News
Making the Book World Accessible
Accommodation for people with disabilities varies at
trade shows, conferences, and fan festsT
hough the Americans with Disabilities Act has pro-
hibited discrimination against individuals since 1990,
it is only in the past few years that the organizations
sponsoring book-related trade shows, conferences,
and conventions have taken steps to accommodate people
with disabilities. “The conversation is just now getting started,
and the time for ignorance is over,” said Annie Carl, co-owner
of the Never Ending Bookshop in Edmonds, Wash., who cited
estimates that close to 57 million Americans have a dis-
ability. “Disability is too often excluded in discussions of
diversity. But disability crosses racial,
gender, sexuality, class, and national
boundaries. People need to speak up,
and the publishing industry needs to
listen.”
Approximately 30 individuals whom
PW interviewed cited mobility—though
some mentioned chronic pain, hearing,
and low vision—as affecting their comfort
at shows and conferences, including those
held by the American Library Association
and the Association of Writers and Writ-
ing Programs, as well as BookExpo (orga-
nized by Reed), BookCon and New York
Comic Con (ReedPop), San Diego Comic-
Con (Comic-Con International), and Win-
ter Institute and Children’s Institute
(the American Booksellers Association).AWP
According to several people PW spoke with who have attended
AWP’s annual conference, the failure to accommodate people
with disabilities is a long-standing problem that came to the
forefront in 2015, when every panel about disability proposed
for AWP 2016 was rejected by organizers.
“That was shocking to people,” poet Jillian Weise recalled.
“It was a critical moment when everyone started asking,
‘What’s going on?’ ”
A group of AWP members established a disability caucus
that year, while others went public about their experiences
at AWP—including poet Steve Kuusisto, who blogged about
attendees stepping over him after he fell down just beforea popular panel was slated to begin.
Since the turnover in the organization’s leadership last
year, AWP has become more proactive in making the confer-
ence more accessible. Colson Whitehead’s keynote at AWP
2019 was livestreamed and closed-captioned. Panelists could
Skype into their sessions. Complimentary scooters and wheel-
chairs were provided, as were shuttles and Lyft codes.
“I feel grateful for the livestreaming and being able to par-
ticipate via Skype,” Weise said. She also noted that six of the
featured speakers at AWP 2019 “were openly and proudly
disabled.” She praised those who lobbied
for the changes: “I commend all the dis-
abled writers and activists who worked
and agitated to make changes possible,
but there’s still a long way to go.”
Weise and other writers with disabilities
agree that problems remain. Complaints
tweeted during AWP 2019 included
reports of an accessibility help desk staffed
by unhelpful volunteers, an accommoda-
tions hotline where calls went unanswered,
huge registration lines that also required
walking up and down stairs, a lack of ASL
interpreters, poor signage regarding
accessibility, technological breakdowns
affecting Skyping panelists, and obstruc-
tions inside and outside the convention
center due to construction.
But, said Jess Silfa, current president of the AWP Disability
Caucus, the organization is making progress, assisted by a
seven-member ad hoc committee formed last year to advise
staff—including the accessibility coordinator, who is obtain-
ing her ADA certification. “There’s more of a collaboration
with AWP now,” Silfa added, noting that its current leadership
is “incredibly receptive” to adhering to ADA provisions.The Trade Shows
Though the trade shows have not generated much controversy
over accommodation, a few book people have raised concerns.
One freelance book reviewer requesting anonymity told
PW that she applies each year to use a wheeled cart at
BookExpo—which requires a doctor’s note “that has to be4 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ SEPTEMBER 9, 2019
Podcaster John Turbo, who uses a motorized
wheelchair, is a regular attendee at New York
Comic Con.p h o t oc o u r t e s yo fj o h nt u r b o