also, in 2019, his poem 'Jamaican British' was added to the UK's GCSE syllabus.
Raymond is a founding member of Chill Pill and Keats House Poets Forum. He is an ambassador for The Poetry School and a board member for English PEN (an organisation that promotes freedom of expression and literature across frontiers).
Raymond also writes for young readers. His debut children's picture book, 'Can Bear's Ski?' is illustrated by Polly Dunbar.
Charlotte Amelia Poe (they/them)
ID: They stand with one arm crossed over their body, looking at the camera. Their hair is cropped short and blonde. They are wearing a black tshirt with white writing across it and a light blue/grey skirt. Trees and a metal railing fence are behind them.
Charlotte Amelia Poe is a 31 year old writer and artist living in Blundeston, England. Their first book, 'How To Be Autistic', was published September 19th 2019. In 2018, Poe won the inaugural Spectrum Art Award. Poe is currently working on their first novel.
Passionate about LGBT+ and disability rights, Charlotte hopes to create a dialogue about what it means to be autistic in the 21st century, and how we move past awareness and into action.
Charlotte Amelia Poe is a 31 year old writer and artist living in Blundeston, England. Their first book, 'How To Be Autistic', was published September 19th 2019. In 2018, Poe won the inaugural Spectrum Art Award. Poe is currently working on their first novel.
Passionate about LGBT+ and disability rights, Charlotte hopes to create a dialogue about what it means to be autistic in the 21st century, and how we move past awareness and into action.
Ellen Clifford (she/her)
ID: A portrait of a woman with short brown hair. She is wearing an orange floral top.
Ellen Clifford is a disabled activist who has worked within the disability sector, for over twenty years. She currently serves on the National Steering Group for Disabled People Against Cuts. In her searing account, 'The War on Disabled People: Capitalism, Welfare and the Making of a Human Catastrophe' (June, 2020) details how disabled people have been demonized and hard-hit by the Tory ‘welfare reforms’ during the last decade or so.
Ellen Clifford is a disabled activist who has worked within the disability sector, for over twenty years. She currently serves on the National Steering Group for Disabled People Against Cuts. In her searing account, 'The War on Disabled People: Capitalism, Welfare and the Making of a Human Catastrophe' (June, 2020) details how disabled people have been demonized and hard-hit by the Tory ‘welfare reforms’ during the last decade or so.
Frances Ryan Ph.D (she/her)
ID: A woman with long blonde hair looking at the camera with a neutral expression. She is sat in a black wheelchair and is wearing a black top with cut-out shoulders.
UK journalist, broadcaster and author. She was named UKs most influential disabled person by the Shaw trust 2018. Frances has generalised muscle weakness and is a wheelchair user. Her weekly Guardian column “Hardworking Britain”, has been at the forefront of coverage of Austerity. She additionally regularly writes about social security, disability, feminism and social mobility. Frances has a TV and radio presence and has appeared on radio shows such as BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and The World Tonight. In recent times she has also been a guest on BBC Sunday politics, Sky News and BBC The Big Questions. Her first book 'Crippled: Austerity and the Demonisation of Disabled People' was published in 2019. The book focuses on exposing the issues with austerity policies through personal stories of disabled people. Ryan charts how attitudes towards the disabled have changed from compassion to contempt, highlighting how the media and governmental system has failed them. Her work was long listed for the Orwell Prize in 2019. The book was published in paperback in September 2020 with an added section on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
UK journalist, broadcaster and author. She was named UKs most influential disabled person by the Shaw trust 2018. Frances has generalised muscle weakness and is a wheelchair user. Her weekly Guardian column “Hardworking Britain”, has been at the forefront of coverage of Austerity. She additionally regularly writes about social security, disability, feminism and social mobility. Frances has a TV and radio presence and has appeared on radio shows such as BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and The World Tonight. In recent times she has also been a guest on BBC Sunday politics, Sky News and BBC The Big Questions. Her first book 'Crippled: Austerity and the Demonisation of Disabled People' was published in 2019. The book focuses on exposing the issues with austerity policies through personal stories of disabled people. Ryan charts how attitudes towards the disabled have changed from compassion to contempt, highlighting how the media and governmental system has failed them. Her work was long listed for the Orwell Prize in 2019. The book was published in paperback in September 2020 with an added section on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Elizabeth Guffey (she/her)
ID: A woman with very short blonde hair swooping down over her foreheard. She is wearing a light blue top and thin golden necklace. She sits before a background of different coloured books.
Elizabeth Guffey is Professor of Art and Design History and directs the MA in Modern and Contemporary Art, Criticism and Theory at the State University of New York, Purchase College, USA. She is co-editor of 'Making Disability Modern' and author of 'Designing Disability', 'Posters: A Global History' and 'Retro: The Culture of Revival'. She is Founding Editor of Design and Culture and has also published essays in a number of popular publications, including The New York Times and The Nation.
Elizabeth Guffey is Professor of Art and Design History and directs the MA in Modern and Contemporary Art, Criticism and Theory at the State University of New York, Purchase College, USA. She is co-editor of 'Making Disability Modern' and author of 'Designing Disability', 'Posters: A Global History' and 'Retro: The Culture of Revival'. She is Founding Editor of Design and Culture and has also published essays in a number of popular publications, including The New York Times and The Nation.
Emma Mahony (she/her)
ID: A woman with shoulder length brown hair looks into the camera. Her smile is closed and she wears pink lipstick, a white scarf wrapped tight around her neck and a teal blue jumper.
Since her ADHD diagnosis, Emma has re-trained as a teacher. She also works as a freelance journalist. Emma is the author of two books – 'Double Trouble (Twins and How to Survive Them)', and 'Stand and Deliver (And Other Brilliant Ways to Give Birth)'. Her passion is to share her experience and what she has learned to help the growing number of people diagnosed later in life, to understand this complex disorder.
Since her ADHD diagnosis, Emma has re-trained as a teacher. She also works as a freelance journalist. Emma is the author of two books – 'Double Trouble (Twins and How to Survive Them)', and 'Stand and Deliver (And Other Brilliant Ways to Give Birth)'. Her passion is to share her experience and what she has learned to help the growing number of people diagnosed later in life, to understand this complex disorder.
Susannah B. Mintz (she/her)
ID: A portrait photo of a woman smiling into the camera with grey hair pulled back into a bun. She wears glasses and a v-neck black top.
Susannah B. Mintz is a professor of English and former chair of the department at Skidmore College, where she has taught since 2002. Her internationally recognized scholarly work focuses on disability studies, poetry, early modern literature, the study of pain, and forms of life-writing, including autobiography, creative nonfiction, and graphic memoir. Her books have explored issues of pain and illness representation in literature, disability memoir, crime fiction and disabled detectives, and psychological dynamics in the work of John Milton.
As a creative writer, she has published both prose poetry and personal essays, in work that ranges from highly fragmented lyrical essay to narrative-driven extended memoir. Her critical and creative work have been recognized for outstanding significance and she was granted Skidmore’s excellence in teaching award. She has an MFA from Columbia University and received her PhD from Rice University in Houston.
Susannah B. Mintz is a professor of English and former chair of the department at Skidmore College, where she has taught since 2002. Her internationally recognized scholarly work focuses on disability studies, poetry, early modern literature, the study of pain, and forms of life-writing, including autobiography, creative nonfiction, and graphic memoir. Her books have explored issues of pain and illness representation in literature, disability memoir, crime fiction and disabled detectives, and psychological dynamics in the work of John Milton.
As a creative writer, she has published both prose poetry and personal essays, in work that ranges from highly fragmented lyrical essay to narrative-driven extended memoir. Her critical and creative work have been recognized for outstanding significance and she was granted Skidmore’s excellence in teaching award. She has an MFA from Columbia University and received her PhD from Rice University in Houston.
David Davis (he/him)
ID: A man with short, curly grey hair looks into the camera through oval glasses. He wears a charcoal grey spotted shirt and stands before a mustard yellow curtain.
David Davis is the author and/or editor of six books and has spent his career in journalism with his work being published in LA Weekly newspaper, Sports Illustrated, Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, SB Nation, Deadspin, and Vice, among others.
His book 'Wheels of Courage' will be published in September 2021. The book follows how paralyzed veterans from World War II invented wheelchair sports, fought for disability rights, and inspired a nation.
David Davis is the author and/or editor of six books and has spent his career in journalism with his work being published in LA Weekly newspaper, Sports Illustrated, Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, SB Nation, Deadspin, and Vice, among others.
His book 'Wheels of Courage' will be published in September 2021. The book follows how paralyzed veterans from World War II invented wheelchair sports, fought for disability rights, and inspired a nation.
Josie George (she/her)
ID: A woman with short, brunette hair sits smiling at the camera. She is wearing a grey top with a navy cardigan. Behind her is a grey blanket over another, more colourful blanket.
Josie George lives in the Urban West Midlands with her 12-year-old son. Her days are watchful, restricted and often solitary, in a large part because of life-long chronic illness, but also because she has discovered that a slow, quiet life has much to teach her.
Josie attracted a growing number of dedicated followers through her honest essays and Twitter posts about life and all its stark, joyful complexity. She also developed a series of privately-printed and hand-posted letters on eclectic topics which proved hugely popular to hundreds of people worldwide. A visual artist as well as a writer, Josie explores the theme of attention and relationship through drawing, painting, photography and yarn, using these things to enrich both her writing and understand of the world around her.
Josie George lives in the Urban West Midlands with her 12-year-old son. Her days are watchful, restricted and often solitary, in a large part because of life-long chronic illness, but also because she has discovered that a slow, quiet life has much to teach her.
Josie attracted a growing number of dedicated followers through her honest essays and Twitter posts about life and all its stark, joyful complexity. She also developed a series of privately-printed and hand-posted letters on eclectic topics which proved hugely popular to hundreds of people worldwide. A visual artist as well as a writer, Josie explores the theme of attention and relationship through drawing, painting, photography and yarn, using these things to enrich both her writing and understand of the world around her.
David Bolt (he/him)
ID: A close-up image of a bald man wearing a black shirt. He is standing in front of a stained glass window.
David Bolt is the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies and the director of the Centre for Culture & Disability Studies (CCDS) at Liverpool Hope University, where he is also Professor of Disability Studies.
Bolt's key areas of interest include the analysis of representations of disability in all forms of cultural production (e.g. literature, film, art, advertising, television etc.) and how these shape wider public understandings of disability. He also seeks curricular reform at all levels of education.
David Bolt is the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies and the director of the Centre for Culture & Disability Studies (CCDS) at Liverpool Hope University, where he is also Professor of Disability Studies.
Bolt's key areas of interest include the analysis of representations of disability in all forms of cultural production (e.g. literature, film, art, advertising, television etc.) and how these shape wider public understandings of disability. He also seeks curricular reform at all levels of education.
Karen Havelin (she/her)
ID: A woman with blonde hair down to her collarbone. Her head is slightly turned and she is looking at the camera. She wears black rim glasses and a light grey top. There is a brick wall behind her.
Karen Havelin is a writer and translator from Bergen, Norway. She attended Skrivekunst-akademiet i Hordaland (The Academy of Writing in Hordaland/Bergen) and got her Bachelor’s degree in French, Literature, and Gender Studies from the University of Bergen and University of Paris Sorbonne. She then completed her MFA in Fiction from Columbia University in 2013. Her work has been published in both Norwegian and English.
Her first novel, 'Please read This Leaflet Carefully', was published simultaneously in the US, UK, and Norway in Spring 2019 – from Dottir Press, Dead Ink Books, and Cappelen Damm. Havelin was diagnosed with endometriosis a decade after she began suffering from it, and her book is a tribute to this. It moves backwards through the protagonist’s life and is an exploration of the pain she suffers to survive. It was shortlisted for The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize 2019.
Karen Havelin is a writer and translator from Bergen, Norway. She attended Skrivekunst-akademiet i Hordaland (The Academy of Writing in Hordaland/Bergen) and got her Bachelor’s degree in French, Literature, and Gender Studies from the University of Bergen and University of Paris Sorbonne. She then completed her MFA in Fiction from Columbia University in 2013. Her work has been published in both Norwegian and English.
Her first novel, 'Please read This Leaflet Carefully', was published simultaneously in the US, UK, and Norway in Spring 2019 – from Dottir Press, Dead Ink Books, and Cappelen Damm. Havelin was diagnosed with endometriosis a decade after she began suffering from it, and her book is a tribute to this. It moves backwards through the protagonist’s life and is an exploration of the pain she suffers to survive. It was shortlisted for The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize 2019.
Molly McCully Brown (she/her)
ID: A young woman with long brown curly hair. She looks towards the camera with a slight smile. She is wearing a brown jacket and pink scarf while sat on a bench.
Molly McCully Brown is the author of the essay collection 'Places I’ve Taken my Body'— which was published in the United States in June 2020 by Persea Books, and released in the United Kingdom in March of 2021 by Faber & Faber— and the poetry collection 'The Virginia State Colony For Epileptics and Feebleminded' (Persea Books, 2017), which won the 2016 Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize and was named a New York Times Critics’ Top Book of 2017. With Susannah Nevison, she is also the coauthor of the poetry collection 'In The Field Between Us' (Persea Books, 2020). Brown has cerebral palsy.
Molly McCully Brown is the author of the essay collection 'Places I’ve Taken my Body'— which was published in the United States in June 2020 by Persea Books, and released in the United Kingdom in March of 2021 by Faber & Faber— and the poetry collection 'The Virginia State Colony For Epileptics and Feebleminded' (Persea Books, 2017), which won the 2016 Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize and was named a New York Times Critics’ Top Book of 2017. With Susannah Nevison, she is also the coauthor of the poetry collection 'In The Field Between Us' (Persea Books, 2020). Brown has cerebral palsy.
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