(For those who can’t see the featured image here, it’s two lions snuggling. I have a multidimensional pun in mind there: cuddles, lions’ prides, and a not entirely subtle reminder about the saying about leopards eating faces.)
TL;DR:
Authors:
- Thanks for contributing so many fantastic books! Art is in progress with the invaluable assistance of Coyote, a Seeing Eye Design Human and excellent person. Stay tuned!
- We’ve started handing out the bundle on March 1.
Readers:
- Contact your representatives (in any country) on behalf of disability rights anywhere between now and March 31.
- Send a screenshot or forward a copy to CozyBookBundle@gmail.com.
- When the books are available in March, we’ll reply with your download link!
Big shout out to Coyote for starting the Cozy Fantasy for Trans Rights book bundle in February 2025.
Looks like we’re going to need more of them.
The attack on Section 504, also known as the law that makes it even theoretically possible for disabled people to get equal access in settings like schools and hospitals, combined with the plan to stop Medicare support for telehealth, pushed Cozy Fantasy for Disability Rights to the top of my wish list for what to promote in March.
Here’s how it goes:
- (Done) Through February 22, if you’re a cozy fantasy author with a free book (especially one with positive representation for disabled folks!) — contact me to contribute a book to the Cozy Fantasy for Disability Rights collection.
- (Done) Some time in the last week of February we’ll share some social media images and text for group promotion. Here are some links on Bluesky and Reddit.
- (Happening now) Starting March 1, people who contact their government (any government around the world!) in support of disabled folks’ rights will receive our cozy fantasy book bundles as a reward.
If anyone in the US wants a Section 504 explanation, here is an explainer page from the Disability Rights and Educational Defense Fund with contact information for the attorney generals in the states involved in the Section 504 lawsuit.
But even if you don’t live in one of those states, it’s worth contacting your representatives anyway, because accessibility is the A in the DEIA that’s under attack nationwide and worldwide right now, and we need all the voices we can to support equal access for everyone. Because if you live long enough, sooner or later you or someone you love is going to need disability assistance too — it might be a walker, it might be hearing aids, it might be medication, it might be something else.
The Books
We have nine free cozy books to offer as a reward, one of which is not available any other way than through this project!
They include:
- The Siren’s Cursed Kiss by Kat Kinney
- Chai and Cat-tales: Priye by Lynn Strong
- The Rose Bridge by Steph Shangraw
- Coffee, Milk & Spider Silk by Coyote J. M. Edwards
- The Tale That Twines by Cedar McCloud
- A Twist of Faerie by K. M. Jackways
- Courage is the Price by S. L. Dove Cooper
- Haroun’s Market of Wonders by Lynn Strong (only available through this project!)
- The Soul from the Supernova by A. M. Hart
The Guide
(Salute to Coyote for doing the hard work on the Trans Rights edition! Much of this will be familiar if you joined us in January.)
If you have the spoons to tell a personalized story of how you or your loved ones would be impacted by removing support for disabled people to access schools, healthcare, and other government-funded resources, the Example Letter/Email on the DREDF site provides a helpful model.
Olivia Wertheimer from Bluesky also has two model scripts in Google Docs that are available for folks to use — one of them is specific to Minnesota, and the other is for the US in general.
It’s important that you include your full name and address, though, as representatives may delete your message if they don’t see evidence that it’s from one of their own constituents. Otherwise, change it however you want! If there’s a particular situation or bill you’d like your rep to address, that’s a great thing to include.
Dear [representative’s name],
As your constituent, I’m writing today to ask you to protect disabled people’s rights to access schools, health care, and other government-funded services. The attacks on telehealth and Medicaied and the lawsuit attempting to invalidate Section 504 are not only cruel, they’re short-sighted as well.
With around 1 in 4 Americans having at least one identified disability according to the CDC, providing the support needed for disabled people to become educated, work jobs with appropriate accommodations, and gain the health care they need on a regular basis before it becomes an emergency room crisis is an investment worth making.
Telehealth is also vital to many people, both abled and disabled. For some people at a distance or unable to travel, it can make the difference between a doctor’s care and no care at all. While the reprieve until September is a relief, it would be a significant improvement to extend it permanently, so that people don’t need to fear for their access every 6 months.
And Medicaid’s proposed budget cuts total the entire budget. Health care is much less expensive as well as much less traumatic before people arrive in the emergency room.
Everyone, whether or not they’re disabled, should be provided the support they need to participate on an equal footing in society. Disabled people can be happily educated and employed when provided the access they need. Disabled people can buy things when websites are accessible. And disabled people and their loved ones vote.
Regards,
[Your full name]
[Your mailing address]
Where to contact your representatives
US Attorneys General:
If you live in one of the seventeen states in the lawsuit, the DREDF website contains contact information.
US other contacts (updated):
Visit https://5calls.org/ and put in your zip code. (Unfortunately, as of March 19, My Reps seems to have stopped working, so contacting your within-your-state government has gotten harder.)
Even if your delegates are Republicans (or Democrats who vote with Republicans), their job is still to represent your wishes, and enough pushback from their constituents will be recorded.
Optional hard mode: Adding your State Senator(s) and your State Representative(s) too!
Once you have the email or form contents written up, all you have to do is copy and paste and change the name in “Dear [name].”
If you like apps, 5calls.org has also been recommended!
Where to send it
Most US reps these days use contact forms instead of email addresses. This is totally fine and will still reach the official in question! Fill in the form with your information and then slap the message into the message box. Then take a screenshot (either of the message or the confirmation page, both are valid) and send it to CozyBookBundle@gmail.com. I’ll reply with the zip file full of eBooks!
If your rep does use email: Copy and paste the email address of the chosen representative(s) and either CC CozyBookBundle@gmail.com or forward it. (Forwarding allows you to trim out your physical address before you send it to us.) This will send a copy of your email directly to me so we can reply with the books 😀
You can remove your physical address from the CozyBookBundle@gmail.com version if you like!
We won’t be saving personal data! (While we’re at it, we also won’t be reading and judging the email you write. Just sending an email at all will get you the book bundle.) Feel free to crop your address out when you send a screenshot or forward an email —I don’t need to know where you live to send you the eBooks.
“What if I’m not in the US?”
A lot of people have been asking what they can do from other places in the world to support disability rights!
While we aren’t currently able to offer a legislation and talking points guide specific to your location, you are absolutely encouraged to contact your area’s equivalent to a representative and email CozyBookBundle@gmail.com with a screenshot or forwarded copy of the rep’s name and your message.
We’ll send over your eBooks ASAP! I recommend writing up an email from scratch using this template rather than copy-pasting the one above for obvious reasons.
Thanks for standing with us!
Lynn Strong 