Writing Inclusivity

Creating Authentic Characters with Disabilities

This hands-on workshop with Holly Payne-Strange explores how to write disability authentically, avoid common pitfalls, and create disabled characters who are complicated, compelling, and fully human.

Workshop discussion topics include the following"

• How writers can create disabled characters who feel fully realized 
• Moving beyond stereotypes and "inspiration" narratives
• The difference between visibility and authenticity
• How chronic and invisible illnesses affect daily life in ways readers may not always see
• The importance of sensitivity, research, and lived experience in storytelling

Holly Payne-Strange is a novelist, poet, and podcast creator. Her writing has been lauded by USA Today, LA Weekly, and The New York Times. Her English and Italian language poetry has been published by Door Is A Jar, Quail Bell, and Red Door Magazine, among others. She has also given talks at Fordham University and The Players Club. Her psychological thriller, Every Last Bone, features a protagonist whose experiences are shaped by a chronic condition, and the book was written with the goal of creating a character whose disability is an important part of her life without defining her entire identity.

Sponsored by the Library Foundation of New Orleans. 

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