Collections
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Breaking Up In The Digital Age | 2012 | Buy |
| The Best of Ryan O’Connell | 2018 | Buy |
Non-Fiction
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| I’m Special | 2015 | Buy |
| Inspiration Porn | 2026 | Buy |
Standalone Novels
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Just by Looking at Him | 2023 | Buy |
Ryan O’Connell is an American writer, actor, and showrunner. He has cerebral palsy and has written extensively about disability, sexuality, and identity. He first gained attention as a writer at Thought Catalog, where his humor essays about millennial life built a large online following.
His first book-length work was the essay collection Breaking Up In The Digital Age (2012), followed by his memoir I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves in 2015. The memoir covers his experiences growing up gay with cerebral palsy, dealing with addiction, and figuring out his identity in his twenties. It became the basis for the Netflix series Special, which O’Connell created, wrote, and starred in. The show ran for two seasons from 2019 to 2021.
In 2023, O’Connell published his debut novel, Just by Looking at Him, about a gay TV writer with cerebral palsy whose outwardly successful life starts to unravel. His second non-fiction book, Inspiration Porn, is scheduled for 2026. O’Connell’s writing is direct and funny, and he is one of the few openly disabled authors working in mainstream publishing today.