Sitting Pretty: A Writing Competition Addressing Societal Messages and Belonging

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The book, Sitting Pretty, inspiring the writing competition.

The U of A Writing Studio and One Book One Community are proud to announce the first writing competition inspired by Rebekah Taussig's memoir, Sitting Pretty. Potential themes for the competition that stems from the book include, but are not limited to, nonconformity, belonging, invitations, ableism, representation, inclusivity and/or societal messaging or expectations.

The following quote captures the author's passion for disability rights advocacy through Taussig's own personal anecdotes and analysis of the disabled experience. 

"This is the wild emancipation I wish for all of us— a world where we are all free to be, to move, to exist in our bodies without shame; a world that isn't interested in making all of its humans operate in the exact same way; a world that instead strives to invite more, include more, imagine more. That world sees the humans existing on the margins and says, You have what we want! What barriers can we remove so we can have you around? What do you need? How can we make that happen?"  — Rebekah Taussig in Sitting Pretty (p. 16)  

All university undergraduate students are welcomed and encouraged to take part in one of our three categories: poetry, persuasive essay and non-fiction/fiction work. The competition opened Oct. 2, and entries are due by Oct. 27. All information has been outlined in the link attached and we look forward to reading all entries! Winners will be contacted on Nov. 3. 

Authored by Katie Ditchkus and Shaylee Luedders