1 Own Voices: A toolkit for creating disability access and inclusion within publishing Own Voices: A toolkit for creating disability access and inclusion within publishing 2 Own Voices: A toolkit for creating disability access and inclusion within publishing Contents Acknowledgements A note on language 5 5 Introduction 7 What is disability? 9 Is disability a medical diagnosis? 9 I don’t feel comfortable calling someone Disabled, isn’t it more polite to just say ‘person with disabilities’? 9 Why have you used the phrase ‘d/Deaf and Disabled’? Aren’t deaf people Disabled? 10 Activity: The Social Model of Disability 11 Disability and the arts 12 How can you help break down the barriers? 13 How do I know if someone identifies with disability if 80% are invisible? 14 Activity: Thinking about your workplace 14 Finding d/Deaf and Disabled writers 16 What is ‘Own Voices’? 16 Activity: Where are all the d/Deaf and Disabled writers? 16 Activity: The Fries Test 16 Intersectionality 17 What is ableism? 18 Activity: Finding d/Deaf and Disabled writers 18 Where to find d/Deaf and Disabled writers? 18 Working with d/Deaf and Disabled writers 22 Activity: Asking about access 22 Language and disability 23 Important things to remember 24 When should I capitalise Deaf? 24 Language do’s and don’ts 26 Additional resources 27 Activity: Avoiding inspiration porn 28 Promoting d/Deaf and Disabled writers 30 Accessible social media 30 Activity: Creating an author bio 31 Activity: Examples of good access information pages 32 Creating an inclusive organisation 33 Individual attitudes and behaviours 33 Personal action plan 34 3 Own Voices: A toolkit for creating disability access and inclusion within publishing Employment 35 Targets 36 Useful services and organisations 38 Services for people who are blind or have low vision 40 Services for people who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing 42 Other organisations and services 43 Marketing and communications 44 Disability literature websites 45 Disability in Kidlit 45 Disability Literature Resources List 45 Podcasts 45 Magazines and online journals 45 Further reading by d/Deaf and Disabled writers 45 4 Own Voices: A toolkit for creating disability access and inclusion within publishing Acknowledgements This toolkit was developed on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations. We wish to pay our respects to their elders—past, present and emerging. This land was never ceded and the process of colonisation, incarceration and genocide which began over two centuries ago continues to this day. In the face of this we want to recognise the strength, resilience and pride of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We encourage you to read more about the intersection of disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders identities and advocacy issues by visiting the First Peoples Disability Network Australia website. “We have a vision of a just and inclusive society, in which the First Peoples with disability of the Australian nation are respected and valued for their culture, history and contribution to contemporary life, and in which the human rights of First Peoples with disability are recognised, respected, protected and fulfilled’’. – First Peoples Disability Network Australia Publishability was a partnership between Writers Victoria and Arts Access Victoria, funded by Creative Victoria’s Talent Matters program. We wish to extend a heart-felt thank you to all the publishers and editors who attended our ‘Publishability: Disability Equality Training’ across the life of the program and who provided suggestions on the content of this toolkit. We hope that this toolkit will be useful for all who work in the publishing industry, including publishers, editors, publicity and marketing, and booksellers. Finally, we want to say a big thank you to Jax Jacki Brown, Fiona Murphy and Phoebe Neilson for their brilliant and creative work on the pages that follow. A note on language Throughout this toolkit you will notice that we use the terms d/Deaf and Disabled. These terms are linked to a cultural identity and experience known as the Social Model of Disability, which was developed by Mike Oliver in 1983. The Social Model of Disability states that many of the barriers that d/Deaf and Disabled people experience are not due to their bodies and minds being d