The following is a list of organizations that support disabled authors, or those writing about disability, including mental illness.

* Inclusion here does not equal endorsement. Please do your own research before contacting.

All links are current as of August 2020. If you find a non-working link, or if you know an organization that should be added to / deleted from this list, please let me know.

Thank you!

— Nicole Melanson

 

Access2Arts — Making Disability and Art Work (Australia)

Features a range of opportunities for disabled artists. Previous projects included Writing Me, a professional development program for South Australian Disabled writers working with Gaele Sobott.

 

Arts Access Australia (Australia)

Arts Access Australia (AAA) is the national peak body for arts and disability in Australia. We work to increase national and international opportunities and access to the arts for people with disability as artists, arts-workers, participants and audiences.

AAA is currently preparing its first online magazine showcasing the work of d/Deaf and disabled writers, open to international submissions.

 

Disability Arts Online (Scotland)

We are an organisation led by disabled people, set up to advance disability arts and culture through the pages of our journal.

Primarily, we publish editorial, blogs and showcases of art, providing a place where opinion pieces, reviews and interviews can be shared and commented on. We have a small commissioning budget and are always looking out for pitches from disabled writers, so if you have a proposal for an arts opinion piece, review, or blog about your artistic practice then do email Editor, Colin Hambrook via editor[at]disabilityartsonline.org.uk

Disability Arts Online also offers Guest Editorships and Diverse Critics development programs.

 

Disability Visibility Project

The Disability Visibility Project is an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture.

 

Disabled Writers  — Increasing disability diversity in journalism

Disabled Writers, founded in 2017, is a resource to help editors connect with disabled writers and journalists, and journalists connect with disabled sources. Our goal is to promote paid opportunities for multiply marginalized members of the disability community, and to encourage editors and journalists to think of disabled people for stories that stretch beyond disability issues.

 

National Association for Poetry Therapy (USA)

The National Association for Poetry Therapy (NAPT) is a nonprofit, interdisciplinary membership organization that supports and enhances the profession of poetry therapy. Its mission is to promote growth and healing through written and spoken language, symbolic expression, and story.

 

Open Arts Minnesota Poet’s Club (USA)

Open Arts Minnesota creates and fosters inclusive artistic activities for people of diverse abilities and ages who are seeking opportunities to discover their unique creative gifts, develop and practice skills, and share their creations in a supportive, compassionate environment.

Through our collaboration with Minnesota State University, Mankato, The College of Arts and Humanities and the English Department’s community outreach program, LITREACH, MFA students in creative writing work with members of Aktio Club Theatre of Mankato to help them learn about and write poetry. We offer people the opportunity to read their poetry at public readings and in plays.

 

PoetsIN — The Creative Mental Health Charity (UK)

PoetsIN is an award-winning charity with one simple goal – to help those in need heal, learn, and grow with the power of words delivered through a UK-wide programme of online and in-person creative writing workshops, mentorship programs, and listening programs.

We offer support for mental illness and promote the rehabilitation of people with mental illness and disabilities using creativity, mentorship, and written expression as an outlet for both children and adults.

 

Zoeglossia (USA)

Zoeglossia is a new literary organization that is seeking to pioneer a new, inclusive space for poets with disabilities. Much like its forbearers Canto Mundo, Kundiman, Cave Canem, and Lambda Literary, Zoeglossia strives to create an open and supportive community that welcomes and fosters creativity. Through the creation of an annual retreat, poets from all backgrounds will have the opportunity to learn and develop from prominent, established writers who also have disabilities. These retreats, which individuals will attend over a period of three years, will promote professional development among this shared creative community.