The Disability Reading Challenge is an annual, reader-centered initiative designed to help people deepen their understanding of disability justice, disability culture, and the wide range of disabled experiences represented in literature. Inspired by diverse reading challenges on Bookstagram and grounded in disability justice principles, this challenge invites readers to explore books by disabled authors and stories that center disability in meaningful, intersectional ways.
Whether you’re beginning to include disability in your journey of decolonizing your reading or looking to expand the representation you engage with, the Disability Reading Challenge offers a guided yet flexible place to start.
🌱 Why This Challenge Exists
Disabled stories matter. Disabled authors matter. Disability culture, activism, joy, grief, care, and resistance shape our world — and shape our literature. Yet disability is often marginalized or misunderstood in reading spaces.
This challenge exists to:
- Highlight disabled voices across genres
- Encourage readers to explore intersectional disability representation
- Provide guidance for people who want to learn but don’t know where to begin
- Support a community rooted in accessibility, care, and intentional reading
- Offer structure without pressure, and accountability without rigidity
Everyone has different access needs, life circumstances, and reading rhythms. There is no “right” way to participate. You are welcome here exactly as you are.
📚 How the Challenge Works
Each year includes twelve prompts designed to highlight a wide range of disability representation — from chronic pain and neurodivergence to Deaf and Blind experiences, psychiatric disabilities, memoirs in nontraditional formats, and books by queer and BIPOC disabled authors.
You can:
- Read in any order
- Read as many or as few prompts as you’d like
- Join at any point in the year
- Read in whatever format is most accessible (audiobooks, ebooks, print, graphic novels, etc.)
There is no expectation to complete every prompt. Your pace and your choices are valid.
💬 A Community-Centered Initiative
The Disability Reading Challenge is supported by a growing community of readers who engage in whatever ways feel comfortable and accessible to them.
You can participate through:
The StoryGraph Challenge
Browse prompts, track your reading, and explore hundreds of community-submitted book suggestions.
The Discord Community
Connect with other readers, share recommendations, chat about each month’s prompt, or simply observe quietly.
Monthly Book Club
Join a low-pressure Zoom meeting at the end of each month to discuss the featured book and learn from one another.
Whether you enjoy reading independently, prefer asynchronous discussion, or thrive in live conversation, there is a place for you in this community.
💛 About the Creator
My name is Geetanshi, and I created the Disability Reading Challenge because I wanted a space where readers could explore disability justice, disabled narratives, and intersectional disabled experiences with intention, curiosity, and care. As someone who is passionate about inclusive storytelling, accessible learning, and disability advocacy, I believe deeply in the power of books to shift culture, challenge assumptions, and expand our understanding of one another.
This challenge began as a personal effort to read more disabled authors and deepen my engagement with disability justice. When I shared it publicly, I discovered that many other readers were looking for the same thing: a guided yet low-pressure way to explore disability representation in community.
I’m honored and grateful to steward this space, and I’m continually learning from the people who participate. Thank you for reading, for being here, and for helping build a community rooted in care, intention, and disability-centered storytelling.
You can follow me on my instagram, @gee.tan.shi, and learn more about me on my website: https://geetanshisharma.com
✨ Thank You for Being Here
Whether you’re here to find your next read, explore disability stories for the first time, join book club, or quietly follow along, your presence contributes to a growing community of readers who value disabled narratives and disability justice.
I’m glad you’re here, and I hope this challenge helps you find stories that inspire, challenge, and resonate with you.
The Disability Reading Challenge 