Hello, lovely people!
This is a reminder of tomorrow’s Twitter chat. Keep an eye on our account, @DisabilityinLit, to participate. We’ll be using the hashtag #DiKLchat and we’ll be kicking off at 3pm EST/noon PST.
We’re hoping to make this chat of particular interest to authors–discussing experiences writing disabled characters and avoiding common pitfalls. Questions and experiences are more than welcome.
We hope to see you tomorrow!
A lifelong Amsterdammer, Corinne Duyvis spends her days writing speculative MG and YA novels, such as the forthcoming YA fantasy Otherbound (Amulet Books, June 17, 2014). She enjoys brutal martial arts and gets her geek on whenever possible. Visit her online at @corinneduyvis.
s.e. smith is a writer, agitator, and commentator based in Northern California, with a journalistic focus on social issues, particularly gender, prison reform, disability rights, environmental justice, queerness, class, and the intersections thereof, with a special interest in rural subjects. International publication credits include work for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, and AlterNet, among many other news outlets and magazines. smith’s writing on representations of disability in science fiction and fantasy was recently featured in The WisCon Chronicles, Volume 7. Assisted by cats Loki and Leila, smith lives in Fort Bragg, California. You can follow s.e. on Twitter, ou personal site, Goodreads, and lots of other exciting places online.
After a virus claimed nearly the entire global population, the world changed. The United States splintered into fifty walled cities where the surviving citizens clustered to start over. The Company, which ended the plague by bringing a life-saving vaccine back from the future, controls everything. They ration the scant food and supplies through a lottery system, mandate daily doses of virus suppressant, and even monitor future timelines to stop crimes before they can be committed.
Brilliant but autistic, sixteen-year-old Clover Donovan has always dreamed of studying at the Waverly-Stead Academy. Her brother and caretaker, West, has done everything in his power to make her dream a reality. But Clover’s refusal to part with her beloved service dog denies her entry into the school. Instead, she is drafted into the Time Mariners, a team of Company operatives who travel through time to gather news about the future.
When one of Clover’s missions reveals that West’s life is in danger, the Donovans are shattered. To change West’s fate, they’ll have to take on the mysterious Company. But as its secrets are revealed, they realize that the Company’s rule may not be as benevolent as it seems. In saving her brother, Clover will face a more powerful force than she ever imagined and will team up with a band of fellow misfits and outsiders to incite a revolution that will change their destinies forever.
Warning: this discussion contains significant spoilers. Go here to skip directly to our spoiler-light conclusions. Continue reading
Disability in Kidlit 