We invite submissions from current or former McMaster students and alumni living with one or more of the following:

• Physical, learning, sensory, developmental, or mental health disability, or chronic illness, addiction, or neurodiversity.
• Medical conditions, chronic illnesses, or chronic pain.
• Trauma (intergenerational or otherwise), grief, with or without related and associated physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, and cognitive effects.
• Identities as a D/deaf, hard of hearing, Mad, recovering, autistic, and/or neurodivergent person.
• Challenges navigating campus or inequitable accessibility accommodations (formal or informal).
• Assistive technology use/experience.

We will accept submissions via our Author Bio Information and Submission Form.

NOTE: submission via this Microsoft Form requires an active McMaster account / ID. If you encounter any difficulties, have any questions, or would like to submit via email, please contact us at MacDisZn@mcmaster.ca.

• Please submit visual pieces as .jpeg, .png, or other common, non-proprietary, image file format.
• Physical art pieces can be dropped off at an office at McMaster for assistance with creating an alternative format. Please email us for the location and to arrange a time.
• We will also accept submissions (e.g., YouTube videos) via QR code.
• Please submit text-based pieces as a .docx or .rtf file.

In addition to uploading your submission, you’ll be asked to:

• Provide a brief bio of up to 100 words (written in the third person) including the name under which you would like to be published (e.g., all or part of your name, a pen name, a group name, or ‘anonymous’).
• Complete a brief author form (e.g., indicating your program and years of study at McMaster and graduation year if applicable, email address for contact purposes, etc.)

The Goals of the Zine Team are to:

• Curate a student-led response to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Post-Secondary Education standards to inform the implementation of the standards at McMaster.
• Express and explore the complexity, creativity, and collectivity of disabled students’ lives and personal journeys often lost in the bureaucratic process of individually seeking and providing accommodations.
• Identify and combat expressions of ableism and disability stigma in the classroom and on campus.
• To enhance understanding of what it looks like to meaningfully support, respect, and protect students’ physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health in the learning environment.

Zine submissions should engage with one or more of the following prompts:

• What has it been like to learn at McMaster University while negotiating disability/ (in)accessibility? What specific experiences stand out to you?
• Have there been any potentially isolating barriers for you in accessing accommodations and equitable learning experiences?
• How have you been impacted by the barriers you have faced?
• What have you done to negotiate these barriers either individually and/or with others?
• What has respectful support looked and felt like, or what might this look and feel like?
• How have experiences with formal or informal groups of disabled students been meaningful to you?
• What has disabled student organizing or advocacy looked like and meant for you?
• What do you want the future of accessible and disability-inclusive teaching and learning to look like? What needs to change?
• What recommendations do you have for faculty, teaching assistants, and other educational staff? What would make learning experiences more equitable and accessible for students?
• How would you like to express your thoughts on equity, accessibility, and fairness within learning environments?
• What does a safe space look like to you? What does it not?

The zine team welcomes individual and group submissions in textual (words), visual, aural (voice, sounds), or alternative format or translation to a format that can be posted on a digital webpage (e.g., oral description of a sculpture, or text-to-speech of a Brailled piece). Formats may include, but are not limited to:

• Creative arts (e.g., scanned, photographed, or digital images and image descriptions of collages, comics, graphic design, drawings, paintings, photography, sculpture, videos).
• Literary arts (e.g., dialogues/interviews, essays, poetry, lyrics, reflections, satire, short fiction, theatre scripts).
• Other (e.g., lists, riddles, recipes, games, puzzles…)

There is a maximum of 1500 words (for literary pieces), up to 4 letter-sized pages (for visual pieces), or up to 30 minutes (for aural pieces) per submission, though we especially welcome shorter pieces! Our goal is to include submissions from a wide variety of individuals/groups and to accept as many as we can. While individuals can submit as many creative pieces as they would like, we will endeavour to achieve balance in how many pieces per person are published (e.g., no more than two pieces per artist/author).

When submitting, contributors will be asked to provisionally indicate how they would prefer to be credited if their piece is chosen for publication (e.g., anonymous, pseudonym, first name, full name; this can be changed before publication). Authors of accepted pieces will be asked to provide material for accessibility purposes at a later time and/or consulted in the preparation of these components (e.g., alternative text for images).

We are looking for submissions that cover a variety of topics. Some examples of different forms and content could include, but are not limited to:

• A series of 6 photos representing your learning experiences as a disabled student, with brief accompanying stories/captions.
• Photos of a sculpture representing your experience of the disabled student community.
• A brief article on a disability-related student initiative at McMaster (e.g., a description of how an individual student or group of students came together and what you sought to accomplish).
• A comic strip/graphic relating to a disability initiative you participated in at McMaster.
• Photo edits pointing out inaccessibility in learning environments at McMaster.
• A poem on things you wish your instructors knew about the importance of accessible education.
• A short fictional story about what you hope accessibility will look like in teaching and learning at McMaster in the year 2050.
• A drawing of your dream future for neurodivergent students at McMaster.
• If you could write an open letter to an instructor/ staff? What would you say or illustrate?

Please note that the examples provided here are intended to offer a starting point for submission concepts. Submissions do not need to adhere to these themes or specific mediums.

McMaster students and alumni with disabilities are invited to participate in virtual workshops on Zoom to collectively create artistic pieces for publication in the zine.  

Workshop dates: 

• Wednesday, January 10th, 10 am-12 pm: “Disability and Feeling Seen as a Student with a Disability” will focus on feeling “seen” in academic spaces. 

• Wednesday, January 17th, 10 am-12 pm:  “Creatively Navigating Disability-Related Barriers in Academia” will focus on addressing and understanding barriers students face in academic spaces. 

• Wednesday, January 24th, 10 am-12 pm: “Disability and Academic Futures” will focus on academic spaces and hopes for accessible and equitable futures. 

Participants are encouraged to bring their favourite materials for their artistic creations (e.g., pencil crayons, paper, paint, collage supplies, knitting). 

To sign up, please complete this registration form. Zoom links will be sent to registrants.  

If you have any questions, contact the McMaster Disability Zine Team (Asha Jeejeebhoy-Swalwell, McMaster BSW student; Nusrat Mir, Accessibility Projects Coordinator, AccessMac Program) at MacDisZn@mcmaster.ca.