Author, Creator of the Digital Inclusion Sphere, Oleb Books and Media
In the spring of 2007, Cipriani was assaulted by a group of former friends in San Francisco, CA. He received multiple blows to the head, which rendered him completely blind. A time he describes as one of the toughest in his life.Encouraged to write as a form of therapy ,Cipriani made quite the splash in the national literary scene with the publication of his memoir, Blind. The title also received Honorable Mention from the Eric Hoffer Book Awards for Best Culture Book and an Honourable Mention from the LGBT Rainbow Awards for the nonfiction category. The success of Blind also brought lectureships at Yale, University of San Francisco, Holy Names University, and University of Minnesota, as well as columns with the San Francisco Chronicle, Bay Area Reporter and a correspondent position with the Ed Baxter Show on Clear Channel.
As the founder of Oleb books (a disability specific publishing firm) he and his team seek to expand representation of disability in literature, or D Lit, by publishing disability stories by emerging and mid-career writers with disabilities.Cipriani is also the creator of the Digital Inclusion Sphere — a model that helps organisations operationalise digital access and inclusion (something he feels greatly passionate about through his own lived experience), as well as the founder of the digital access firm Oleb Media.Cipriani lives in the Twin Cities of Minnesota with his husband, James. He is active on social media and can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.