Submission Guidelines

Disability and Access Collective

Table of Contents

Hi!

We are so excited that you are interested in contributing to our Disability & Access Collective. We are looking for unique perspectives, groovy stories, and lots of vibrant conversation! We see the pieces on this site as being intertwined, communicating and resonating with each other in shared experience.

We hope this will be a safe space to celebrate the wide diversity of what “disability” is. We want to break stigma and dive deep into exploring the grey areas of the abstract term. We want to bring issues regarding access and respect to light and tackle them at various angles.

How it Works:

  1. Send us a copy of your submission(s) to our email dacblogeditor@gmail.com and complete our Google Form.
  2. We accept documents, slideshows, poster boards, collages, short films, poetry, art, creative works, etc. Unsure if we’ll publish your work? Reach out and ask us!
  3. No piece is too short! We have no specific length requirement, but we sadly can’t accept full-length manuscripts of books.
  4. You will receive an email stating we have received your submission.
  5. Your submission will then be reviewed by at least two members of the blog. Feedback will be sent to you via email as soon as possible.
  6. Upon revising, send your submission back to us, and we will then post it as soon as possible. You will receive a celebratory email notification as soon as your submission is published! Hooray!

Important to Note and Include in your Submission Email and Google Form:

  1. We accept submissions in the form of PDFs, JPEG, Word documents, and Google Docs.
    • Make sure SHARING PERMISSIONS are ON 
    • Make sure we are allowed to either make edits or offer suggestions to your submission(s) 
    • Make sure your NAME is clearly attached to whatever kind of file/document you send
  2. Clarify the name you would like to be published under (ex. initials, full name, first name only, etc.) We do not publish anonymous or pseudo names. Publication should carry a “real” author. 
  3. Clarify the title of your piece.  
  4. Clarify which of the category(s) you would like to publish your piece under:
  5. Send images/links/videos as separate files or links (ex. PDFs, JPEGS).
  6. If you’re sending a video, podcast, or any other form of audio file, please include captions if there is spoken dialogue.
    • Here is a quick tutorial for adding captions on YouTube. There are many additional resources available on the web depending on the platform of your submission. Our advice is to do a little digging!
      1. How to Add Captions to YouTube Videos [2024]
  7. If you’re sending in images, please include alternative text descriptions/captions.
  8. Please specify if we have your consent to post your submission on social media
    • See @dac_blog on Instagram and our Facebook for examples
      • If you’d like, do follow and share, we’d greatly appreciate it! ❤ 

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact us.  We love conversation!! Contact us at dacblogeditor@gmail.com

Much love and creative and meaningful crowing,

The DAC Blog Team 

DAC’s Statement on Linguistic Justice:

We recognize that the field of Disability Studies has historically undervalued and underrepresented BIPOC and Multilingual perspectives, and that Disability Justice, Anti-racism, and Linguistic Justice are deeply interrelated.

We recognize that all languages are complex, systematic modes of communication whether they are expressed through sign, touch, writing, or variations on vocal and assisted speech. Drawing from multiple languages, dialects, and ways of communicating is a resource and not a hindrance to communication. 

We recognize that no one language, dialect, or way of communicating is inherently “better,” “more professional,” or “more correct” than another, and that these constructions are the product of systemic injustice.

We recognize that both written and oral English are ever evolving and intermixing, and that there is no static, standard, or superior “English.” Instead, there are plural Englishes.

We recognize that language usage is deeply connected to culture, community, and embodiment; to limit the ways in which language is used is to limit how individuals bring their identit(ies) into our space. 

We assert that the goal of communication should not solely rest with the creator of a post; the idea that the creator is primarily responsible for “clear” communication is culturally defined and assumes one particular audience that is fluent with academic English.

As disability activists, we do not believe that we should require individuals to change how they communicate in order to conform to discriminatory expectations. The DAC team is committed to fostering linguistic justice: 

  • By letting go of the expectation that everyone should assimilate to ways of speaking, writing, or using language that are culturally and institutionally powerful, 
  • By making our blog a welcoming and accessible environment that offers both our creators and our audience diverse and multimodal languages,
  • By affirming the linguistic strengths and choices made in our submissions, and by working collaboratively with creators to preserve voice and intention when addressing style and grammar,
  • By supporting our creators and advocating for their language practices,
  • By returning to revisit and reiterate this statement regularly.

Note~ The DAC blog is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license unless otherwise indicated.