Society often assumes what people with disability want instead of listening to their lived experiences. This shows up in reduced NDIS funding, poorly implemented inclusion programmes, and inaccessible housing.
That’s why authentic representation in books, film and TV matters. When people with disability shape their own stories, harmful stereotypes are challenged, and diverse perspectives are normalised.
How entertainment and media misrepresent those living with disability
In entertainment and media, we continue to see this pattern of assumption shaping the portrayal of those living with disability in ableist and harmful ways.
Take Wicked: For Good: while casting a wheelchair-using actor for Nessarose was a milestone, ableist tropes persisted in her storyline. True inclusion means moving beyond token gestures to meaningful representation.
We still have a long way to go before we can confidently say that every individual will grow up seeing themselves well represented in media. Inclusion is often a buzzword, which is why true representation matters more than ever.
Why is disability representation so important in our everyday media?
When people with disability are given the opportunity to voice their lived experiences and challenge stereotypes, it means that those living with disability can help shape the decisions and views that are so often made for them by those who don’t understand the negative impacts. It helps society stop assuming people with disability need to be “fixed” and instead respect their autonomy and needs.
At the end of the day, everybody on the planet engages with strangers, friends, family and loved ones who are living with disability—and often without realising. Good representation ensures we all have the awareness to make choices that include, not exclude.
Fiction is a powerful way to embrace representation, which is why we’ve curated books across a number of genres that are either deeply researched or written from lived experience. These books are all incredibly well written, with intriguing and entertaining storylines—so no matter whether you prefer romance, fantasy or even horror, these books are worth a read.
Add these 8 disability representation books to your TBR:
How Lucky by Will Leitch
How Lucky is a riveting and comedic novel about Daniel, who has lived with a degenerative disease (SMA) since childhood and cannot walk or move without a wheelchair.
When he witnesses a young woman be kidnapped outside his front door, it sets off a chain of events and a gripping mystery where Daniel embarks to solve the mystery of what happened—in a world where most people’s first instinct is to dismiss him as a key witness.
What makes the book so engaging is Daniel’s charming and positive personality, as the reader experiences the mystery unravel through his everyday life.
Into The Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Into The Drowning Deep is best described as a tense read, featuring a crew of scientists on an expedition to discover if killer mermaids exist.
The book is credited to have fantastic character development. Multiple disabilities are represented, including autism, chronic pain, prosthetic limbs, deafness, and sign language is also used between characters.
Not only this, but it is an incredibly well written horror story, so if that’s your thing, this one is worth picking up.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
If you’re a fantasy reader, we cannot recommend Fourth Wing enough as a book that has it all—from dragons to magical abilities, to an incredibly well-developed world.
The main character, Violet, has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (like the author), and has been ordered to join the military college of Basgiath where she will bond with a dragon and fight on the frontlines. Which is a terrible reality for Violet since her body is brittle, easily broken, and she lacks the grip strength required to stay on a dragon’s back. Still, when given an out, she chooses to stay and finds a way to survive.
The book has a fantastic storyline, and a swoon worthy romance. But we especially loved seeing Violet navigate challenges along the way, demonstrating her true capabilities and finding clever ways to overcome setbacks caused by her disability. She finds ways to do things on her terms, and it makes her an incredibly compelling character.
Knot My Type by Evie Mitchell
If you love a good contemporary romance, look no further than Knot My Type which follows the story of Frankie, a sexologist, wheelchair user, and successful podcast host. When she meets Jay, the chemistry is instant, but Jay doesn’t do monogamy—or at least didn’t, until now.
Physical disability is extremely underrepresented in romance, and this is no mediocre, sub-par representation of it (nor a boring read!)
It’s steamy, feel-good, and features a strong protagonist who knows what she wants. Our favourite part is when Jay builds a ramp and takes a sledgehammer to the wall to make his bathroom accessible for Frankie—did we mention the romance is absolutely swoon-worthy?
The Drowning Girl by Caitlin Rebekah Kiernan
The Drowning Girl is an award-winning novel whose protagonist, Imp, is an unreliable narrator with schizophrenia (written by an author with schizophrenia).
The book has been described as a horror, fantasy and general fiction novel combined in one, as it details Imp’s struggle with what is and isn’t real.
The writing style is incredible, but the real kicker of this book is how believable the unbelievable is told through the eyes and perspective of Imp, as we experience what she is experiencing within the context of her mental illness. Overall, it is a beautifully haunting and eloquent story.
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
The Running Dream is another award-winning novel, following Jessica who lives to run, but loses her leg in a car accident. Despite having a prosthetic, she struggles in her recovery until she meets Rosa, who has Cerebral Palsy.
This is an emotional story with a determined protagonist, and every step of Jessica’s recovery journey is well-researched and accurate. But as she transitions from wheelchair, to crutches, to prosthetic leg, and eventually running leg, her friendship with Rosa starts to slip away, leading her to figure out how she can keep her connection with Rosa intact even as she is able to return to her ‘old’ life.
What makes this book good, aside from the content itself and the themes, is how Rosa’s character and friendship to Jessica is not a ‘convenience’ to the storyline, as it does not magically disappear when she’s no longer needed. Wonderfully, Jessica is resolved not to leave her friend behind, even as she returns to running, which is so refreshing to read.
Celia Lake books
If historical fantasy romance is your thing, then you will love Celia Lake’s books which span a wide range of disability representation.
Her website details which books have which representation, and because most of them are standalones, there’s a variety of choice and options for which story you might want to dive into.
Celia herself recommends Pastiche as a starting point to her work, as it contains all the key themes that her books have.
Defying Doomsday (Anthology)
Defying Doomsday is an anthology of apocalypse fiction featuring disabled and chronically ill protagonists.
The collection of stories is contributed to by fifteen authors, all of whom are living with a disability, and each story challenges the idea that even those who are disabled can survive the apocalypse (since many able-minded people would assume they will die first).
We love this anthology because it inspires hope and shares the perspectives of so many different people. It also makes for a very engaging concept—where people living with disability can see themselves as thriving survivors in an apocalyptic world.
The full list of stories and authors are below:
- And the Rest of Us Wait by Corinne Duyvis
- To Take Into the Air My Quiet Breath by Stephanie Gunn
- Something in the Rain by Seanan McGuire
- Did We Break the End of the World? by Tansy Rayner Roberts
- In the Sky with Diamonds by Elinor Caiman Sands
- Two Somebodies Go Hunting by Rivqa Rafael
- Given Sufficient Desperation by Bogi Takács
- Selected Afterimages of the Fading by John Chu
- Five Thousand Squares by Maree Kimberley
- Portobello Blind by Octavia Cade
- Tea Party by Lauren E Mitchell
- Giant by Thoraiya Dyer
- Spider-Silk, Strong as Steel by Samantha Rich
- No Shit by K Evangelista
- I Will Remember You by Janet Edwards
