#12 More Competitor Research Findings: Why Isn’t Trad Publishing Marketing Books with Disability Rep as Such??
As I searched for YA fantasy books with disability representation when looking for querying comps and then again when I started doing my indie publishing research, I found… very few. And I went DIGGING. But the bigger issue? The ones that do exist aren’t marketed that way by publishers.
I would also like to read these kinds of books for fun?? I can’t be the only one looking for rep like this, right? Not with statistics like these:
According to the National Library of Medicine, 1 in 5 kids in the U.S. has a chronic illness or condition.
The CDC says approximately 27% of children in the U.S. have a chronic condition, and 1 in 15 has multiple chronic conditions.
And that’s just in the United States. Globally, those numbers are harder to find, but I know there are teens, just like I was, in every country in the world.
Why does this matter?
Disabled and chronically ill readers want to find themselves in stories
If publishers don’t label books this way, they’re harder to discover
This is a huge gap in the market that needs fixing
But again, trying to look at it in a positive light. There is so much room to grow here for me and my book baby. We just gotta be brave and do this thing. 🥳
And Because I Am Absolutely Not Undercutting the Authors Who Are Publishing This Kind of Rep, Here Are Some Awesome Books I Did Manage to Find:
One for All by Lillie Lainoff (Has POTS rep!!!)
The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew
Monsters Born and Made by Tanvi Berwah
Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman
Inheritance of Scars by Crystal Seitz
Den of Liars by Jessica S. Olson
Accidental Demons by Clare Edge (MG not YA but so stinking cute!)
Artifice & Access: A Disability in Fantasy Anthology by Ella T. Holmes et al.
A Dance of Lies by Brittney Arena
Follow me on Goodreads
I’m going to use it to keep track of all of the fantastic books I find with chronic illness and disability rep! And PLEASE let me know what books (both indie and trad published) I’m missing!
📌 Next up: Make a book haul and start analyzing how these books are being positioned in the market.
💬 Know any YA fantasy books with disability rep? Drop them below!