on a lime green background in dark green text is “Narratives of Belonging: Disability, Mental Health, and Youth Literature”. Below that is a silhouette of an open book. To the left of the book is “November 11, 2025” in brown text. To the right of the book is “6-7 pm Central”. Below that in dark green text is “This FREE virtual event will be a roundtable discussion where scholars will discuss the importance of disability studies and mental health when studying and reading young adult literature. Joining us in the conversation is Edcel Javier Cintron-Gonzalez, Audrey T. Heffers, Jordan Grunawalt, and Dr. Jeremy Johnston.” Centered at the bottom is the A Place For Us logo.
On a lime green background at the top is an image of Edcel, a young Latino with short black hair and a black mustache and beard, seen from the waist up. He’s wearing a black turtleneck sweater and a black trench coat. Behind him is a university building and a tree with orange leaves. Below this picture in dark green text is “Edcel Javier Cintron-Gonzalez is a proud Puerto Rican and a Ph.D. Candidate in English Studies with specialization in Children’s and YA Literature at Illinois State University. Edcel is the author of Irma, Maria, Fiona, and Me (2023) published in PRESS 254/Spoonfuls, and a 2024 TedxNormal speaker.” Centered at the bottom is the A Place for Us logo.
on a lime green background at the top is an image of Dr. Johnston, a white man wearing rectangular glasses with metal frames, seen from the shoulders up. He is wearing a dark red collared shirt and he has a slight closed-mouth smile. Below this picture in dark green text is “Jeremy Johnston is an Assistant Professor of Children’s and Young Adult Literature at Illinois State University. His teaching and research interests include literary adolescence, mental health, economics, and political philosophy. He currently serves as the President of the Young Adult Studies Association and on the ChLA Ombuds Committee. His forthcoming book, Productive Citizenship: Neoliberal Capitalism & the Young Adult Novel, is under contract with the University Press of Mississippi.” Centered at the bottom is the A Place for Us logo.
on a lime green background at the top is an image of Audrey, a young White woman with wavy brown shoulder length hair, seen from the chest up. She is wearing a pink and white floral blouse, a light pink cardigan, a necklace, and large dark-framed glasses. She is smiling with visible teeth. Behind her is a bookshelf and two framed pictures on the wall. Below that image in dark green text is “Audrey T. Heffers, who also writes under Audrey T. Carroll, is the author of What Blooms in the Dark (ELJ Editions) and The Gaia Hypothesis (Alien Buddha Press), and she is the Chair of the Creative Writing Studies Organization. Her Instagram/Bluesky is @AudreyTCarroll and her website is http://AudreyTCarrollWrites.weebly.com.” Below that in brown text is “Jordan Grunawalt (not pictured) is a 4th-year PhD student in Literary and Cultural Studies at Illinois State University. Her research interests specialize in disability studies, environmental disasters, and Asian spaces. Recently, she presented on the disabling impact of the 2011 Fukushima Disaster 2025 ASLE conference. She also has a forthcoming publication on disability and community in Spiderman Into the Spiderverse.” Centered at the bottom is the A Place for Us logo.
We have an exciting event coming up next month! Sign up here: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
