For some folks, packing for a trip is not a big deal, but for two blind guys and one guide dog, it’s a process.

My partner, James, my guide dog, Oslo, and I begin our packing routine by adding adhesive bumps and rubber bands to label bottles and boxes, charging or updating batteries on our adaptive tech, and meticulously placing things in our luggage a few days prior to our departure. 

Although Oslo’s guide dog training didn’t involve packing a suitcase, he takes his bag stuffing very seriously. As soon as I place the luggage on the bed, I can hear his paws click with excitement over the hardwood floors. Sometimes, he is right on the money and throws his toy or blanket on top of my clothes. Other times, he is way off base — like the day he placed the TV remote next to my socks.

After I’m packed, I always zip my bags and roll them near the front door. This is when I often reflect on the place I’ll be visiting. Since our upcoming trip will be to the San Francisco Bay Area, I recently found myself reminiscing about the time I lost my wallet there.

A few years ago, I met up a group of friends in San Francisco’s North Beach District for lunch. One of them gave me a ride back home to my Oakland residence, and it wasn’t until Oslo and I walked through the door to our apartment that I noticed my wallet was not in my pants pocket.

“Crap!” I remember shouting, my heart beating.

Several phone calls later, I discovered my wallet wasn’t at the restaurant, the coffee house, or in my friend’s car. It was a Saturday afternoon, and I would have to wait until Monday to begin to straighten things out with my bank and the DMV.

Days later, I was fumbling with the DMV website using my screen reader when I heard a knock at the door. I was handed a large padded envelope, and I curiously tore it open. To my delight, it was my wallet — ID, bank cards, cash and all. I immediately asked the delivery man to read me my hero’s name off the return address; yet, there was none.

“No name,” he said. “It’s postmarked in San Francisco though.”

I’ve had a lot of anonymous supporters in my life. Like the many, often funny screen names that share and support my work on social media, or the people who open doors for me and whose names I never get.

To all of you who are reading this, whether I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you in person or not, I wanted to take this opportunity to say: Thank you for supporting me!

Now, I’m thrilled to announce another avenue of support we recently established through Springboard for the Arts for my publishing company, Oleb Books.

The mission of Oleb Books is to expand the representation of disability in literature by publishing disability stories by writers with disabilities.

Now, as Oleb Books moves into its second year of operation, we are gearing up for our fall fundraising.

So, as one of my supporters, I would like to take a moment to ask you to please consider making a $10 donation to Oleb Books this fall.

Your gift will help writers with disabilities get discovered by readers!

To donate, and to learn more about the impact of your donation, please click here.

In other Oleb Books news… 

I’m happy to share that Oleb Books’ debut title, Firsts: Coming of Age Stories by People with Disabilities, has just received a gold medal in the Non-Fiction – Anthology category in the 2019 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards.

In support of the book, and along with contributing authors Caitlin Hernandez and David-Elijah Nahmod, I will be hosting several book talks around the San Francisco Bay Area this month, from Sept 25-30. Please check my events page for details. If you’re in the area, please come on out!

And, once again, that donation link is: https://olebbooks.com/donate.

Thank you (as always) for your support!

Oleb Books is a sponsored project of Springboard for the Arts, a nonprofit arts service organization.

Contributions on behalf of Oleb Books may be made payable to Springboard for the Arts and are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

On a chilly November afternoon in 2008, I tapped my white cane down Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, California and entered Pegasus Books. At that time, I had only been blind for a year, and often found a lot of my questions about disability answered by disability stories.

A charismatic woman greeted me, and I explained I was looking for books written by people with disabilities. “You want Crip Lit,” she said, helping me walk to another section of the store.

While Crip Lit allowed me to put a name to the genre of books I wanted to read, I quickly noted that it was a term not used by everyone in the disability community. Moreover, it was a label the publishing and arts communities did not want to use. Thus, I began to use D Lit to describe narratives about disability that were written by authors with disabilities. Now, 10 years later, I am the founder of Oleb Books — a publisher of D Lit.

But whether someone calls it Crip or D Lit, no one can ignore this genre is growing. It is now a literary category of its own, and several organizations are helping to drive it.

Deaf and gay writer Raymond Luczak is the founder of Squares and Rebels — a queer and disability press based out of Minneapolis. He said that he started his publishing house because he felt as though it was time for newer disability and queer titles.

“I’d noticed that more than a decade had passed since Bob Guter and John R. Killacky’s ‘Queer Crips: Disabled Gay Men and Their Stories’ was published. Wasn’t it time for a new queer disability anthology? Indeed it was,” said Luczak.

Luczak went on to publish “QDA: A Queer Disability Anthology,” as well as several other titles, through Squares and Rebels — helping many LGBTQ and disabled writers find an audience. When it comes to the publishing industry at large, Luczak believes disability is not considered chic; he even had a literary agent tell him it does not sell. Still, he believes it is important.

“Disability challenges the many ableist assumptions about the world we all live in, and in order for the world to become a better place for everyone, we need more stories about disability out there,” he said.

Queer and disability advocate Corbett O’Toole co-founded Reclamation Press — a publisher exclusively publishing authors who identify as having at least one disability. Like Luczak, O’Toole recognized there was a need for more disability books.

“Although one in five people living in the U.S. have a disability, less than 0.003 percent (one-third of 1 percent) of the 22 million books sold on Amazon are related to disability. There is a huge need for books by disabled people where we can share our ideas in both fiction and nonfiction forms,” O’Toole said.

“We know,” continued O’Toole, “that there are many people with disabilities writing extraordinary works. They might be crafting a science fiction world with a genderqueer, autistic lead, such as ‘Troubleshooting’ by Selene dePackh, or exploring ways to nurture ourselves while doing social justice work, such as ‘Sustaining Spirit’ by Naomi Ortiz.”

Since its launch in 2017, Reclamation Press has published three books with the help of donations, and has a list of projects it is seeking funding for on its site at www.reclapress.com.

Katherine Schneider, Ph.D., founded the Schneider Family Book Awards, with the American Library Association, to celebrate disability in children’s literature. The award came about as a result of her own experiences growing up as a blind child in the mid-20th century.

“In the 1950s, when I was in grade school, the only media mentions of blind people were of Helen Keller, Louis Braille, and the seven blind men who went to see the elephant — other disabilities fared no better,” she said, referring to the parable. “Fifty years later, the situation had improved somewhat. But the stories were often one-dimensional, still with an inspirational character with a disability overcoming the disability as the plot line. Since I established these awards with the American Library Association 15 years ago, the number and quality of books has greatly improved.”

Schneider pointed out that able-bodied writers do not always get disabled characters right.

“I think,” she said, “they sometimes graft their new-found knowledge of a disability onto the character, rather than having a character whose identity includes the disability. For example, they make sure the blind child has a talking computer, but don’t have the depth of understanding to know that emoji are sometimes misread, websites are not always accessible, workarounds have to be found, etc.”

In 2009, Laura Perna and Susie Angel launched the disability-writing contest Pen 2 Paper (P2P), as an arts program of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities. The competition accepts submissions of fiction, memoir, and poetry, and has grown into a global forum for writers with disabilities. Each year, hundreds of writers submit their work for a chance to win a grand prize, which in 2018 was $500. In addition, the contests give writers a chance to share their work with a large group of readers who are looking for disability stories.

“People who are able-bodied (ABs),” said Angel, “often think that people with disabilities are suffering through life and they aren’t capable of contributing to society. Through reading stories written about, and by, people with disabilities, ABs can learn how people with disabilities see themselves, and realize that there aren’t as many differences between the two groups. …”

Angel believes not every disability story is meant to teach anything or benefit anyone.

“Sometimes disability writing has no other purpose than to entertain,” she said.

Now, people can use the hashtag #DLit to share their favorite disability books on social media.

Belo Cipriani is an award-winning author and prize-winning journalist. His new book, “Firsts: Coming of Age Stories by People with Disabilities,” is available through every online retailer. Learn more at www.olebbooks.com

Oleb Books author Andrew Gurza, a self-identified “queer cripple,” not only writes, speaks, and tweets about his experiences, but also hosts a podcast about disability and has become well-known for his ability to spread awareness about the intersection between the queer and disabled communities.

Having earned his masters degree in legal studies from Carleton University in 2013, Gurza, who has cerebral palsy, switched from writing stories and imitative newspaper articles as a child to writing about his experiences as a man who is both queer and disabled. He views himself as a “Cripple Content Creator” and encourages both his readers and podcast audiences to think outside the box and attempt to examine disability and sexuality through the lens of those living the experience. “I love bringing people into (my) world and sharing perspectives around disability that we don’t often talk about,” he says.

Growing up, Gurza felt supported by his family, who ensured he was able to participate in any and all activities that interested him. His mother was his strongest and most steadfast supporter and advocate. “She’s been my rock,” Gurza says.

Though his childhood was fairly typical, Gurza stated his disability did pose its own unique challenges. “It was hard for me to make friends as a disabled kid and teen, and, ironically, as a queer, disabled man, that feeling hasn’t necessarily changed.”

In addition to making and listening to podcasts, Gurza is a True Crime fan who also enjoys traveling and exploring.

In his essay for Firsts: Coming of Age Stories by People with Disabilities, “Baring It All,” Gurza takes us back to college life. He shows the reader the ins and outs of navigating gay culture with a disability.

To learn more about author Andrew Gurza, check out his podcast, DisabilityAfterDark, follow him on Twitter at @andrewgurza, and visit his website at www.andrewgurza.com.

A northern California native, Caitlin Hernandez writes novels for teens and tweens, as well as nonfiction prose pieces. Occasionally, she writes songs, plays, and poems. She was a Lambda Literary fellow in 2015, and recently received mentorships through Writing In The Margins and We Need Diverse Books.

Caitlin lives in San Francisco and teaches fifth and sixth graders with disabilities.

Before his mid-40s, Oleb Books author Nigel David Kelly — a contributor to Firsts: Coming of Age Stories by People with Disabilities — lived by the old Greek saying, “A healthy mind, a healthy body.” Born in Belfast, Ireland, Nigel was a National Champion powerlifter and took pride in maintaining his physical health. He also enjoyed engaging and maintaining a healthy mind, which is why, in 1987, he began his college undergrad studies in computer programming. When asked if that field of study was his first choice, Nigel replied, “I sat a college aptitude test, which showed a high level of analytical ability. This suggested computers, which I’d never touched. I lapped it up, studying for the next 14 years.”

During those 14 years, Nigel said he felt different from those around him, yet could not identify why. That is, until he took the MENSA exam in 1991. “It wasn’t until I passed […] and discovered I have a genius IQ that I knew why I felt different. Talking to others with high IQs, I discovered it is a common feeling.” By 1994, Nigel had met and married Karen, who also worked at the college: she was in the art department, and he was in the computer office. “Dozens of people came in every day. When I heard her voice, something made me turn around. It took weeks to pluck up the courage to ask her out.”

After 26 years of marriage, Karen is, understandably, Nigel’s biggest influence and inspiration. However, following right behind her is Quentin Crisp: a gay writer/actor born and raised in Sutton, England, who died in 1999. Crisp would dye his hair bright red, wore make up and women’s clothes, and was perceived as outlandish in the 1930s. He was not allowed to serve in World War II, because he was deemed unstable by the British military. Quentin was a source of reassurance during a time in Nigel’s life when he struggled with being different from his peers. Nigel recalls, “[…] I saw The Naked Civil Servant, based on Quentin’s autobiography. He taught me it is okay to be different. Don’t worry about what society thinks. Being yourself is the only life worth living. Quentin is my hero.”

In mid-2013, Nigel received a letter from his physician requesting to see him. Once there, the doctor told him, “We found something,” leading Nigel to believe it was cancer. It wasn’t much to his relief, but that relief was short lived as the doctor diagnosed him with an acoustic neuroma, “a form of brain tumor […] that is uncommon, unusual, difficult to explain and understand.” After receiving this news he recalls that, “[…] like an ostrich I buried my head in the sand. I ignored it! Karen was much more freaked out. But she knew how I was dealing with it and went along.” Since then, life has been a constant struggle for Nigel, who only 4 years ago was in prime, physical condition.

There is no form of treatment for acoustic neuroma, so his physicians have placed him on strong antidepressants, painkillers, and sleeping pills. Together, these pills mask the symptoms and attempt to give Nigel some form of comfort in spite of his pain. Since contributing his essay “Dark Clouds” for Oleb Books’ debut title, Firsts, his condition has deteriorated, after having surgery in April 2018. “I used to be able to do anything I wanted, physically and mentally. Now I can’t cut my own lawn!” Nigel cites energy as his key issue, stating that after only two hours of being awake in the morning he quickly becomes tired.

He uses a walking stick to maintain his balance, but to look at him you would never believe anything was amiss. So, Nigel says he understands why those who see him (but don’t know him) believe he is, “[…] just putting it on or exaggerating. Once people get to know me they understand, especially if they witness me falling down or having a seizure!” His employer was another hurdle that Nigel had to clear on top of dealing with his disability. He recalled that they, “[…] just wanted to sack me. They kept telling me my situation was ‘unsustainable.’ Fortunately, a third party went to battle for me and I am now retired on ill health. So I have a pension and we can keep our home.”

Nigel still resides in Belfast with his wife Karen. He will turn 55 years old in October of 2018.

Christina Pires is an essayist who enjoys the simple things in life, like eating candy corn by pumpkin light on a cool Hallow’s Eve. She also loves reading, writing, drawing, painting, sculpting, and singing. You can follow her Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/TheCreativeBrewery/

In grad school, I learned how to take in criticism, as well as to write under deadlines. I also discovered I do my best writing in the morning and that poetry does not come to me as easy as prose.

While my Masters in creative writing gave me the tools to start my writing career, a year after completing my degree, I felt as though there was something missing in my writing regimen. It was not until I came across the announcement for the Lambda Literary Fellowship for LGBT writers that I recognized what was missing.

As a Jewish and Latin writer, I found plenty of support in writing groups in and out of class; however, as the only gay dude in my writing program, I did not get much feedback.

My Lambda experience was life-changing. Not only did I begin to understand the importance of having the right advice for my work, it also taught me about the importance of writing in community.

I took the Lambda experience and looked for other writers with disabilities to review my work. It was at this point in my career that I began to better understand the disability narrative, and was able to figure out how I want to write about my blindness.

More often than not, the stories of people with disabilities are told for us, not by us. I am launching Oleb Books because I want to give writers with disability an opportunity to work with editors and publishing professionals with disabilities that will help them to tell their stories.