Book Launch: Living Disability

We're celebrating the launch of Living Disability: Building Accessible Futures for Everybody on Nov. 3, 2024 at 3:00 PM. Join us at the Society Clubhouse (967 College St.) to celebrate the book and its contributors! There will be brief remarks and a conversation between editor, Emily Macrae, and author, Amanda Leduc at 3:30.

About the space:

• Barrier-free entrance
• Multiple mainfloor washrooms
• Cool down space
• Open windows for ventilation
• Lots of room to sit, stand, manoeuvre

Other supports:

• ASL interpretation
• Live closed captioning
• personal support staff will be provided
• Masks provided and recommended

Books will be available for purchase, the bar will be open for the purchase of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

About the book:
How can we build more accessible cities? Living Disability brings together vibrant perspectives on disability justice and urban systems.

Living Disability is universal in scope but intimate and local in focus, grounded in personal struggles and celebrations. Decisions about public transit, affordable housing, and park design all disproportionately impact disabled communities; by sharing stories and strategies, contributors consider the ways disabled thinkers and doers are embracing overlooked aspects of urban design and tackling the toughest problems facing cities. Each chapter provides context to welcome both disabled and non-disabled readers into conversations about the future of inclusion so that all readers can develop their own understanding of what accessible cities look and feel like.

Emily Macrae is a disabled writer, organizer, and twin. Having lived and worked in Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver, and rural Quebec, her work combines policy analysis and lived experience to build accessible urban and digital environments. Her words have appeared in Canadian Architect, Spacing, and NOW magazines, as well as publications in Britain and the United States.

Amanda Leduc is a Canadian writer and disability rights advocate. She is the author of DISFIGURED: ON FAIRY TALES, DISABILITY, AND MAKING SPACE, which was shortlisted for the 2020 Governor General’s Award in Nonfiction and longlisted for the 2020 Barbellion Prize. She has also published two novels–THE CENTAUR’S WIFE and THE MIRACLES OF ORDINARY MEN. Her newest novel, WILD LIFE, is forthcoming with Random House Canada in spring 2025. Amanda’s essays and stories have appeared across Canada, the US, and the UK, and she speaks regularly across North America on accessibility, inclusion, and disability in storytelling. She has cerebral palsy and lives in Hamilton, Ontario.

image description: a blue background with a faint checkered pattern. Black sans-serif text reads "Book Launch" in bold. Below is the text: "Sunday, November 3, 2024, 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM The Society Clubhouse, 967 College St. Editor Emily Macrae in conversation with Amanda Leduc. Barrier free entrance and washrooms. ASL interpretation, live closed captioning and personal support staff will be provided. Masks provided and recommended." On the right side is a 3D image of the cover of Living Disability. The cover of the book has a beige background and features a collage illustration of a house by Sarah Shulte. The house is simple and geometric in style, featuring five sections: one orange, one brown, one blue, one light-grey and one with a dark graph pattern on a white background. The title is printed in a sans-serif font, below is the subtitle and then the editor's name. The cover was designed by David Gee. There are two circular frames along the left side of the cover that feature a photo of editor, Emily Macrae, and author, Amanda Leduc. Emily has light skin and dark short hair and stands in front of a brick wall, smiling. Amanda has light skin and long, dark curly hair, and is grinning, standing slightly behind a tree.