Writing Place 2020

Welcome to Writing Place, the first magazine produced by Arts Access Australia to showcase the work of d/Deaf and disabled artists. This online magazine has been launched as part of Meeting Place 2020, the leading national forum for arts and disability in Australia.

Continuing the forum’s 2020 theme of ‘Creating Space’, Writing Place is a way of creating a space to profile the excellent work of d/Deaf and disabled writers.

A competitive selection of entries were received through an open call out and included fiction, non-fiction, short stories, essays and poems. The work of ten exceptional writers has been selected for inclusion: Jamila Main, CB Mako, Anna Jacobson, Heidi Everett, Becky Van Leeuwen, Simone Busch, Daley Rangi, Kai Ash, Amy Tingay, Emily Dash. Collectively their writings touch on personal and political aspects of taking and creating space as disabled people, experiences of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, accessibility in online environments, connection to nature, intersectional identities, speaking up and also being excluded or erased from the mainstream narrative. 

Thank you to all of the artists for sharing their rich stories and perspectives, and to Gayle Kennedy, Editor of Writing Place, for her role in the curation and leadership of this publication.

We hope you enjoy the magazine!

Belinda Locke

Chair, Arts Access Australia

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