![](https://disabilityinkidlit.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/marieke-nijkamp-300x158.jpg)
Interview with Marieke Nijkamp of We Need Diverse Books
We’re happy to have a chance to chat with Marieke Nijkamp—WNDB VP of finance, autistic author, and previous Disability in Kidlit contributor—about her work and autism in literature.
We’re happy to have a chance to chat with Marieke Nijkamp—WNDB VP of finance, autistic author, and previous Disability in Kidlit contributor—about her work and autism in literature.
What kind of tips do our contributors have for authors seeking to respectfully write disabled characters?
How do our contributors define the dreaded concept of “inspiration porn,” and how do they feel about it?
Heidi Heilig and S. Jae-Jones sit down to talk about the book’s portrayal of bipolar disorder, writing mental illness, and writing with a mental illness.
Writing disability respectfully can be difficult, especially in the midst of large, seemingly contradictory conversations about representation. How should frustrated or concerned authors approach this?
In terms of disabled characters, what would our contributors like to see more of in children’s literature?
A mistake I see a lot of writers who write about disability make is asking only one person for help. I’ve heard so many people say things like, “I have a cousin who is blind, and she read the book and said it was good at portraying blindness.”
Many characters who may be mentally ill reject treatment out of hand, considering therapy a waste of time and suspecting medication will turn them into a zombie. Why are these narratives so popular? What are the alternatives?
Romanticization is a common element of mental illness narratives, including many in the YA category; what kind of message does that send?
Is any representation better than no representation? That argument frequently comes up in response to criticism, but is it valid?