Spotlight on Disabled Authors- Meet Keah Brown

Spotlight on Disabled Authors- Meet Keah Brown. Three thumbnails of Keah Brown's Books: Sam's Super Seats, The Secret Summer Promise, and The Pretty One

In this issue of our Spotlight on Disabled Authors, we’re excited for you to meet Keah Brown, author of the above three books. We were thrilled to have had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Keah. In our discussion, we shared some disability joy while we discussed her books, disability, her advice to other writers with a disability, and even Mandy Moore.

Spotlight on disabled authors- Meet Brown. Image is of Keah, who is a young black woman wearing a white sweater and black pants. She has shoulder length black hair, glasses and smiling at the camera.

Keah Brown is an award winning journalist, author, studying actress and screenwriter. She is the recipient of Ulta Beauty’s Muse 100 award, which is a celebration of 100 inspirational voices around beauty. She is also one of The Root’s 100 most influential African Americans of 2018. Keah is the creator of the viral hashtag #DisabledAndCute. Her work on disability, identity, and pop culture has appeared in Town & Country Magazine, Teen Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire UK, And The New York Times, among other publications. Her essay collection, The Pretty One, picture book, Sam’s Super Seats and a young adult novel, The Secret Summer Promise, are out now. Find out more at keahbrown.com 

About Her Books

Spotlight on Disabled Authors- Meet Keah Brown. Image of book cover for The Secret Summer Promise is very colorful with two black girls sitting next to each other on what looks like waves of water. Text reads: The Secret Summer Promise Keah Brown

The Secret Summer Promise is a young adult novel.
Andrea Williams has got this. The Best Summer Ever. Two summers ago, she spent all her time in bed, recovering from the latest surgery for her cerebral palsy. She’s waited too long for adventure and thrills to enter her life. Together with her crew of ride-or-die friends, and the best parents anyone could ask for (just don’t tell them that), she’s going to live it up.
There’s just one thing that could ruin it: Her best friend, Hailee, finding out Andrea’s true feelings. So Andrea WILL fall out of love with Hailee – even if it means dating the cute boy George who keeps showing up everywhere with a smile.
Do we want Andrea to succeed? No! Does she? We’re not telling!
In her YA debut of nerdy queer love, Keah Brown gives us the perfect summer read and cast of characters to fall in love with.

Sam’s Super Seats

Image of the book cover for Sam's Super Seats. Image is of three young girls sitting in a mall bench with shopping bags around them. Sam is in the middle, who is a disabled black girl. Text reads: Sam's Super Seats by Keah Brown Illustrated by Sharee Miller

A joyful picture book about a disabled girl with cerebral palsy who goes back-to-school shopping with her best friends, from #DisabledandCute creator and The Pretty One author Keah Brown.

Sam loves herself, learning, and making her family and friends laugh. She also loves comfortable seats, including a graceful couch named after Misty Copeland and Laney, the sassy backseat of Mom’s car.

After a busy morning of rest, Sam and her friends try on cute outfits at the mall and imagine what the new school year might bring. It’s not until Sam feels tired, and the new seat she meets isn’t so super, that she discovers what might be her best idea all day.

With hilarious, charming text by Keah Brown and exuberant illustrations by Sharee Miller, Sam’s Super Seats celebrates the beauty of self-love, the power of rest, and the necessity of accessible seating in public spaces. Includes narrative description of art for those with low/limited vision.

The Pretty One

Image is of the book cover of The Pretty One. Keah Brown is seen smiling on the cover, a young black woman wearing a gray sweater, black glasses, and shoulder length black hair. Text reads: Creator of the viral hashtag #DisabledandCute On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love with me

From the disability rights advocate and creator of the #DisabledAndCute viral campaign, a thoughtful, inspiring, and charming collection of essays exploring what it means to be black and disabled in a mostly able-bodied white America. 
Keah Brown loves herself, but that hadn’t always been the case. Born with cerebral palsy, her greatest desire used to be normalcy and refuge from the steady stream of self-hate society strengthened inside her. But after years of introspection and reaching out to others in her community, she has reclaimed herself and changed her perspective.
In The Pretty One, Brown gives a contemporary and relatable voice to the disabled—so often portrayed as mute, weak, or isolated. With clear, fresh, and light-hearted prose, these essays explore everything from her relationship with her able-bodied identical twin (called “the pretty one” by friends) to navigating romance; her deep affinity for all things pop culture—and her disappointment with the media’s distorted view of disability; and her declaration of self-love with the viral hashtag #DisabledAndCute.
By “smashing stigmas, empowering her community, and celebrating herself” (Teen Vogue), Brown and The Pretty One aims to expand the conversation about disability and inspire self-love for people of all backgrounds.

In our Spotlight on Disabled Authors- we are so excited for you to meet Keah Brown. We hope you enjoy our chat with her as much as we did.

Want to read about other author’s with disabilities? Check out more of our spotlight on author’s here.