About Inklusion
Our mission
We have created a free guide to making literature events accessible to disabled people; to make it easier for event organisers to support disabled authors and audience members, whether their events are hybrid, online, or in-person. From book launches, festival events, conferences, panels, workshops, fellowships, to residencies – we believe good access should be the norm, not the exception.
We wanted to take the onus and emotional labour off disabled individuals to educate events providers and publishers.
The guide is directly informed by disabled writers and other disabled people working in publishing, as well as current research into accessibility in the industry.
“Having a centralised guide to access is a much needed solution for disabled and chronically ill people too often left adrift in the book industry. As a disabled author, I know access needs are a fundamental part of us being able to do our job on a level playing field. This guide will help reach all the untapped disabled talent out there.”
Our goal
We want to make access in the literature sector consistent, transparent and reliable. In all our hours consulting with organisations in the sector, the most common response to accessibility was fear of the unknown. Our comprehensive, accessible guide demystifies access provisions.
“Books should be for everyone, but accessibility issues mean that many disabled people are barred from participating. This guide is necessary, timely and is sure to be well-researched and evidenced. An essential tool for all publishing events!”
Our Impact
Our impact survey, showed that after using the guide:
95% of respondents felt more confident about making access provisions
89 % of respondents have changed their access provisions across planning, budget, delivery
88% of respondents are communicating on access provisions across all teams
71% of respondents are advertising inclusively with alt-text, captions, and audio-descriptions
“The UK literary sector’s response to the pandemic proves accessibility can and should be placed at the heart of all its events. Inklusion is a positive step towards change for everyone. We must not allow accessibility to become an afterthought again.”
Our story
The guide was co-founded in 2021 by Julie Farrell and Ever Dundas, in collaboration with ten disabled consultants and a researcher, with sponsorship from Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Hachette, and many other partners across the literary sector.
The print guide launched in 2022 at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, with multiple accessible versions following over the next year, including BSL, audio, large print, easy read and braille. This work saw the authors being recognised in the ‘Top 150 Influencers in Publishing’ by The Bookseller in 2022.
In July 2024, Julie continued on as the sole member of Inklusion, embarking on research for this Impact Report, to measure how the Inklusion Guide has helped event organisers to improve their access provisions, and also how it has helped disabled people to self-advocate to have their needs met by events organisers. This research was generously funded by ALCS and Bloomsbury Publishing.
The research clearly demonstrates that the publishing landscape has shifted towards better inclusivity of disabled people (and subsequently, all of us) through use and implementation of the guide’s advice.
The Impact Report, based on the research will be published in August 2025.