Disability Blog Carnival NEWS!

After six years of organizing the Disability Blog Carnival, I decided to let it drop... but I'm happy to say, it's baaaaa-aaaaack!  Emma at Writer in a Wheelchair is going to pick up the baton for the next few months.  Here's the announcement, and here's the nitty-gritty details:

On the 28th of each month I will post a collection of links to different posts about disability and/or by disabled bloggers.  Things that have caught my eye but also things that people send me.  My plan is that for the first three months I’ll host it here to get it started but then from April I might see about getting different hosts and it moving around again.

I encourage anyone who loved the carnival, anyone who contributed to the carnival, and anyone who never heard of the carnival, to support Emma in this.  It can't work without submissions, so write stuff or send her links to stuff you saw and liked.   Blog carnivals are, at their best, great snapshots of a vibrant community.  I can't wait to see the Disability Blog Carnival in 2013.

Disability Blog Carnival #84 is up NOW!

Dave Hingsburger hosts the October edition of the Disability Blog Carnival, at Rolling Around in My Head, here.   It's short but Dave puts a lot of context into his collection of links.  Thanks Dave!

Did you know that the Disability Blog Carnival started in October 2006?  So we just passed its sixth anniversary.  Back then, it was twice a month, and often jam-packed with links.  Well, the online climate is different today--blogs have to compete for attention with so many other venues and formats.  I know I'm not blogging much nowadays, and that seems to be true for a lot of folks.  Submissions for the carnival have been sparse for a couple years now, and some editions never even post.  I think, therefore, that the we've come to the end of the run for the Disability Blog Carnival.  The existing eighty-four editions remain a strong record of disability blogosphere for a vibrant six years. 

If there's anyone who'd like to take over organizing the Disability Blog Carnival, perhaps to restart it sometime in 2013 or beyond, I'm glad to help, just holler.  (There are several other blog carnivals on disability themes still happening right now, too.)

Disability Blog Carnival #84: Call is up now...

Writer in a Wheelchair is hosting the September edition of the Disability Blog Carnival.  Because Emma's been at the the Paralympics recently, the theme will be "Inspire a Generation."  Here's the call, and here are the main details:

You can submit older posts or write new ones
They need to be related to disability but don’t need to be written by disabled people
Posts need to fit the theme in someway but it’s not rigid
The deadline for posts is Sept 26th, I hope to post the carnival on 30th Sept.

Emma lists several ways to submit links--in comments at the blog, in tweets, and in emails.  Please consider joining in!

Disability Blog Carnival #83 is up now!

Go visit Never That Easy for a "Happy Arbitrary Day" collection of diverse links and contributions around no particular theme--which is rather novel for the Disability Blog Carnival!  The July edition, #84, is scheduled to be hosted at Stream of Caitlinness--more details about that one as they become available!  Thanks as always to the hosts, contributors, commenters, readers, and linkers of the Disability Blog Carnival; it takes a community to maintain a vibrant blog carnival for over five years.

Disability Blog Carnival #83, call for submissions

The June edition of the Disability Blog Carnival will be hosted at Never That Easy on June 25, and there's a post there right now with the call for submissions...

about anything disability related your little heart desires: an old post that's a particular favorite of yours that you wish more people had seen, a brand, shiny new post that you're going to write specifically for the Carnival, a rant, a rave, a list  - whatever floats your particular boat. 

Now seriously, folks, that's a call that anyone can respond to! (Go read the rest, including a good reminder to make your blog as accessible as possible if you're participating, to welcome a diverse range of carnival goers.)    Leave NTE a link over there, or here, by June 23, and watch what happens.

Call for links, April edition of Disability Blog Carnival: "Change"

The call for links on the theme of change is up now at disability.dreamwidth.org -- here are the main details:

Disability is (often) not a static condition; it changes over time, gets better and worse, and your coping skills adjust accordingly. Write about some of the changes that in your life, either that have affected your disability, or that has caused your disability to affect your life in new ways. These may be disability-related or not; for me, the last year has brought changes both because of a change in medication (disability-related) and a change in my living arrangements (not disability-related). Any changes are fair game; broad interpretations of the theme are encouraged.

Submissions are due April 25th. ...To submit a post, just leave a link in the comments of this post - anonymous comments are allowed - or email me at avendya@gmail.com. Your submissions do not have to be new posts. Feel free to submit older essays or posts; however, I'd prefer if they have not previously been submitted to the disability blog carnival. ...The carnival is open to both people with disabilities and allies.

Disability Blog Carnival #82 is UP NOW!

Visit I'm Not My Disease for the latest link roundup, this time with the theme "Firsts." New bloggers, longtime bloggers, all have a first post, so this is a well-attended carnival edition--go check it out.

April's edition of the Disability Blog Carnival will be hosted at disability.dreamwidth.org--stay tuned for details on that, as they become available. (Avendya hosted Disability Blog Carnival #63 there in February 2010, so this is a return engagement of sorts.)

Thanks to all hosts, contributors, linkers, commenters, and readers who make the Disability Blog Carnival work!

Call for links, March edition of the Disability Blog Carnival: "Firsts"

The call is up at I'm Not My Disease for the March edition of the Disability Blog Carnival:

I wanted to make this easy to join in. We are such a diverse group. What we all have in common is blogging so I would love everyone to connect in this Disability Carnival with their first blog post.

If for any reason that option doesn't appeal or work for you, you're invited to spin an entry from some of the other meanings of "first," helpfully offered at the call. Closing date is March 10! So make this first on your list of wonderful things to do soon.

Disability Blog Carnival #81 is up NOW!

And it's "all about the love"---as fits the date (it's still Valentine's Day here in California). Dave Hingsburger hosted the February edition, about loving the stuff that makes life work--accessibility symbols, service dogs, a power chair, big jackets with pockets...and then veers into ruminations on cyborgs, gratitude, and friendship. I love when a host highlights the connections between many diverse posts, and Dave certainly does that.

How would you like to give it a try? We're currently needing hosts for several months in 2012, including March... and April.... so if you don't want to see the carnival go quarterly for a while, now's the time to volunteer! Or if you'd like to gather your wits for later in the year, that's cool too, you can reserve a month in the fall or winter right now and have plenty of time to plan and dream about your edition.

Disability Blog Carnival #80 is up NOW!

Emma at Writer in a Wheelchair put the latest Carnival edition up on Wednesday--my fault that it's not getting announced here sooner. Go check out her collection of recent links around the theme "Words."

One of the contributions to the 80th Disability Blog Carnival comes from Dave Hingsburger, who is hosting the 81st edition this month at his blog, Rolling Around in my Head. Here's his call for links:

I'd like the Blog Carnival to focus on the love we have for the things that make the world accessible for us.

Like the Blue Wheelchair Guy ... the little hottie all sexy in his chair ... or like ... your hot pink hearing aids or your flashing yellow crutch or you princess pink wheelchair. Or even something like my plain old black hospital style wheelchair. Sometimes I smile when I wake up and see my chair waiting patiently beside the bed to welcome me into my day and into my world. I feel, in those moments, real affection for the thing. More than that when I'm in it it becomes part of me, a real amazing part of me.

So, that's the challenge. Send me blog posts to daveandjoe@hotmail.com with 'Blog Carnival' in the re line. Or post the link here in the comments section. I'd like to have these in by February 10. Thanks!

That's right, you have just a week to declare your love.

Want to host an edition of the Carnival in 2012? There are still slots available!

Call for links, January Disability Blog Carnival: "Words"

Emma at Writer in a Wheelchair was the first to claim hosting duties for the Disability Blog Carnival in 2012. And now she has the call for submissions for January's edition up:

this year I've decided that a focus word might be a good thing to have along with my goals for the year. And the word I've chosen is Courage.

For the carnival this time round I thought it would be interesting to know what other people's words are.

Have you come up with a word of the year?

What words do you really hate?

Or like?

Does disability shape your view of language or even individual words?

Those are a few ideas that I came up with for the carnival but I can wait to see what others think of!

Submissions can be left in comments here, tweeted to me @FunkyFairy22 or emailed to ejcrees@googlemail.com if you email please put carnival or similar in the subject so I know it's not spam

The carnival will be on Tues 31st Jan and ideally I would like entries by Sun 29th please.

Disability Blog Carnival #79 is up NOW!

It's been up for a day or two already, but it's still fresh and worth a visit (or two, or ten). Check out the December edition at After Gadget, where the theme is "Disability and Occupy," and the entries are grouped to subthemes, like "Occupy Activists with Disabilities" and "Educating Occupies about Disability and Access Issues." (In case you think it might be all happy tales, there's also a section on "Exclusion and Alienation.") Also read through the comments for some additional entries. Carnivals that gather up links about current events are so valuable in shaping the ongoing conversation, and help bring attention to issues that might otherwise be dismissed as individual experiences. Thanks so much to Sharon at After Gadget for a fine edition.

Now to 2012! Would you like to host an edition of the Disability Blog Carnival in the new year? I'll take host offers in comments here; you'll also need to send me an email address or twitter handle so I can send you any reminders, schedule changes, or submissions. I'll keep a running calendar below, and fill it in as the slots are taken. If your name appears in the table below, consider that a lock--and start planning your edition!

JANUARY (#80): Emma at A Writer in a Wheelchair (theme: "words")
FEBRUARY (#81): Dave Hingsburger at Rolling Around in my Head (theme: "loving")
MARCH (#82): I'm Not My Disease (theme: "firsts")
[APRIL (#83): Disability.dreamwidth.org]  Not posted
[MAY (#84): Spaz Girl at Butterfly Dreams] Not posted
JUNE (#83): Never That Easy
JULY (#84): Caitlin at Stream of Caitlinness
AUGUST (#85): Stacie at Riley's Smile
SEPTEMBER (#86): Emma at A Writer in a Wheelchair
OCTOBER (#87): Dave Hingsburger at Rolling Around in my Head (theme: "birthdays")
NOVEMBER (#88):
DECEMBER (#89):

Disability Blog Carnival #78 is up now!

Actually, it's been up for more than a week--but I just found it. My apologies to the host, the contributors, and all eager followers of the carnival. Anyway, Martha at Believe in Who You Are has the November edition, around the theme of inspiration (in all its complexity). Go have a visit, definitely some fine links worth checking out.

The December edition is scheduled to be hosted at After Gadget. Here's the very thorough and clear call for submissions, around the theme "Occupy!" Links are due December 26, for December 28 posting.

In January I'll start recruiting hosts for the 2012 editions, so watch for that if you've been anxious to host a round.

Disability Blog Carnival #77 is up NOW!

[Visual description: Disability Blog Carnival logo by Ryn, featuring a black-and-white photograph of a man and a boy. The man is in uniform and holding crutches; he is apparently an amputee; the boy is holding onto one of the crutches as a child might hold an adult's hand; the two are photographed from behind, and we see beyond them a seashore and a bridge]

Spaz Girl at Butterfly Dreams was in the midst of some serious tumult recently, but she still hosted a fine edition of the Disability Blog Carnival, with music as the theme. Go have a read, and leave her a comment with your favorite "strong" song--she's collecting them!

The November edition of the carnival is scheduled to appear at Believe in Who You Are, hosted by Martha there. ETA: Here's the call for submissions. Martha writes:

...was there a disabled character from a book or movie, fictional or nonfictional, who inspired you when you first became disabled? Is there someone whom you have met in real life or online who has had an impact on how you view your disability or disabled people in general? It doesn't have to be anything huge; it could be something as simple as before I didn't know I could dance from my wheelchair or this tip helped me save time on my low energy days.
When you submit, I'd like your name or screen name, the name of your blog, and the link to your post. Links are due by November 27.

Call for links, October Disability Blog Carnival: "Sweet is the Melody"

Spaz Girl at Butterfly Dreams is hosting this month. Here's her call for links:

I'm hosting the October Disability Blog Carnival! Pieces of the June one are still languishing in my drafts folder, and I intend to actually put it up.....sometime. But onto October! My theme for the October DBC is sweet is the melody. How does music help you get through the tough times related to disability? What songs empower you? What songs remind you of the disability experience? As always, I welcome submissions off-theme as well. Please have submissions to me by October 25th and I will try my hardest to have them up by the first of November!! You can comment on this post with your link or email me at caraliebowitz@gmail.com. You can even send them to me through Tumblr if you like, I don't care. Happy blogging, everyone!

Disability Blog Carnival #76 is up NOW!

It's the September edition of the Carnival (which started in autumn 2006--so we're coming around to our fifth anniversary? wow), hosted at Never That Easy, with the theme "Being Seen." NTE has rounded up some fine links with the usual range of thoughtful, funny, raging, and wise, and it's worth a look. It's our first carnival edition since last spring, which is a long gap--so give the host and the linked writers some thanks and encouragement.

Next edition is set to be hosted by SpazGirl (Cara) at Butterfly Dreams, in October. Stay tuned for more information on that one.

Call for links, September Disability Blog Carnival

A carnival edition is set for September 27th. Here's the call... short version, extracted by the host herself, below:

"...I've decided to provide a non-compulsory theme to help out those who feel they want it: Being Seen. It's something I'm struggling to work out for myself, so I figured I'd ask how you all are handling it - How do you want to be seen? How are you seen? Do you feel invisible? What aren't people seeing that they need to see? Are you looking for a way to get noticed, or are you hoping that nobody will?

Please don't feel like you have to stick to my theme, though: if you've got something to say, I will find a way to make sure it's included. Since I don't tweet, and my FB is obviously off-limits because of anonymity, you can either leave a comment here (at www.neverthateasy.blogspot.com) with your e-mail or a link. Looking forward to all the entries... "

Disability Blog Carnival update

Here's the latest: Spaz Girl (Cara) has the call for the June Disability Blog Carnival, with the theme "community," which she's hosting. She'd love to have submissions by June 25.

And it's time to recruit hosts for the rest of 2011. We do a monthly carnival these days, so we need six hosts, July-December. Who's in? Leave comments, I'll update this post as we fill slots.

UPDATE 7/26: The June Carnival may not have happened (though I've seen a good number of submissions in the comments at Butterfly Dreams)? And it's too late for July. But here are some host assignments based on the comments here...

AUGUST: Life of the Differently Abled (confirmed!)
SEPTEMBER: Never That Easy (confirmed!)
OCTOBER: Spaz Girl (Cara) at Butterfly Dreams (confirmed!)
NOVEMBER: Martha at Believe in Who You Are
DECEMBER: After Gadget (confirmed!)

Hosts, please confirm that you can take your assigned month, in comments or by email. I think the carnival format is winding down in the day of Tumblr and Twitter, but as long as hosts are volunteering I'll keep supporting that.

Disability Blog Carnival News

The May edition of the Disability Blog Carnival will be hosted by Astrid at Astrid's Journal, with the theme "Care." Here's her explanation:

This could be health or social care, but also the care family members provide each other or self-care, of course. Please submit your posts in a comment here or E-mail me by May 25. I will post the carnival on May 29.

Astrid also mentions that the Blog Carnival of Mental Health's May edition will be hosted at the Madosphere, with the theme "patients and professionals."

Long overdue updates...

Goldfish called me "a real community blogger" back in January, but I haven't been doing a very good job of that lately! A few efforts to make up for that:



The SIXTH annual Blogging Against Disablism Day (BADD) is coming up on May 1 (a Sunday this year), coordinated as always by Goldfish. We've participated every other round, and I'll try to get something ready for this year too--but that's one day of the year you never need to worry about finding amazing blogging on disability culture, disability rights, and the disability experience. Join in by following the directions at the link above.

There was no Disability Blog Carnival this month, but check out the Assistance Dog Blog Carnival or the Chronic Babe Carnival for all your link-love needs. Also, the next Blog Carnival of Mental Health should post on April 30th, so that's coming up soon (submissions requested by April 27).