Specific Provisions for Career Development Events
(e.g. workshops, courses, fellowships, writing retreats, residencies, prize ceremonies)
Many disabled authors are ruled out from applying and participating in workshops, courses, residencies, fellowships, writing retreats, or even entering a prize, because of inaccessibility. If access information is not clearly and openly provided, disabled authors are likely to conclude that the event is not accessible, and they aren’t welcome. This means they are excluded from the opportunity itself, funds (if it comes with a stipend), socialising and networking, and the chance to put the opportunity on their CV, which could have potentially opened more doors. This further marginalises disabled writers.
Many of the checklist points in the previous sections will also apply here, so make sure to take them into account, but there are a few extra things to consider, and the points below will help ensure your opportunities are more accessible.
“I generally don’t apply for or attend workshops, retreats and residencies, because of lack of access, lack of affordability, lack of LGBTQIA+ safety, and lack of understanding of disability justice. Applications themselves usually involve inaccessible forms, fees and/or panel interviews, making it impossible.”
“I don’t really do mornings because of my health. I’m so tired, and I don’t usually sleep well because of pain. That means mornings are out, so any day courses, even if I manage to be up and get there on time, I wouldn’t have the stamina to stay the whole day.”
All Formats of Career Development Events
(in-person, online, and hybrid)
Forms and Interviews
Your application process should be accessible, simple, easy to understand, quick to fill out, and available in different accessible formats. Offer assistance to fill out applications or cover the cost of an author using assistance from someone they are used to being supported by. If there’s an interview process, ensure it’s accessible, can be carried out online, and is flexible in terms of length and built-in breaks. Offer questions in advance, and options to video-submit answers instead of attending live. Ask yourself if an interview is totally necessary.
Reference: Sandra Alland, Jamie Hale
See “Spotlight: Bursaries and Grants” for more information on making your opportunities accessible.Workshop and Course Delivery
If you’re running a workshop or course and advertising it as ‘intensive’, does it need to be intensive? This will make many disabled people feel unwelcome, particularly those with energy impairments.
Some disabled people will be unable to attend half or full day courses or workshops. Some might find it easier to attend for a shorter amount of time over several days.
However, this could also be inaccessible to some disabled people, and involves commitment and travel over a long period. Consider offering both formats.
Another possible workaround is to have a full day course or workshops but pre-record significant chunks of content and allow people to watch those at times that work for them and schedule the live content carefully (e.g. for the morning have a recorded reading, then a lunch break, then in the afternoon a live panel and discussion, then a break, a second recorded reading, and a post-reading discussion.
This means that people only need to attend the live panel and two live discussions, and get a long break mid-afternoon, but that they can compress everything into one day if it’s better for them). If offering this format, it’s imperative you have a quiet room or other appropriate spaces for participants and authors running workshops to lie down and rest.
Reference: Jamie Hale
Breaks
Ensure regular breaks are built into any online workshop or course, let people know the timings for these in advance, and provide a quiet space for people to lie down. Discuss this with disabled participants to make sure breaks are adequate.
Reference: Elspeth Wilson
Information and Advertising
In the information you provide about the opportunity, make it clear what you can offer disabled people (including being flexible about needs). Shout about being accessible when you’re advertising on social media. As mentioned earlier in the guide, make sure your advertising materials are accessible.
In-Person Career Development Events
Much can and should be done to ensure disabled people are welcome to attend residencies, retreats and workshops: from securing accessible venues, to setting aside a dedicated access fund, to providing accommodation and supportive technology.
Location
Some disabled people may not be able to travel to do a residency, writing retreat, or fellowship. Even if these have traditionally taken place in a particular location, be flexible about this. Work with the disabled author to find a residency venue that is closer to them. Alternatively, have the option available for the residency to take place online.
See “Online Career Development Events” below for more information.Venue
Prioritise using venues with ground-floor step-free access, and:
Ensure the whole venue is wheelchair accessible
There are ground-level rooms with accessible toilets
There is more than one working lift (with a safe working weight limit at a minimum of 400kg) for upstairs parts of the venue
All staff members know where accessible toilets are and can direct disabled authors to them
Have dimensions of lifts and doorways listed on the access information, that ramps are correctly angled, and ask for assessments of this, i.e., Euan’s Guide
If the venue doesn’t have a Changing Places facility (adapted toileting for people who cannot transfer from wheelchair to toilet without a hoist, or who need incontinence supplies changed on a flat surface) or alternative (e.g. access to a hotel room with hoist and adapted bathroom), be prepared to hire one if required
Provide hearing loops, ensuring these are modern and functional. Have adjustable lighting which is able to be both dimmed and warm as well as bright
Welcome all assistance dogs. However, bear in mind that some people have severe allergies to dogs, and spaces (especially small or poorly ventilated spaces) containing dogs might be inaccessible to them.
Reference: Khairani Barokka, Jamie Hale, Sandra Alland, Elspeth Wilson, Jeda Pearl
Covid Safety
While there is no longer a legal requirement for people to wear masks indoors or take LFTs before attending events, event organisers can be good allies to disabled people by having Covid safety measures in place. As mentioned earlier, some disabled people may not be able to attend events in-person if these safety measures aren’t in place.
Discuss these with the authors attending to ensure that they are stringent enough to make the authors feel secure in the venue, while also recognising that masks can provide an access barrier.
A possible template:
We provide lateral flow tests and ask everyone to take one daily before entering the venue, registering the result*. We ask everyone who is able to wear a mask, and we provide a range of surgical, surgical with transparent panel, and FFP3 masks. Where there are conflicts of needs (e.g. people who lipread or sign and need to see the faces of the people they’re speaking to, or where people cannot wear masks) we will discuss this with people as needed to create an environment that feels as secure as possible, respecting both that not everyone can wear a mask, and that not everyone can be in closed spaces with people who are not wearing masks.* There are systems you can purchase that will manage this.
Reference: Jamie Hale
Overnight Residential Stay
Ensure that there is an emergency contact available both by call and by text if required outside event hours and attendees have clear guidance on when and how to reach this contact
Ensure emergency evacuation processes are made clear, including personal emergency evacuation plans, how wheelchair users should evacuate if upstairs, the responsibilities of staff in supporting evacuation, and alarm facilities for deaf attendees such as flashing fire alarms and vibrating pillow pads linked to the fire alarm system
Where possible ensure people have access to other emergency information, such as 24-hour accessible taxi firms, the location of hospitals and urgent care centres, and out of hours pharmacies. If there is no 24-hour accessible transport and you have attendees who would not be able to use standard transport, have an alternative plan for if they need something urgently at night (e.g. painkillers from a local pharmacy).
Reference: Jamie Hale
Travel
Some disabled people may be able to travel to these types of events, but require extra assistance to do so; work with them to meet their needs, and where they face extra costs, be prepared to support them in meeting those. Budget for the possibility of needing to provide hire cars or a taxi for people who can’t travel by train.
Reference: Jamie Hale
Personal Assistance
People may require a companion, carer or personal assistant to accompany them (or for people who have 24-hour care needs, they may require two or more personal assistants). They may acquire costs for residential events that they would not face in their day-to-day lives – e.g. the additional cost to pay a personal assistant who has travelled with them for the extra hours they are working. If they face additional costs, budget to cover those costs where required.
Reference: Jamie Hale
Accommodation
Disabled people may need personal assistants or companions to stay with them, so factor this in when budgeting for accommodation. If the author needs accessible accommodation, work with them to ensure they get what’s required – this may include needing to hire equipment such as commode chairs and hoists.
Euan’s Guide provides information on accessible accommodation.Reference: Jamie Hale
“I find that a lot of writing residencies are in very beautiful places, but they are very remote and inaccessible if you don’t drive and there’s not much public transport. That can be a massive barrier to loads of people and they don’t address that, they don’t mention things like this when they advertise. They haven’t even thought that there might be people for whom that might be the case. That’s really emotionally exhausting to constantly feel like you’ve been forgotten by everyone.”
“I did a Cove Park residency, and they were really on it in terms of supporting me. They would give me a lift with my shopping down to the pod I was staying in and asked what else they could do to help me.”
Online Career Development Events
Online option
If your event usually takes place in a particular location, have the option for it take place online (or to take place twice: once in-person and once online, so you’re able to reach different audiences). Plan for this and provide appropriate support to facilitate this, including any tech and equipment assistance.
See “The Digital 2021 Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship” by Helen Sedgwick for a good-access testimonial.Participants
If it’s a course or workshop, you can give participants the option to join with their video off and allow them to interact in a way that suits them, such as via the chat function, if preferred. However, this is where access needs can clash: if someone is lip-reading and people have videos off, this will exclude them. It’s important to discuss everyone’s needs in advance and accommodate where possible.
Reference: Jamie Hale
Make online accessible
Online may not be accessible for various reasons; work with the disabled author to make online accessible for them. Ringfence funds for this, making it clear this is part of the fellowship, retreat, or residency. For instance, if someone has chronic pain and joint issues, include funds for equipment such as keyboards with wrist supports, which will allow them to effectively deliver their project without suffering for it.
If you run a significant number of residencies or similar, consider having an adaptive technology bursary able to cover the cost of, or contribute to the cost of, more expensive adaptive technology, such as:
A mouth-controlled mouse
High quality dictation software
An eye-gaze controlled keyboard
Such things can be the difference between someone being able to continue writing, and them not.
Consider also providing information on ways people can make online accessible at a low cost.
Reference: Helen Sedgwick, Jamie Hale
Hybrid Career Development Events
(in-person and online)
“Some institutions will pay less if you’re teaching online and often, they won’t have a good set-up where you can see all the students. So, it’s important in a teaching set-up that there’s good equipment and a tech-check.”
Workshops and Courses
While some organisations we spoke with stated they find delivering workshops either online or in-person works better, with the right equipment it may be possible to effectively deliver workshops and courses simultaneously in-person and online.
We spoke to author Claire Askew, who was able to deliver a hybrid workshop because it took place at a venue that had already invested in the tech and tech support. There was a big screen in the room where the online participants appeared, and the venue had a 360-degree conference webcam which could ‘look’ at whoever was speaking:
“This meant we were able to sit in a circle, log onto Zoom, and the webcam did the work: it sat in the middle, and turned to face each person as they spoke, so the folks joining in from home could see their fellow participants as if they too were in the room. It was amazing and very intuitive!”
It's worth looking into investing in this technology or partnering with venues that already have the tech and tech support built in.
Residency, Retreat, or Fellowship
A disabled author may not be able to do a full residence, retreat, or fellowship in-person, but could do part of it in-person and part of it online. Be flexible and work with them to deliver it in a way that suits their needs.
Prize Ceremony Attendance
Some prizes stipulate in their Terms and Conditions that the person entering must be able to attend the prize ceremony if they’re longlisted, shortlisted, or win. All Ts & Cs need to be updated to clearly state physical attendance is not mandatory, and there will be a means for an entrant to attend online (including assisting the entrant to join online if they don’t have a means to do so themselves – e.g. facilitating assistance at a local library or via a local literary organisation).
Reference: Anna Biggs