The Crip Chronicle is a rights-rooted disability publication focused on documentation and public understanding.
We publish writing that helps disabled people recognize the systems shaping our lives—and helps everyone else see those systems clearly. Our work centers policy, institutional practice, and lived experience as evidence, not advice or inspiration.
You do not need formal credentials to contribute.
If you can make patterns visible, we want to hear from you.
What We Publish
We are currently seeking three kinds of pieces.
Issue Briefs (Policy & Systems)
Clear, grounded explainers that document how a system or policy actually works in practice.
These pieces focus on:
- What a policy says vs. what it produces
- Enforcement gaps, administrative burden, and access failures
- Making invisible mechanisms legible (“Here’s what you’re seeing when you see this”)
Length: 1,000–2,000 words
Community Testimony (Lived Experience as Evidence)
First-person documentation that shows how systems operate on the ground.
These pieces focus on:
- Specific encounters with institutions
- What was required to be believed, served, or helped
- Patterns that extend beyond one person’s experience
Length: 800–1,500 words
No diagnosis required. No inspiration or “overcoming” framing.
Resource-Oriented Pieces
Contextual guides that explain programs, processes, or frameworks and point readers to existing resources.
These pieces focus on:
- What a program is (and isn’t)
- Who it may work for—and who it often leaves out
- Where people commonly get stuck
Length: 800–1,500 words
Not a substitute for legal, medical, or crisis support.
What We Don’t Publish
- Inspiration or “overcoming adversity” stories
- Individual medical or legal advice
- Diagnosis policing or legitimacy tests
- Pure opinion without documentation
- Claims about policy or systems without sourcing
Who We Especially Want to Hear From
We welcome submissions from all disabled contributors, and we especially encourage work by:
- Disabled people of color
- Disabled immigrants and refugees
- Disabled LGBTQ+ people
- Multiply marginalized disabled people
- Disabled people in rural or under-resourced areas
- Disabled people working in policy, healthcare, law, education, or organizing
First-time writers, collaborative pieces, and non-traditional formats are welcome.
We’ll work with you on clarity, sourcing, and accessibility.
How to Submit
You may send either:
- A short pitch (2–3 paragraphs), or
- A complete draft
Please include:
- What you want to write about
- The system or pattern you’re documenting
- Why it matters now
- Your preferred byline (name, pseudonym, or anonymous)
Email: [email protected]
Subject line: Crip Chronicle Submission: [Topic]
We aim to respond within two weeks.
A Few Notes
- This is a volunteer-run publication; we can’t currently pay contributors.
- You retain copyright; we publish non-exclusively.
- Editing is collaborative—we strengthen your voice, not replace it.
- Questions or accessibility needs? Reach out before submitting. We’re happy to talk things through.
The Crip Chronicle is edited by a disabled-led editorial team and grounded in disability justice principles. Our goal is not to speak for disabled people, but to create space where disabled people’s knowledge reshapes how systems are understood.