Writing has always been an important part of how I think, learn and communicate ideas.
My books bring together research, lived experience and practical insight to explore disability, inclusion, entrepreneurship, leadership and participation. While much of my writing began in academia, I have become increasingly interested in reaching wider audiences and using storytelling to explore questions that matter beyond universities.
Academic Books
Disability, Inclusion and Participation
Entrepreneurship and Disability: A Global Map and Manifesto for Stigma Reversal
by Anica Zeyen & Oana Branzei, published 31 December 2024
Discover how entrepreneurship can dismantle the structural, social, cultural, and internalized stigma of disability in this compelling book. Journey through six countries and uncover inspiring stories of disabled people using diverse entrepreneurial strategies – micro-entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, activism, bricolage, compassion, and institutional entrepreneurship – to challenge and overcome stigma.
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Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Organisation Studies
Social Entrepreneurship and Grand Challenges: Navigating Layers of Disruption from COVID-19 and beyond
by Emilio Costales and Anica Zeyen, 2022
This book illustrates how social entrepreneurship can be used as a tool for addressing grand challenges. Combining leading theoretical insights with rigorous empirical methodologies, the book is the result of field work with 17 social entrepreneurs in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom at various points during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Social Entrepreneurship and Business EthicsUnderstanding the Contribution and Normative Ambivalence of Purpose-driven Venturing
by Anica Zeyen and Markus Beckmann, 2019
Looking at social entrepreneurship from both a multi-level analysis and an ethical perspective, Social Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics takes the reader on a journey through the “bright side” as well as the potential “dark side” of social entrepreneurship for societies, organizations, and individuals. Highlighting both, this book not only seeks to provoke researchers and students to advance their understanding of social entrepreneurship. It also hopes to help practitioners to better realize the positive contributions of social entrepreneurship for society.
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Edited Collections and Book Chapters
Routledge Companion to Disability and Work
edited by Oana Branzei and Anica Zeyen, includes various chapters by the editors, 2025
It explores the realities faced by disabled individuals in the workplace and beyond. Despite enduring stereotypes and prejudice, disabled employees and entrepreneurs continue to achieve and thrive.
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Current Book Project
Different Ways, Same Purpose
I am currently working on a memoir exploring what it means to grow up with progressive sight loss, become blind as a young adult and find a way forward in a world that often struggles to imagine disabled futures.
Part memoir and part reflection on disability, participation and belonging, the book explores family, identity, travel, education, work and the many different ways people learn to navigate systems that were never built with them in mind.
More soon.