Frances Ryan

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...

is a British journalist, author, and activist for people with disabilities. In 2021 the

Shaw Trust Shaw Trust is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which supports people with complex needs into good work. It was founded in the village of Shaw in Wiltshire in 1982. Shaw Trust surpluses are reinvested through its charitable Sh ...

named her one of the UK's ten most influential disabilities activists.

Global Citizen Global citizenship is the idea that one's identity transcends geography or political borders and that responsibilities or rights are derived from membership in a broader class: "humanity". This does not mean that such a person denounces or waives ...

called her "a prominent voice for people with disabilities in the media". She is a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

Early life and education

Ryan grew up in

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln a ...

, Lincolnshire, and attended

Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School (KGGS) is a grammar school with academy status for girls in Grantham, Lincolnshire, established in 1910. It has over 1000 pupils ranging from ages 11 to 18, and has its own sixth form. History KGGS was fou ...

. She has a PhD in politics from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

Career

Ryan is a journalist, author, and activist for people with disabilities. She began writing about disability in 2012 and has written the ''Hardworking Britain'' column for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

''. She has worked as a political researcher at the

. Ryan's 2019 book '' Crippled: Austerity and the Demonisation of Disabled People'' explored the impacts of the UK austerity programme on people with disabilities. The book was published by

Verso ' is the "right" or "front" side and ''verso'' is the "left" or "back" side when text is written or printed on a leaf of paper () in a bound item such as a codex, book, broadsheet, or pamphlet. Etymology The terms are shortened from Lati ...

in June 2019. The book inspired the BBC drama ''Hen Night'', which Ryan created with Vici Wreford-Sinnott. In 2022 she commented on the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

and inflation on the disabled. She argued that many disabled people require extra electricity for medical equipment or extra heat. She said, "If you're chronically ill, you can't go round multiple shops for the cheapest deal."

Recognition

In 2015 Ryan was awarded the Politics Best Thesis Prize from the

School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham The School of Politics and International Relations is an academic department at the University of Nottingham, England housed in the Law and Social Sciences Building (LASS) together with Law and Sociology. The school runs nine undergraduate pro ...

. Ryan won the

Royal National Institute of Blind People The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a UK charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people in the UK with sight loss. History The RNIB was founded by Thomas Rhodes Armitage, a doctor who had eye ...

media impact award in 2019. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize, based at University College London, is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a boa ...

and in 2020 for the

Paul Foot Award The Paul Foot Award is an award given for investigative or campaigning journalism, set up by ''The Guardian'' and ''Private Eye'' in memory of the journalist Paul Foot, who died in 2004. The award, from 2005 to 2014, was for material published in ...

. In 2021 the

named her one of the UK's ten most influential disabilities activists.

called her "a prominent voice for people with disabilities in the media". Ryan was appointed a

in 2022, due in combination to her authorship of ''Crippled'' and her writing for ''The Guardian''.

Personal life

Ryan has generalised

muscle weakness Muscle weakness is a lack of muscle strength. Its causes are many and can be divided into conditions that have either true or perceived muscle weakness. True muscle weakness is a primary symptom of a variety of skeletal muscle diseases, includi ...

and uses a wheelchair. Due to her disability, Ryan was unable to travel for a book tour, so she spoke at online events. For a television interview about her book, she declined a producer's suggestion that she be filmed performing tasks around her house, as she did not think this would have been asked were she not disabled.

References

External links

Video The demonization of disabled people – Frances Ryan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Frances British women journalists British people with disabilities British women writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Nottingham Academics of the University of Nottingham Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Disability rights activists People educated at Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School