1 Publishers’ summaries are promotions for readers looking for something new. You find them on Amazon, Audible, Goodreads and most other bookseller websites. Their most notable characteristics are cliches, exaggeration and urgency—altogether,
Charity
What I Learned from a Book Club About My Own Novel
When speaking to groups about Caroline, my novel that I promote elsewhere on this website, I acknowledge that once a book is out, it’s no longer the exclusive province of the author. As I found during a recent Zoom meeting with a Florida book club,
Accommodation: A Story
Wordgathering has published my story, "Accommodation," in its current issue. Here's the link: https://wordgathering.com/vol14/issue1/fiction/spratt/
Party Quandaries
To his surprise, my friend Neil was recently invited to a former neighbor's housewarming party at her new home. Neil's vision, never great, has deteriorated in recent years. He took a taxi there and was greeted at the door by the host, his former
Journalism and Disability
Media coverage of visually impaired people can distress its subjects. It can’t help journalists that visually impaired people disagree among themselves about the best ways to write and talk about their experiences and how they feel they’re perceived
How Can We Talk About Race? Thoughts Based on How We Talk About Disability
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is quoted in the December 10 edition of the New York Times as saying: “I don’t think it stands to reason that it’s a good thing for the University of Texas to admit as many blacks as possible.” He went on to say