This page showcases journalism and bylined writing. For more examples of sponsored content, content marketing, corporate and nonprofit communications, ghostwriting, scriptwriting, advertising copy and more, please contact me.
anthologies
Selected essay published in About Us: Essays From The New York Times’ Disability Series (W.W. Norton 2019), edited by Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson.
Selected essay published in A Shadow Map: An Anthology By Survivors of Sexual Assault (Civil Coping Mechanisms 2017), edited by Joanna C. Valente.
books and the publishing industry
“Publishing Needs to Face Its Ableism Problem,” Publishers Weekly. (Appeared in April 20, 2020 print edition of Publishers Weekly. Read it online here.)
“Disability Representation in Children’s Books Has a Long Way to Go,” Bitch Media.
“Leave Potter Nostalgia behind in Favor of Trans Authors,” Bitch Media.
“How Young Adult Anthologies Are Making Space For All Kinds Of Diverse Love Stories,” Bustle.
“Young Adult Books About Queer Girls Are On The Rise, But There’s Still So Much To Be Done,” Bustle.
“Amanda Leduc and Fantasy Authors Challenge the Trope of ‘Broken’ Disabled People,” Bitch Media.
“Diverse-Owned Bookstores You Can Support Right Now,” We Need Diverse Books.
“How YA Literature Is Leading the Queer Disabled Media Revolution,” Bustle.
“How to Support Independent Bookstores Right Now,” We Need Diverse Books.
“Why the Publishing Industry Can’t Get Disability Right,” The Establishment.
“LGBTQ+ Diversity In YA Novels Is Getting Better, But Queer Girls Are Still Being Left Behind,” Bustle.
“Why The Publishing Industry Needs To Be More Inclusive Of Autistic And Disabled People,” Bustle.
“Asexual Readers Just Want Ace Characters to Live Full, Diverse Lives On the Page,” Bustle.
“7 Ways To Support The Diverse Books Movement, According To Experts And Activists,” Bustle.
“15 Books to Read for Autism Acceptance Month, We Need Diverse Books.
“Why Diverse Genre Fiction Is Important, And How To Get It Right,” Ravishly.
“LGBTQ+ And Disabled Characters Deserve To Be Single In Literature, Too,” Bustle.
“5 Authors Share About Their Books for Pride Month,” We Need Diverse Books.
“After Her Mom Died, Marisa Bardach Ramel Kept Working On The Memoir They Agreed To Write Together,” Bustle.
“Alive, Disabled, and Essential: How Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows Series Made Me Feel Real,” Brooklyn Magazine.
“Q&A with authors Katherine Locke and Laura Silverman,” The Forward.
“How This Fantasy YA Series Helped Me Better Understand What It Means To Be A Rape Survivor,” Bustle.
Book Reviews
“Leigh Bardugo’s ‘Ninth House’ Showed Me There’s More Than One Way To Be A Survivor,” Bustle.
“A Matter of Infinite Hope,” starred feature review of ‘Self-Made Boys’ by Anna Marie McLemore, Booklist. Cover story for September 2022. Online version of the review.
“A Recipe for Love: Capetta’s groundbreaking romance makes magic by centering queer and trans characters and relationships,” starred feature review of ‘The Heartbreak Bakery’ by A. R. Capetta, Booklist. Online version of the review.
“Starred review of ‘The Mirror Season’ by Anna-Marie McLemore,” Booklist.
“Starred review of ‘A Lesson in Vengeance’ by Victoria Lee,” Booklist.
“Starred review of ‘The Ghosts We Keep’ by Mason Deaver,” Booklist.
“Starred review of ‘Ana on the Edge’ by A. J. Sass,” Booklist.
“Starred review of ‘Lost in the Never Woods’ by Aiden Thomas,” Booklist.
“Starred review of ‘Can’t Take That Away’ by Steven Salvatore,” Booklist.
“Starred review of ‘Between Perfect and Real’ by Ray Stoeve,” Booklist.
“Review of ‘Fresh’ by Margot Wood,” Booklist.
“Review of ‘Jay’s Gay Agenda’ by Jason June,” Booklist.
“Review of ‘A Quick & Easy Guide to Sex & Disability’ by A. Andrews,” Booklist.
“Rooted in Rights Reviews – Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist,” Rooted in Rights.
“Rooted in Rights Reviews – Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law,” Rooted in Rights.
entertainment and pop culture
“Sia, Stories About Autism Should Center Autistic People. Period.,” Refinery29.
“Toys Are Us: Unlocking Trauma Through Classic Trinkets,” Bitch, Plastic print magazine issue, summer 2021.
“What “Everything, Everything” Gets Wrong About Living As a Disabled Person,” Teen Vogue.
“What Women In Publishing Really Think About ‘The Bold Type’,” Bustle.
“Haircuts Are a Shorthand for Trauma on Television,” Racked.
“Autism On Television Needs More Diverse Representation,” Teen Vogue.
“I Came Out Online 10 Years Ago. Love, Simon Matters To Teens,” Ravishly.
“‘Twilight’ Helped Me Figure Out What It Meant To Be A Queer Teen In Love,” Bustle.
“How ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Helped Me Deal With My Rape,” Teen Vogue.
“How Media Prevents Us From Truly Empathizing With Disabled Characters,” The Establishment.
“What Jessica Jones Means for a Queer Rape Survivor,” AfterEllen.
“I Discovered Gilmore Girls After My Mom Died, and it Helps Me Remember Her,” Bust.
“Why It Means So Much When Celebrities Reveal Their Diagnosis,” Healthline.
“In Fantastic Beasts, young Dumbledore isn’t the openly gay character I hoped for,” HelloGiggles.
public health, health, and wellness
“Autistic and Disabled Folks Know about the Dangers of Bleach ‘Cures’ Firsthand,” Bitch Media.
“Here’s What You Can Say If Your Friend Isn’t Going to ‘Get Well Soon’,” Healthline.
“Exploring the Powerful Link Between ADHD and Addiction,” Healthline.
“Watching high-stress TV shows like Killing Eve calms me down. I decided to find out why,” HelloGiggles.
“I Changed My Name After I Was Raped,” Narratively. Nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
“How To Support Your Suicidal Parent,” The Establishment.
“What I Wish People Knew About Being a Young Cane User,” Rooted in Rights.
“Why I Changed My Name After I Was Raped,” Marie Claire.
“What It Means To Be Highly Empathetic, And Autistic,” The Establishment.
“Having A Cat Makes Me Feel Better About Being Alive,” Ravishly.
media analysis and the craft of journalism
“We Need to Stop Talking About Disability as a Burden,” Tonic on Vice.
“If You’re Writing About Disability, You Need to Read These Guidelines,” Rooted in Rights.
“Ask Disabled People for Their Expertise — Not Their Parents,” Healthline.
“Why It’s Not Okay to Take Videos of Disabled People Without Their Permission,” Healthline.
“Writers & Activists! Here Are 5 Ways To Make Your Work More Accessible,” Everyday Feminism.
sex and relationships
“My childhood best friend broke my heart. Years later, she’s the perfect double-date,” The Washington Post.
“Why Queer Couples Don’t Marry as Young as Straights,” Vice.
“How to deal if you’ll be separated from your significant other over the holidays (and you don’t want to be),” HelloGiggles.
“My partner helped me survive after I was raped in college,” HelloGiggles.
“I Don’t Want to See Photos of Your Kids on Facebook,” Cosmopolitan.
“My girlfriend is my high school sweetheart — this is how we’ve made it work all these years,” HelloGiggles.
“How to date a disabled person and be a loving ally to them,” Equally Wed.
“40 important questions to ask a girl you’re dating to get to know her better,” HelloGiggles.
weddings
As an editor for Equally Wed magazine, I work extensively on real weddings and engagements, as well as wedding industry reporting, LGBTQ+ and marriage equality news, and branded wedding content.
“I Loved Planning My Queer, Disability-Friendly Wedding — But It Wasn’t Easy,” Refinery29.
“Why My Partner and I Both Proposed to Each Other,” O, The Oprah Magazine.
“This nonbinary wedding planner is breaking boundaries in the industry,” Equally Wed.
“We spoke to the couple behind that epic Brooklyn Bridge basketball photo,” Equally Wed.
“We spoke to the couple behind that epic Harry Potter proposal,” Equally Wed.
“19 LGBTQ+ inclusive wedding vendors save the day for two grooms rejected by bigoted venue,” Equally Wed.
News
Teens are banned from prom every year because they’re LGBTQ or non-white, but this group wants to end that in 2019, HelloGiggles.
The Knot, Pinterest and Zola will stop promoting plantation weddings, Equally Wed.
It’s Real! The ‘Gilmore Girls’ Revival Has Been Confirmed, Her Campus.
Vice launched a gender-inclusive free stock photo library, Equally Wed.
Chick-fil-A donated $1.8 million to anti-LGBTQ+ groups, Equally Wed.
education and employment
“Disabled People Have Worked From Home for Years. Why Did It Take a Pandemic for Everyone Else to Start?” Refinery29.
“To be more inclusive to people with disabilities, employers should start with their job descriptions,” Quartz.
“Disabled People Can Be Productive Workers, But That Shouldn’t Determine Our Worth,” Disability & Philanthropy Forum.
“Why Did it Take a Pandemic to Prove We Could Always WFH?,” Supermaker.
“COVID-19 Illustrates the Pros of Remote Work,” Bitch Media.
“Here’s Why Student Loan Debt is a Disability Rights Issue,” Rooted in Rights.
“What I Wish I Knew in High School as a Queer Person with Disabilities,” Vice (also in the Power and Privilege print issue).
“Who Decides What Professional Clothing Is?” Racked.
“I’m Autistic. Here Are 5 Ways You Can Support Me at Work,” Everyday Feminism.
“Public School Changed My Life, And That’s Why I’m Scared Of Betsy DeVos,” Bustle.
“A Guide to Determining Accessibility at Vocational and Technical High Schools,” Rooted in Rights.
“Have Schools Become More Inclusive and Accessible in the Last 28 Years?” Rooted in Rights.
“Why we need to center women with disabilities in our Equal Pay Day conversations,” HelloGiggles.
“Finding Suitable Employment with a Disability,” Rooted in Rights.
fashion, beauty, and self-love
“How a $490 Strawberry Dress Became Queer Culture,” Bitch Media.
“The Reaction to Gucci’s Ad Doesn’t Surprise Me—I Grew Up With ‘Bad Teeth,'” Glamour.
“How I Use Fashion As a Form of Self-Care,” Allure.
“How LGBTQ+ Disabled People Are Celebrating Virtual Pride,” Rooted in Rights.
“Haters Gonna Hate, But I’m Still Gonna Wear Striped Socks, Tiny Hats & Tutus,” Seventeen.
“Why I Wanted My Cane In My Engagement Photos,” Ravishly.
“Fashion and Autism Are Deeply Related for Me — Here’s Why,” Healthline.
“#DisabledPeopleAreHot Is Trending on Twitter,” Healthline.
“I had to come out twice — as queer and as disabled,” HelloGiggles.
“Learning To Love My Purple Sparkly Cane,” Ravishly.
“How to Pick a Perfume When You Can’t Smell,” Racked.
“I spoke to the woman behind the viral #DisabledAndCute hashtag about intersectionality,” HelloGiggles.
“I Already Look Young, and Getting Braces at 18 Made it Worse,” Seventeen.
Parenting and community
“The Importance of Finding Family,” The New York Times. (Published in About Us: Essays From The New York Times’ Disability Series, an anthology from W. W. Norton.)
“Lessons from Exceptional Moms & Dads,” Good Housekeeping. (Published in the April 2021 print issue of Good Housekeeping. Read it online here.)
“I’m Disabled & Sometimes Worry That My Friends Fear Becoming Me,” Refinery29.
“My Dad Taught Me How to Shave My Legs,” Cosmopolitan.
“No Other Options,” The Rumpus.
“How coming out to my dad as queer strengthened our relationship,” HelloGiggles.
“I Lost Both My Mom and My Best Friend Unexpectedly,” Seventeen.
““Coming Out” as Face Blind,” The Week.
“Some dads intimidate their daughters’ dates. Mine was always accepting,” The Washington Post.
“My Mom’s Rape Destroyed Her, but She Inspired Me to Survive My Own,” Cosmopolitan.
“What it’s like to survive the loss of your mother,” HelloGiggles.
“I was raised by a single mom. I always wanted to be one, too,” The Washington Post.
EQUAL rights, ACTIVISM, and accessibility
“Please offer me a seat,” The Boston Globe.
“Making Weighted Blankets More Popular Is Great for Autistic People,” Healthline.
“How to Make Your Virtual Meetings and Events Accessible to the Disability Community,” Rooted in Rights.
“4 Tips for Using Social Media in Your Activism,” Yes Magazine.
“#LivingInaccessible: The Realities of Living Without Access,” Healthline.
“Practical ways to make your holiday celebrations accessible to people with disabilities and chronic illnesses,” HelloGiggles.
“Celebrating the Past and Fighting for the Future of the Independent Living Movement,” Rooted in Rights.
“New Lawsuit Tackles the Notorious Inaccessibility of the NYC Subway System,” Rooted in Rights.
“I’m An Activist — Am I Allowed To Unplug From The Internet?,” The Establishment.
“Why You Need to Start Including Disabled People In Your Health Care Activism,” The Establishment.
“We need to stop shaming “fakers” for using accessible parking spots — and start understanding what disability really looks like,” HelloGiggles.
“How Proposed Changes to Public Charge Will Make It Hard to Immigrate with a Disability,” Rooted in Rights.
“Celebrating the Disability Community’s 2017 Wins,” Rooted in Rights.
“28 Years After the ADA, Disabled People are Still Fighting for Accessible Event Seating,” Rooted in Rights.
“I’m queer and disabled, and that often means I’m left out of Pride,” HelloGiggles.
POVERTY AND MONEY
“What It Tastes Like to Eat What You Want for the First Time,” TalkPoverty.
“I Used My Credit Card to Keep the Heat On. It Took Five Years to Pay It Off,” TalkPoverty.
“How My Straight Teeth Became a Symbol of Wealth,” Healthline.
“This Is What No One Tells You About Being Evicted,” HuffPost.
“Reading Is How I Traveled As A Kid — Because Leaving My Hometown Just Wasn’t An Option,” Bustle.
“I Went Into Debt for a Christmas Gift,” TalkPoverty.
“How To Include Your Poor & Broke Friends This Summer,” Ravishly.
“I Couldn’t Get a Bank Account. My Girlfriend Paid the Price for Helping Out,” TalkPoverty.
“I Gave Up My “Poor People” Foods. But I’m Keeping Soda,” TalkPoverty.
real estate
“Why are these housing markets so hot? Homeowners and house hunters explain,” The Boston Globe Magazine
millennials
“8 myths and 5 truths about millennials,” The Boston Globe Magazine.
Alaina Lavoie 
