Disability Index

This list includes titles featuring characters with disabilities and work by people with disabilities. Being included in this index is not necessarily a recommendation. In fact, far from it: Simon Ings’s representation of an albino in Wolves made me rage so much I threw it out, forgetting that I had already started a collection of books featuring disabilities.

So, although these stories feature characters with disabilities, they’re not necessarily commendable representations nor even medically-accurate representations. (Ings’s albino wasn’t vision impaired until he went to a warfront THEN he acquired his vision impairment. Let’s all scream together, shall we?)

• “Disability and computer games” at PAX Australia November 5, 2015
• “It’s all about love, actually” – Meg Mundell, Rohan Wilson and Tabitha Bird February 11, 2020
• “Sick Heroes Explore representation of illness”: PAX Australia November 15, 2015
• “They expect a fish to climb a tree”: Anna Whateley on Peta Lyre and autism May 25, 2020
• #CripAuspol launch April 9, 2019
• 2021 CripLit Key winners October 21, 2022
• 3MT: Prejudice Kills July 16, 2017
• A Curse of Ash and Embers by Jo Spurrier October 31, 2018
• A Dead and Stormy Night by Steffanie Holmes September 26, 2023
• A Lifetime of Impossible Days by Tabitha Bird June 3, 2019
• Accessibility for Gamers with Disabilities November 28, 2016
• Accessible conventions: what SFWA forgot November 19, 2015
• Again Again by e lockhart June 11, 2020
• Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor January 15, 2013
• Albinism representations December 20, 2016
• Am I not pretty enough (to live)? February 4, 2015
• Amazon makes disability access more expensive in Australia May 27, 2015
• An orange angel August 25, 2014
• And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle, illustrated by Bruce Whatley January 27, 2015
• Angle Mort or Dead Angle October 16, 2019
• Anna Whateley: #AuthorsForFireys guest blog January 8, 2020
• Anna Whateley: such a normal selfie (card) March 29, 2020
• Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb September 28, 2014
• Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb November 3, 2014
• Awards for excellent representations of disability in pop culture May 14, 2016
• Black Sun Light My Way by Jo Spurrier January 16, 2014
• Book launch: Darkness for Light by Emma Viskic December 18, 2019
• BOOM! Disabled car parking prank June 26, 2015
• Boy Made Of Blocks by Keith Stuart October 26, 2016
• Boy who Fell to Earth by Kathy Lette January 9, 2012
• Bride Test by Helen Hoang June 10, 2019
• Carly Findlay: #AuthorsForFireys guest blog January 9, 2020
• Carly Findlay: a thank you party! early January 2020 February 25, 2020
• Chimes by Anna Smaill February 2, 2015
• City of Dragons by Robin Hobb March 31, 2013
• Code Name Bananas by David Walliams December 6, 2020
• Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde September 14, 2020
• Continuum 9 Monday: Misappropriations, Dystopias and F**king knights June 17, 2013
• Cuckoo’s Flight by Wendy Orr March 2, 2021
• Cultural Misappropriations panel with added discussion of disability June 14, 2013
• Dance with Dragons by George R R Martin September 23, 2011
• Dark Mode book launch March 13, 2023
• Daughter of Lies and Ruin by Jo Spurrier September 24, 2019
• Dead Man In A Ditch By Luke Arnold October 31, 2020
• Defining “Own Voices” Authors: you can’t have it both ways April 18, 2020
• Devoted by Dean Koontz April 7, 2020
• Diamond Eyes by A A Bell: a commentary April 8, 2013
• Dick of the Day or why Lionel Shriver is wrong September 28, 2016
• Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams September 20, 2012
• Disability in Spec Fic list 4.0 November 25, 2019
• Disability, SFF, invisibility, labels… September 16, 2014
• Disabling Characters: Representations of Disability in Young Adult Literature by Patricia A Dunn March 23, 2019
• Doctor Strange (2016) November 10, 2016
• Doctor Who and disability June 25, 2014
• Dominique Valente August 15, 2020
• Donkeys vs dogs May 17, 2022
• Donna Haraway Award: the Cruel Stars December 28, 2020
• Double Shadow by Sally Gardner September 29, 2012
• Down Under (2016) August 11, 2016
• Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb March 24, 2013
• Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb March 23, 2013
• Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr August 31, 2016
• Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi September 14, 2012
• Earth Flight by Janet Edwards December 29, 2015
• Earth Girl by Janet Edwards September 1, 2013
• Earth Girl by Janet Edwards March 19, 2014
• Earth Star by Janet Edwards March 24, 2014
• Earth Star by Janet Edwards November 21, 2014
• Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson February 3, 2014
• Eon by Alison Goodman January 18, 2013
• Eona by Alison Goodman February 12, 2013
• Extraordinaires by Michael Pryor January 9, 2012
• Extraordinaries by T J Klune August 15, 2020
• Eye and prejudice: a vision for equity May 4, 2015
• Face your fears and the truth will set you free: podcast July 31, 2023
• Fanart: A Lifetime of Impossible Days December 20, 2019
• Fanart: Daughter of Lies and Ruin December 13, 2019
• Fanart: The Starless Sea December 9, 2019
• Fault in our Stars by John Green February 24, 2013
• Fearsome freaks: how the dominant discourse disenfranchises people with albinism December 19, 2019
• Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig January 25, 2015
• Fireman by Joe Hill May 4, 2016
• First Third by Will Kostakis August 23, 2013
• Fit-lit or sick-lit? January 7, 2013
• Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb November 18, 2015
• Fool’s Quest by Robin Hobb November 25, 2015
• Formative fiction for a disabled reader September 3, 2020
• Francesca Haig April 11, 2016
• Furbabies: NDIS application plus two ginger rescue kitties February 9, 2022
• Furbaby Diaries February 8, 2022
• Fuse by Julianna Baggott April 28, 2013
• Future Friend by David Baddiel December 21, 2020
• Future Girl by Asphyxia November 20, 2020
• Gallant by V E Schwab March 30, 2022
• Ghost Story August 24, 2014
• Glenda Millard on writing The Stars at Oktober Bend March 9, 2016
• Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar April 22, 2011
• Grace Year by Kim Liggett October 16, 2019
• Hacker helps disabled mum September 11, 2012
• Half a King by Joe Abercrombie July 1, 2014
• Half a War by Joe Abercrombie June 29, 2015
• Half the World by Joe Abercrombie January 29, 2015
• Helen Keller Award: Benighted December 28, 2020
• Hindsight by A A Bell April 28, 2013
• Hollowpox by Jessica Townsend September 22, 2020
• Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart May 12, 2015
• How do I read? this is my desktop magnifier September 9, 2013
• How to stop time by Matt Haig September 15, 2017
• Humans by Matt Haig February 7, 2014
• I aten’t dead. A post in part about Asshat and the Ableists. August 29, 2022
• Illustrating Doerr’s statement implying that the ‘true’ Aryan does not have albinism March 31, 2019
• International Day of Disability 2013: a letter to the Triantiwontigongolope December 3, 2013
• International White Cane Day 2014 October 15, 2014
• Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare October 16, 2014
• Is being fat a disability? A biased opinion March 1, 2017
• Jessica White January 8, 2020
• Jo Spurrier October 15, 2013
• Kirsten Miller on witches, women and justice June 27, 2022
• Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli December 16, 2019
• Lionel Shriver, Representation and Misappropriation Part 1 September 16, 2016
• Lionel Shriver, Representation and Misappropriation Part 2 September 23, 2016
• Lionel Shriver, Representation and Misappropriation Part 3 September 30, 2016
• List of recommended texts for high school English literature classes November 26, 2019
• Lock In by John Scalzi September 22, 2014
• Logan (2017) April 14, 2017
• Machine Man by Max Barry September 24, 2012
• Mainstream culture versus minority representation December 6, 2019
• Map of Bones by Francesca Haig March 26, 2016
• Mario fan-made video — Mario in a wheelchair! December 31, 2015
• Men in suits June 6, 2015
• Misappropriation in Action: Zeroes by Westerfeld, Lanagan & Biancotti October 18, 2016
• Monstrous Child by Francesca Simon May 17, 2016
• More Than A Game: Playing for Mental Health & Wellbeing November 19, 2015
• My second NDIS application April 14, 2022
• My Year of Living Mindfully by Shannon Harvey September 9, 2020
• Nalini Haynes: On Gender Parity December 14, 2012
• Narelle Warren January 7, 2020
• Navigating the maze (disability access) September 6, 2012
• Norma K Hemming Award fail May 25, 2014
• Not your inspiration (a short science fiction story) February 23, 2016
• Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Chris Riddell September 21, 2016
• Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow December 21, 2020
• One year anniversary April 11, 2022
• Overtly ignored yet progressing towards equity November 19, 2015
• Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke August 26, 2019
• Panning for gold in the muddy creek of life April 20, 2013
• Patriots Day (2016) May 24, 2017
• Paul Darke Award: Dawnhounds December 28, 2020
• PAXAus2016 day 1 round up November 4, 2016
• Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal by Anna Whateley June 24, 2020
• Pirate Songs in the Accessing the Future anthology April 8, 2019
• Pure by Julianna Baggott May 9, 2012
• Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen September 26, 2014
• Representations of Albinism in Australian High School English Texts March 31, 2019
• Resident Alien season 1 February 19, 2022
• Responding to the Princess Culture December 2, 2013
• RIP Beryn Keep December 9, 2016
• Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion November 2, 2014
• Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb October 11, 2014
• Ruby Tuesday by Hayley Lawrence April 1, 2021
• Sad Mum Lady by Ashe Davenport September 16, 2020
• Samuel Maguire: #AuthorsForFireys guest blog January 9, 2020
• Sarah Alexander on male eating disorders June 25, 2016
• Secret Ministry of Frost by Nick Lake January 18, 2017
• Seeing Eye Dogs Australia SEDA Assessment March 4, 2022
• Shadowscent: The Darkest Bloom by P M Freestone June 5, 2019
• Silkie arrives and training begins April 14, 2022
• Simone Campos: writing autism was too easy so… #podcast January 30, 2023
• Snapshots of the Dark Side of Conventions (disability discrimination) July 13, 2019
• Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper September 14, 2012
• Speculative fiction books with disability list 3.0 November 10, 2017
• Speechless season 1 July 3, 2019
• Starfell: Willow Moss and the Forgotten Tale by Dominique Valente July 27, 2020
• Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern October 31, 2019
• Stars at Oktober Bend by Glenda Millard January 20, 2016
• Steffanie Holmes is the blind leading the visually impaired September 25, 2023
• Stella Young Award: Daughter of Lies and Ruin December 28, 2020
• Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor December 20, 2016
• Summer Harvest by Georgina Penney February 15, 2016
• Tabitha Bird June 10, 2019
• TEDx Canberra talk: Hear My Words August 18, 2016
• The Dawnhounds: Against the Quiet by Sascha Stronach November 1, 2020
• The Happiness Quest by Richard Yaxley July 10, 2019
• The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang November 12, 2021
• The Nobody People by Bob Proehl January 22, 2021
• The Other Side Of Perfect by Mariko Turk June 12, 2021
• There will be lies by Nick Lake January 15, 2015
• This Hasn’t Been A Very Magical Journey So Far by Homeless July 15, 2019
• Thorne by Charlotte McConaghy March 8, 2017
• Tim Ferguson on writing comedy, disability, and tap water September 26, 2021
• Trespassers by Meg Mundell March 30, 2020
• Triantiwontigongolope Award: A Lifetime Of Impossible Days December 28, 2020
• Trinity Rising by Elspeth Cooper May 17, 2013
• Trivia Man by Deborah O’Brien July 8, 2015
• Us and Them January 1, 2012
• Vigil by Angela Slatter May 16, 2016
• Vision Australia interviewed me as a seeing eye dog handler November 29, 2022
• Visually Impaired leading the Legally Blind August 13, 2014
• Waking Romeo by Kathryn Barker June 10, 2021
• What The Family Needed by Steven Amsterdam September 14, 2016
• What’s better than one guide dog? September 24, 2014
• When Mr Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan January 31, 2014
• Whisper To Me by Nick Lake October 14, 2016
• Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi April 22, 2011
• Winter be my shield by Jo Spurrier November 21, 2012
• Winterkill by Kate A Boorman May 2, 2016
• Wit & Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister by George R R Martin, illustrated by Jonty Clark December 29, 2013
• Witch Hunts: launching a graphic novel August 4, 2012
• Wolves by Simon Ings February 20, 2014
• Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes November 12, 2014
• WorldCon and disability access September 10, 2012
• Writer from an OTHER culture February 17, 2013
• Yesterday is history by Kosoko Jackson October 18, 2022
• Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti September 23, 2015

Related:

Doctor Who and disability WorldCon and disability access Disability in Spec Fic list 4.0