CFP: Rhetoric and Disability Handbook Chapter Proposals

[ten grrl]

Hi all,

I’m happy to share a CFP for the Rhetoric and Disability Handbook that I am editing with Brenda Brueggemann and Lauren Obermark. We are asking for chapter proposals by April 15, and the link to submit proposals is below. 

With gratitude and good wishes,

Elizabeth

Call for Chapter Proposals for the Rhetoric and Disability Handbook

• Deadline for proposals: Wednesday, April 15, 2026.
• Please submit proposals and CVs at this link. 
• Read on for more details! 
  
  

Introduction to the Rhetoric and Disability Handbook, Edited by Elizabeth Brewer Austin, Brenda Brueggemann, & Lauren Obermark

 

Rhetoric and Disability is a comprehensive handbook that explores the range of insights made possible by understanding that rhetoric and writing are always embodied and our understanding of disability is always discursively and culturally constructed. This handbook moves in two directions: (1) using disability theory to critique rhetorical theories and histories, and (2) using rhetorical theories and methods to understand responses to disability across cultures and contexts. The Rhetoric and Disability Handbook is under contract with Routledge and seeking additional chapters. 

What are the Routledge Handbooks and Who is the Primary Audience? 

In general, Routledge Handbooks provide an overview of a whole subject area or sub-discipline. They survey the state and development of the discipline, aiming to set the research agenda for the near future, redefine existing areas within the context of international research, highlight emerging areas, and provide scholars with ideas/encouragement for future research activity. Routledge Handbooks are frequently carried and circulated as ebooks in university libraries, so the audience is primarily faculty and graduate students, some who know the fields well and some who are being introduced to them for the first time. Chapters from the Handbooks are often assigned in upper-level undergraduate courses or graduate seminars.

 

New Ideas Welcome or Work from Gaps in Our Existing TOC

The Routledge Rhetoric and Disability Handbook is already in-progress, and we are closely attending to the Table of Contents as it develops. Because this Handbook aims to cover so much ground—and because rhetorical studies and disability studies are such rich and complementary fields—we have identified certain areas where we notice gaps in the Handbook. At this link, we share here our current Table of Contents(author names removed); included in this TOC are also suggestions for new chapter topics and approaches. *The topics with asterisks indicate high priority. Please take a moment to review this TOC to shape your proposal. 

At the same time, we’re very open to new ideas. Are you already working on something that connects to rhetoric and disability? If so, we’d welcome your ideas and current work, too, and encourage you to pitch it to us! After all, we want this Handbook to reflect the real state of the fields; your work is what continues to develop the valuable crossover and conversations between rhetorical studies and disability studies. 

While we would be open to variations or extensions of your past work and ideas, please note that we cannot accept work that has been previously published.

Consider Joining this Opportunity: Process and Timeline 

Proposals (250-500 words preferred), along with a CV, are requested by: April 15, 2026. 

Please submit your proposal and CV at this link. 

If your chapter proposal is accepted, we anticipate needing full drafts in August 2026.

 

Questions?

The editors are happy to answer questions or offer support via email. Reach out if we can help, and we look forward to reading your proposal! 

Gratefully, 

Elizabeth Brewer Austin, e.brewe...@ccsu.edu

Brenda Brueggemann, brenda.br...@uconn.edu

Lauren Obermark, ober...@umsl.edu 

Elizabeth Austin, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of English

Central Connecticut State University

she/her pronouns

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