Announcement: 2022 Disability Reading Challenge
I’m thrilled to announce a new yearlong reading challenge to read more disability representation: #ChronicallyIconicReadingChallenge
Over 1 billion people in the world are disabled & yet our stories are rarely shared. In 2022, the Chronically Iconic Book Club invites you to seek out disabled voices & make your reading more inclusive through this challenge!
With the inspiration of @teacupsandfirereads & my fellow members of the #ChronicallyIconicBookClub, I’ve assembled 15 prompts. If 15 is too much for your schedule, feel free to combine them.
I encourage you to fill each prompt with an #OwnVoices read, aka a book about disability that comes from the author’s own personal experience. Disability reads by able-bodied authors have their value, but they often perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
OwnVoices = a term that coined by YA author, Corinne Duyvis which refers to books about characters from underrepresented & marginalized groups in which the author shares the same identity.
I (@libraryofdreaming) have ensured that the challenge can be completed solely using books by disabled authors. I highly recommend you highlight disabled voices and their personal experiences through your reading.
Whatever you choose to read for this challenge, please do your due diligence & seek out reviews by disabled readers before reading.
Prompts:
1. Happily Ever After (a disability read with a happy ending)
2. Written by a BIPOC (a book with disability rep written by a person of color)
3. “Invisible” Disability (a book featuring a protagonist with a disability that is not immediately visible)
4. Illustrated book or graphic novel
5. Fantasy (a SFF book with a disabled main character)
6. Mental Health (book that involves mental health & disability )
7. Set or written before the 21st century (a disability classic/historical fiction book)
8. Features a main character with a mobility aid
9. Romantic (a romantic read with disabled protagonist(s)
10. Mystery or Thriller
11. Short story or poetry collection
12. LGBTQA+ rep (features a disabled LGBTQA+ main character)
13. Memoir/Nonfiction (about real disabled people & their stories)
14. Neurodivergence (book feat neurodivergence rep like OCD, autism, etc)
15. 2022 Release (disability read published this year)
Don’t know where to begin? Join our book club dedicated to reading disability rep: #ChronicallyIconicBookClub & sign up for our newsletter. Follow @libraryofdreaming on Instagram for updates. View our recommendations list on Bookshop.org.
Have a suggestion for a read? Drop it in the comments below!
Keep an eye out for recommendation posts to come throughout the year!
Feel free to use the following templates to track your reading:
