The Language of (Dis)ability and Chronic Illness in Speculative Fiction – A Weekend Workshop with Jeané D. Ridges
When: June 13 & 14, 2026 @ 3PM – 6PM UTC (click here to convert to your timezone)
Where: Online over Zoom
Attendance Supported by Donations – To Register, Apply for Scholarship below!
Only 15 Seats Available
Speculative fiction has given us worlds of immense possibilities and yet, all too often, those worlds where so many wondrous things can happen seem to either forget about chronic illness and disability or, worse, decide that they no longer exist, having been “cured” by whatever magical or advanced technological means and handwaved away.
Instructor Jeané D. Ridges would like to immerse you, instead, in the possibilities of worlds where (dis)abled and chronically ill characters not only have room to exist, but to flourish. In this weekend workshop, they’ll guide you towards a flow of language and storytelling oriented around accessibility, respect, nurturance, adaptiveness, and reciprocity.
You’ll get plenty of in-depth readings and examples from both the instructor’s own works and that of other creators, along with prompts and exercises to apply these principles to your own projects. There will also be plenty of room for student participation and discussion, and plenty of room to be and to breathe.
Please note that this class will be recorded.
Click here to apply for the scholarship!
Who Should Take This Workshop?
This class is for BIPOC writers in any stage in their writing career.
How to Register: Scholarships
This class is fully supported by the generous contributions of the Carl Brandon Society’s donors, and so attendance is free and requires only filling this scholarship application. Should your scholarship application be accepted, we’ll send you the access code required to register.
We have limited seats available, and the scholarship deadline is June 1st by midnight UTC.
Attending the live class consists of participating in the live discussions and Q&As, as well as getting the recording after.
If you would also like to support this class or other classes like it, you can do so via Humanitix here. All contributions are appreciated, and donations of 50 USD or above will also receive a recording of the class as a gift two weeks after the class concludes.
About the Instructor
The poetic storytelling of Jeané D. Ridges is bound and manifested by abundant melanin, Southernness, good eatin’, breath, ill living, and care for our whole ecosystem’s thriving. They’ve had a dozen and counting short-form works published, most recently in Strange Horizons, Stone of Madness Press, SISTORIES (where they were a contributing editor as an inaugural fellow of the mag’s Luminary Editorial Incubator), and khōréō (where they’ve been a copyeditor since 2023). They’re a coeditor of Spec Colorways In Verse, a newsletter and community space centering queer BIPOC speculative poetry. How to connect: jeanedridges.carrd.co | @jdridges (bsky).
Technical Requirements
This workshop will take place over Zoom, so please ensure that your device is compatible with Zoom beforehand.
A microphone or working camera are not necessary to participate. We’ll be monitoring the chat and relaying any questions you type to the instructor.
Accessibility
This class will have Zoom’s auto-generated closed-captions available. For more of Zoom’s accessibility features, please click here. Discussions will be via voice or Zoom’s chat feature.
If you have any questions, contact our class coordinator Yasmine at classes@carlbrandon.org and we’ll get back to you ASAP!