Disability Visibility: Alice Wong and Maysoon Zayid

The founder of the Disability Visibility Project shares a groundbreaking collection of first-person stories on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience.

According to the most recent census, one in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some are visible, some are hidden—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Disability Visibility, edited by Alice Wong, responds with a collection of personal writing by contemporary disabled authors. Across essays, blog posts, poetry, manifestos, eulogies, and more, the anthology celebrates the richness and complexity of the disabled experience, questions readers’ assumptions, and enshrines a document of disability cultures today.

Alice Wong is joined by comedian and fellow activist Maysoon Zayid to share their own personal stories and reflect on the myriad others contained within the collection.

ASL interpretation and real-time captioning will be provided. For any questions, please email publicprograms@nypl.org.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Alice Wong is a disabled activist, media maker, and research consultant based in San Francisco. She is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture. Alice is also the host and co-producer of the Disability Visibility podcast and co-partner in a number of collaborations such as #CripTheVote and Access Is Love. She has been published or featured in The New York Times, Eater, Teen Vogue, the CNN original series United Shades of America, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, VICE, and BuzzFeed. From 2013 to 2015, Alice served as a member of the National Council on Disability, an appointment by President Barack Obama.

Maysoon Zayid is an actress, comedian, writer, and disability advocate. She is a graduate of and a Guest Comedian in Residence at Arizona State University. Maysoon is the co-founder/co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and The Muslim Funny Fest. She was a full-time On Air Contributor to Countdown with Keith Olbermann and a columnist for The Daily Beast. Maysoon had the number one TED Talk of 2014 and was named 1 of 100 Women of 2015 by BBC. She was a headliner on the Arabs Gone Wild Comedy Tour and The Muslims Are Coming Tour. Maysoon appeared alongside Adam Sandler in You Don’t Mess with the Zohan and has written for VICE. She limped in New York Fashion Week and is a recurring character on General Hospital.

GET THE BOOK
Readers everywhere who wish to purchase copies of Disability Visibility can do so at The New York Public Library Shop. All proceeds benefit The New York Public Library. Plus, receive a free commemorative 125th anniversary tote bag with your purchase!

This program will be streamed on Zoom and simulcast to YouTube. You must register with your email address in order to receive the link to participate. Please check your email shortly before the discussion to receive the link.

Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc.) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Sara Beth Joren at sarabethjoren@nypl.org.

For all other questions and inquiries, please contact publicprograms@nypl.org.

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