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DULUTH, MN - 2024 marks the 23rd year the One Book project has brought Northland communities together to celebrate reading. The One Book Northland committee is pleased to announce the selected title is Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong. Copies of the book are now available for checkout from participating libraries and available for purchase from participating bookstores.

Alice Wong created the Disability Visibility Project in 2014 to bring awareness to the over 61 million people who live with disability in the United States. The aim of the project was to collect people’s oral stories in order to preserve their experience living in a world designed for non-disabled people. In 2020, Wong gathered collected stories into the anthology Disability Visibility: First Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century. In it, she includes congressional testimonies, blog posts, eulogies, and more. Disability Visibility is an incredibly important piece of history, relevant to people of all ages and backgrounds, regardless of disability status. The One Book Northland committee is extremely excited to share it with the community in the hope of starting meaningful conversation around disability and how it affects our lives, whether we identify as disabled or not.

Throughout the month of April, participating organizations will host unique events that highlight Disability Visibility and foster connection within our Northland communities. On Saturday, April 27 from 12:00 to 4:30 p.m., the Duluth Public Library is set to host a Visibility Fair at the Main Library (520 W. Superior St.) in partnership with the following organizations: Access North, CHOICE Unlimited, City of Duluth Commission on Disabilities, Disability HUB, Duluth Aging Support, Lighthouse Center for Vital Living, Make the Connection, MidMinnesota Legal Aid-Minnesota Disability Law Center, STRIDE, and The Arc Northland. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with representatives of participating organizations and learn more about how the groups serve, empower, and advocate for disabled Northlanders. Local musician and disability culture advocate Gaelynn Lea will also be joining the day events and is set to share a presentation at 1:00 p.m., which will then open up to a community book discussion from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Look for a complete program guide the first week of April at any of these locations: Duluth Public Library, Cloquet Public Library, Superior Public Library, Two Harbors Public Library, UMD Kathryn A. Martin Library, Bookstore at Fitger’s, Barnes & Noble, and Zenith Bookstore.

The One Book Northland committee includes representatives from the community, Duluth Public Library, Cloquet Public Library, Superior Public Library, Two Harbors Public Library, University of Minnesota Duluth, the College of St. Scholastica, UW Superior’s Jim Dan Hill Library, Fond Du Lac Tribal Community College, Superior Save the Kids, Barnes & Noble, Bookstore at Fitger’s, and Zenith Bookstore.