Disability in Kidlit is dedicated to promoting high-quality portrayals of disability in middle grade and young adult literature. We curate a highly selective list of books we enthusiastically recommend — our Honor Roll — aimed to help readers and gatekeepers of all kinds find the right book for them.
The website was founded in 2013 and ran for several years as a highly successful blog. We’re still proud to host the archives of this blog, which contained articles, reviews, interviews, and discussions examining disability representation from various angles — and always from the disabled perspective. A thoughtful portrayal of disability requires more than memorizing a list of symptoms; we hope that sharing disabled people’s thoughts on stereotypes, pet peeves, particular portrayals, and their own day-to-day experiences will help our readers learn about the realities of disability, which are often different from what we see in popular media.
In 2018, the website went on indefinite hiatus. In 2021, we redesigned and relaunched the website, this time shifting our focus to the Honor Roll.
In addition to our Honor Roll and blog archives, we maintain a Goodreads account that’s intended to act as a useful resource. We include every middle grade/young adult title featuring a prominent disabled character we can find, regardless of quality or availability; as such, this is a purely quantitative list and inclusion on this list does not equal endorsement from the team.
Corinne Duyvis
co-founder and senior editor
Corinne Duyvis is the critically acclaimed author of the YA sci-fi/fantasy novels Otherbound, which Kirkus called “a stunning debut;” On the Edge of Gone, which Publishers Weekly called “a riveting apocalyptic thriller with substantial depth;” and The Art of Saving the World, which Kirkus called “impossible to put down.” She is also the author of the original Marvel prose novel Guardians of the Galaxy: Collect Them All. Corinne hails from the Netherlands. She’s a co-founder and editor of Disability in Kidlit as well as the originator of the #ownvoices hashtag.
She was diagnosed with autism at 14 and ADHD-PI at 23, and has dealt with depression and anxiety since childhood.
Alexandria Brown
editor
Alexandria Brown is a queer Black librarian, local historian, writer, and author of two books on the history Napa County, California’s marginalized communities. She has a BA with honors in Anthropology and Sociology, a Master’s of Library and Information Science, and a Master’s in US History. She writes about speculative fiction and young adult literature for Tor.com and Locus Magazine, as well as on her blog. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and access set the foundation of all her work.
Kayla Ancrum
publicity
K. Ancrum is the author of the award winning thriller The Wicker King, a lesbian romance The Weight of the Stars, and the upcoming Peter Pan thriller Darling. K. is a Chicago native passionate about diversity and representation in young adult fiction. She currently writes most of her work in the lush gardens of the Chicago Art Institute.
Former team members
Kayla Whaley
senior editor
Kayla is a graduate of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop with work appearing at The Toast, The Establishment, Uncanny Magazine, and in Kelly Jensen’s anthology Feminism for the Real World. She is represented by Beth Phelan of The Bent Agency. When not buying way too many books, she’s usually being overly sincere on the internet.
Kayla was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy III, a neuromuscular disease, and uses a power wheelchair.
Natasha Razi
editor
It’s been half a year since Natasha Razi has stayed in the same country for longer than three weeks, so who knows where she is at the time you’re reading this. Probably somewhere with less vegetables than she wants there to be. When her health cooperates, she works as an environmental consultant. She spends the rest of her time writing fantasy novels, playing Broadway songs on endless repeat, and staying up way past her bedtime.
Natasha has a variety of chronic physical and mental conditions.
Yahong Chi
social media coordinator
Yahong (娅泓) is a current student in Québec, Canada, studying management and writing diverse MG & YA. She enjoys watching TV, knitting and Tumblr.
Kody Keplinger
co-founder
Kody Keplinger is the author of several books for teens: The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend), Shut Out, A Midsummer's Nightmare, Lying Out Loud, and Run, as well as a middle grade novel, The Swift Boys & Me. Currently, Kody lives in New York City with her guide dog, a very upbeat German Shepherd named Corey. When she isn't writing, Kody teaches writing workshops and spends a lot of time eating Thai food and marathoning Joss Whedon's TV shows.
She was born legally blind and, at age eight, diagnosed with a condition known as Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, which leaves her with poor light perception and tunnel vision.
Disability in Kidlit is a completely volunteer-run website, and we frequently rely on the generous help of our visitors. If you want to help us out, here are some ways you can do so.
If you’re a reader and …
- you’ve read a title that you think would be a good fit for our Honor Roll, please let us know via this form.
- you want to help us vet titles we’re considering, please email us. We’re both looking for disabled readers and those from other marginalized groups.
- you noticed a mistake or oversight in our Goodreads list, please message us on Goodreads itself. (If you don’t have a Goodreads account, you may also just email us.) We’re always open to corrections and additions.
If you’re an author or work with a publisher and …
- want to give us a heads-up about a title of yours, please let us know via this form
- you can help provide us with review copies of books we may want to consider, please email us.
Finally, if the Honor Roll or any of our previous reviews, articles, or discussions is useful to you …
- please take the time to share it on social media
- consider donating if you have the funds; all donations go toward defraying the cost of the website and other fees. Unfortunately, donations are not tax-deductible.