Blog Submissions

Who reads the blog?

People with an interest in disability and human rights in York.

When will my article be published?

New articles are usually published weekly on a Wednesday morning but if you have a specific time or date in mind that relates to your article then let us know!

We aim to work at least two weeks ahead so please get in touch as soon as possible.

What kind of thing is published on the blog?

Our aim is to publish content which raises awareness of disability in a human rights context and creates positive change for the disability community of York.

Some topics you might like to write about include:

• disability rights campaigns
• book and film reviews
• profiles of disability rights campaigners
• your experience of studying/working/living in York as a disabled person.

How long should my article be?

Between 750 – 1200 words please.

I’ve published an article on my blog, will you publish it on yours too?

Please only submit original articles which haven’t been published elsewhere. This is important for the success of the Forum’s website as search engines don’t always appreciate duplicate content.

If you’ve written something which you think will be of interest to our audience please let us know as we may be able to promote it via social media or our email newsletter.

Should I include images?

Yes please! Where possible please include up to 3 images with your writing. One should be the main/header image and up to two to go in the written content.

Images should:

• be at least 1600px wide and less than 1MB (file size)
• be consistent with the content of your article
• be suitable for all audiences (respectful of all ages, genders, races, identities etc.)
• be owned by you or be free for unrestricted use.

Please include a description of any images. This will be added as alt text for screen reader accessibility.

It’s also important that you have the permission of any person/people who are featured in the images. If it’s a photo of your pet, we’re sure they’d appreciate being asked for their permission too!

Please get in touch if you have any questions about images or need a hand in sourcing some – we’re here to help! Email hello@ydrf.org.uk.

Can I add my own videos or audio?

Yes indeed! Unfortunately we’re not able to host the media for you but please upload it to a site such as YouTube and include the link in your article. For us to link to your media you’ll need to make sure that it is accessible to as many people as possible.

To do this:

• Add captions to any pre-recorded video. Although many video hosting sites provide automatically generated captions, we strongly recommend adding them yourself or checking and editing the auto-generated version.
• Add audio description to videos where the information is not apparent in the existing audio content.
• Provide a transcript for audio files that describes any spoken word as well as other relevant audio content (ie. sound effects or ‘mood setting’ music).
• Provide a description of any non-verbal audio (ie. music).

Please get in touch if you have any questions about images or need a hand in sourcing some – we’re here to help! Email hello@ydrf.org.uk.

How can I make sure that my article is accessible?

There are a few basic things we recommend you do to make sure that the content you submit is accessible to as many people as possible.

• Use clear, straightforward language that can easily be understood.
• Support your written content with relevant images that help to make clear what you’re saying.
• Make sure that images are high-quality, clear and are not visually disturbing. Ie. not confusing to look at, very bright or ‘jazzy’ (no ‘magic-eye’ pictures please!).
• Consider whether you could break up your text with headings and bulleted lists.

We have some great links about digital accessibility on our Resources page.

I have an idea for an article, can I get some help writing it?

Go for it! We’d love to hear your ideas and work together to get them out there. So if you need a hand with getting those last few words out or with putting the whole thing together then let us know at hello@ydrf.org.uk.

Do you publish every article that’s submitted?

We try to publish as many as possible and aim to be a positive and open space for communication amongst and with the disability community of York. We’ll always work with contributors to make sure that the content we’re putting out is relevant, interesting, positive and respectful but there are some things that we will not publish.

This includes:

• content that is not relevant to the disability community of York
• anything which is deemed to be hateful, disrespectful, inflammatory or antagonistic to any individual, group, business or organisation; basically anyone, anywhere, anytime
• content which promotes any health or medical treatment

All content is published at the discretion of the editor(s).

Can I promote my business, organisation, products or events?

Of course! Promotions that are relevant to the disability community in York are always welcome. We love to raise awareness of the positive things that exist for disabled people in York to take advantage of. We don’t accept any sponsored content and will likely add a disclaimer to your article to make it clear that it’s a promotion.

It’s important that the article be written in a way that’s interesting to our readers and adopts a conversational tone. We ask that the content be original and not a reproduction of information that can be found elsewhere on the internet (except in the case of short quotes).

We also publish content on Twitter, Facebook and have an email newsletter which could help you to reach out to disabled people in York. Please email us at hello@ydrf.org.uk with the subject: ‘Promotion’ to talk to us about how we might work together.

Do you pay for article submissions?

All the activities of the York Disability Rights Forum are provided on a voluntary basis, including our online content, so we don’t offer any payment for articles that are submitted. You’ll hold the copyright for the content you submit, but by doing so you grant York Disability Rights Forum permission to publish, copy, store, print, reproduce and distribute the content in any current or future medium.

You will be stated as the author (unless you’d prefer not to be) and by giving consent to publish you confirm that the content is original, that you hold the rights to the content and that agreement has been obtained from any relevant third parties.