Penny Pepper

@penpep.bsky.social

737 Followers 654 Following

Published author, poet, speaker & disability activist whose work explores our stories through provocation, wit, kindness. Opinion journo. Welcome inquiries & commissions. Saucy old punk gal. Cat mum. Socialist by the sea.

A group of diverse disabled people sit on a panel in a row in front of a movie size screen. The screen is a graphic bold image of lines and circles in purple, blue and green. It says in bold lettering WE CRIP FILM FESTIVAL. Penny is there wearing a tartan dress, black net top underneath. She is holding a blue folder and speaking. The vibe is upbeat and engaged.
The image shows Penny Pepper in a red tartan dress with pink bespoke lace details at the front with a black net top underneath. She has red hair and the sides of her head are shaved and is wearing her hair up in a bun. She is a white woman wearing glasses in a wheelchair. Behind her is a huge cinema screen with the graphics we crip film festival in purple and greens, with the BFI logo. Besides Penny is the actor Mat Fraser a tall white man with greying hair in blue jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. Mat has small hands that start at the elbow. The vibe is upbeat and happy.
Penny sits in her wheelchair leaning towards the outside shopfront of The Bookkeeper. On the left of the image, there are rows of books on shelves. On the second shelf down, amongst other books, are two copies of Penny’s memoir, First in the World Somewhere, lying flat, red covers with yellow writing, and one copy of her poetry collection, Come Home Alive, standing up, its yellow cover with punky detail facing outwards. Penny’s red hair is in a bun with a red bow, and she is wearing a warm grey winter scarf, a black winter coat and her hands are inside a pink leopard print muff. Penny has a gentle smile.
The image shows Penny sitting at the bottom of white steps which are cordoned off with red rope, at the back of Buckingham Palace, which is a brown and dull stately home building with tall windows and a centre half-dome with pillars. At the top of the steps are three figures in formal wear. It is a sunny day with light clouds. Penny is wearing a green dress and formal pink jacket as she sits in her wheelchair.
A close-up of a small open notebook showing handwritten text. The writing is messy, with errors crossed out using a fineliner pen with black ink. The text is a haiku which reads ‘chapter near ending, but hesitation tangles like broken branches. Stop. Start. Pause. Rewrite? The point of view side shifting –new flowers to bloom? It hovers, held up between logic and instinct – let this seed flourish!’ Where the notebook opens there is a thin black pen. To the right there is a blue postcard with an arty image showing blocks and vertical lines in subtle blue tones. On top in one corner is a small box reading ‘metal compass’, and below is an ornate magnifying glass with beautiful pewter embellishment. Everything is on a pink background.
A photo of Penny in her black power chair in a hotel room. She is looking down thoughtfully wearing a long green cotton dress detailed with bright blue poppies and other wild flowers. Her jewellery, bright pink beads, and a longer chain of pearls. Her hair is up in a high bun with a row of flowers pinned behind her fringe which is very short. She wears transparent frame glasses with small pink hearts on each corner.
A screenshot of a photo showing Penny meeting Queen Camilla at an outdoor garden party at Buckingham Palace. Queen Camilla wears a black and white hat and a white coat with black detail. She’s holding Penny’s memoir, First in the World Somewhere. Penny sits in her wheelchair, facing the Queen. She is wearing a pale pink jacket, and has flowers in her red hair. The image is bright, and in the background stands a man in a top hat.
An image of notebooks and pens on Penny’s desk. The notebooks are different sizes from larger A5 to slim pocket notebooks. A couple have paper covers with spindly leaves and orange flowers. One is larger with blue spirals showing and another is black with green and gold detail. A large exercise book in the right of the image reads tabs open, grey background with white text. On top of the notebooks is a wooden box with a glass lid. On the side it says pens in bold black capitals. On top are two pink pins, behind is a pink glass with two pink fountain pens and beside it a mini black anglepose desk lamp. To one side of the wooden box in the front there is a tiny black-and-white photo of Penny aged around for years old, smiling, sitting on the ground under a tree. The image is intriguing, colourful and suggestive of Penny’s work as a writer.
In a bold colourful cartoon like image, Penny is in a steampunk wheelchair, her head transposed onto the Botticelli Venus body, red hair flying wild. This is an image of the front cover of her poetry collection Come Home Alive. The background is a bold yellow and overall the theme is rebellious. The lettering is very sex pistols and there are splodges of bright pink. To one side it reads: ‘an incredibly strong political sexy candid real and important poetry explosion. - Liv Torc’ (Published 2019 by Burning Eye books)
My black cat Pixie sitting with Spring flowers in the garden. Tiny Pink cyclamen, and pale pink white hellebore wide open flowers. It's outside and the shrubs behind her have few leaves.
Penny, a power wheelchair user, is on a stone ramp, paddling her feet in the Irish Sea, in a little town south of Dublin. She wears a purple cardigan and blue leggings rolled up to the knees. Her hair is in a bun, brown and blonde. It’s a side view, and she’s smiling. Behind her is wall made of large grey stone blocks.
The image shows a colour photo, taken outdoors, of baby blonde Penny, in her mother's arms, eyes down. Mum has dark short hair, looks down with a soft smile. They both wear white clothes. It is a happy photo, warm golden and glowing taken by Penny’s father.
Penny sits in front of her Living Archive and books for sale, which are on white shelving behind her to the left. The books we can see are Desires Reborn - a pink paperback with white lettering and a faint image of a disabled couple embracing, next to this is the hardback memoir First In The World Somewhere, it is a red cover with bright yellow lettering and white text. In the lower third there is a graphic of lips outlined in black. Below this shelf are many files and other books featuring Penny’s work. On top of the shelving there are two vintage suitcases, to the right of the image there’s a framed picture of Penny’s 1989 seven inch single, a black and white chalk effect image of a seated girl. Below this is another framed picture announcing Penny’s Living Archive. In the centre, Penny sits in her wheelchair. She wears glasses, has red hair, up in a bun and is wearing a headband made of twigs and crystals into the shape of antlers. Penny is wearing a leopard print dress and a cropped, dusky pink cardigan. She is holding a copy of her memoir and smiling. In front of her on a table is an arrangement of her books, flyers and postcards.
Penny, a wheelchair user, with red hair, in a bun, is on stage at the Royal Albert Hall. She is bathed in a purple light including over her dress, as she sits beside a large green plant with huge leaves. She is smiling and raising her arm slightly. A graphic in the shape of a think bubble says MY DISABLED LIFE... Lined in red, and a background of pink.
A small red notebook with a black edge and two graphics of blue/black mackerel fish. Black heads, black stripy lines and fins, white blue spotty belly. Printed text reads. In block white, MACKEREL. Black text: in tomato & basil sauce. Skinless and boneless. There’s a black pen across the handwritten title to hide it and a giant gold paper clip on the right.
A beautiful timeless photograph of young Penny aged about five years old. Shown from the waist up, Penny holds a small dark bird in one hand, as it nestles on her palm. She is wearing a handmade dress, dark blue with pale blue cornflowers and a very cute lace trimmed collar. Her brown hair is cut in a bob with an unruly fringe. She's looking down and smiling at the bird. In the background there is dark green foliage
A photo showing a close-up of Penny's white hands holding open a copy of her book Desires Reborn. She has small fingers, pinky lilac painted nails and wears silver rings. The pages are open, plain creamy white with black text. There is a pink background of Penny's table and we can see Penny is wearing a brown black cream leopard print top.
The image shows a book in shades of pink and red. In a centre square there is a bold graphic of a couple. One is a full lipped young woman in a wheelchair, with long funky hair, wearing stockings. She pulls a young man with short dark hair towards her as he kneels, his mouth slightly open as she tugs his bright yellow tie so their faces are close to touching. Their expressions are intense as they gaze into each other's eyes. The young man has his arms around her, one wrist in a splint. The white text along the top reads: Penny Pepper, and below the image, desires reborn explicit stories of disability, desire and love.
A photo of Penny taken by professional photographer JJ Waller recently. Sitting in front of a black background of white spots Penny has red brown wavy hair below her shoulders worn in a vintage 50s style with vintage style make up. She has a pink flower in her hair and stares directly at the camera with a half smile on her face. She wears a necklace which is a pair of mini red catseye glasses. The vibe is thoughtful.
Image shows Penny sitting in a wheelchair. She wears a bright pink dress, with white flowers and a thin orange cardigan tied at the front. She has brown-red hair up in a high bun with a pinky headband. She wears a string of white pearls and an Egyptian cross, an Ankh, which is a cruciform shape with the upper half shaped as an oval. In front of Penny on a small tray is a wooden book rest. To her side on the left of the image is Jake. He’s wearing a stripy T-Shirt in muted orange and dark navy and beige trousers. He has short cropped hair. They are both smiling, in a bright room with people behind them and dark curtains to the left. The vibe is relaxed and happy.
A colourful lounge, with a pink orange wall, a barometer, a fabric wall hanging under house plant on a windowsill. On a table there's a black cat crouched down. She has green yellow eyes and is looking a little bit moody. In front of her is a Scrabble board with letters in a mess, a pen and paper.
The image shows a copy of the hardback book of my memoir, First in the World Somewhere, published in 2017. It is a red cover with bright yellow lettering and white text. In the lower third there is a graphic of lips outlined in black. The text reads: a force of nature and a voice like no other… Brilliantly funny, brilliantly frank and brilliantly political - Liz Carr. First in the World somewhere. The true adventures of a scribbler, silent, sauce pot and pioneer. Penny Pepper.
Against a pinky peach painted wall, my unique festive style tree is made up of skinny metallic pink branches with random baubles. There's also a cat popping out of a Christmas tree, a felt figure of frida Carlo, dressed in red with her signature mono brow, and black hair. The baubles are a mixture of shiny, ornate and handmade. Purples pinks golds, also some stars and gold suns. To the right on the wall behind the tree is a large green sprig of mistletoe with white berries. On the wall are small plates and placards of a decorative fifties feel nature.
A women in a tartan dress with glasses and a yellow flower in her hair sits in a wheelchair. She is smiling. There is a logo that reads: UK Disability History Month, and a quote reading : Good Times!
A screenshot from the bookseller magazine with a quote from a piece by author penny pepper. The graphic is dark turquoise with white font text. There are opening and closing very large quotation marks in white. In the centre over a faded out image of a young man in a wheelchair it reads: comment, literature is the poor cousin of other art forms in terms of disability, reflecting the slow and all too often profit-driven nature of the mainstream publishing world.
Two friends embrace and smile broadly. One stands and has blonde hair and a red patterned top. The other sits on a wheelchair, she has long red hair and wears a matching grey dress and beret and glasses. They look very happy
A woman sits smiling in a wheelchair, she's at a desk covered in books. She has long red hair and wears a pink flowered dress and glasses. She holds up a poster that reads: Author and Poet Penny Pepper launches her Living Archive
A bookshelf with lots of colourful books, and framed photos over a desk
A smiling woman is sitting in a wheelchair in a bookshop. She has long red hair and glasses and she is wearing a red striped dress and a black beret. She is pointing to a sign that reads: See you on Substack
A tower block looms over the horizon. A mobility scooter user navigates the terrain in the foreground.
A woman in a pink dress sits in a wheelchair at a table. She holds a photograph of herself. The caption underneath reads: Thank you to my lovely Substack subscribers xxx
A screenshot of a Substack account that shows the writer is in the top 40 rising in literature. A womans hand holds a book called The Land that Forgot Itself. A whoop sign is next to it.
A smiling women with red hair wearing glasses and a yellow dress and a black necklace is sitting in a wheelchair at a desk with a laptop and microphone in a podcast style set up.
Grey writing on a pink background reads: Happy Hermit: The Tears; The Graft. I'll never stop storytelling
A blue book with a image representing the sea with feathers, seaweed and a coin amongst the waves. It is entitled Where the Land Forgets Itself. It is held up by a woman's hands with her red painted nails.
White writing on a red background reads: Happy Hermit: The Tears;The Graft. I'll never stop storytelling.
Penny's small hands hold a poetry pamphlet. Cover reads where the land forgets itself in large white bold font. The cover is a blur of images in large swirls of dark blues, thin white lines delineating waves, a seagull feather in white grey and black curving in the right corner. On the left underneath the word where is a coin, and on the top right is a small frond of brown seaweed.
A woman with red hair and glasses wearing a leopard print dress sits in a wheelchair, she smiles broadly. She is sitting in front of an ancient building.
A blue and white book entitled Poet Town, the poetry of Hastings and Thereabouts sits on a pebbly beach by the shoreline.
The photos shows a smiling penny at the Delaware pavilion shop in Bexhill. She's holding a copy of the book poet town, which was officially published 10th September. She is the first poet in the book! Penny is wearing a black beret over her red hair and an orange and black striped dress, with a black front tie cropped cardigan. She's wearing black and red beads and wears clear frame cats eye glasses. The background is bright and beside Penny are many books.
The video shows penny reading her poem as she sits in her wheelchair. She has big red hair and wears red lipstick and pale Framed cats eye glasses. She's in her lounge with various pictures and objects on the walls which are pale. She stares at the camera as she reads the work, her face half in shadow
Penny sits in her wheelchair overlooking a small lake surrounded by green trees and shrubs. the sky is reflected onto the water. Across the water is a small bank with various ducks and birds sleeping on it. Penny has red hair and is wearing a leopard print top she's holding a large monocular supported on a small tray.
An image of a book cover back and front, in various blues. The front has large black font, poet town the poetry of Hastings and thereabouts. The image is one suggestive of the sea front and the sea and the back cover shows details of the book.