Magic Touch

08/10/2026

well ive just been asked to do a zoom lecture for the society of american magicians!
the books are working.....

07/10/2026

So, this is the line-up so far.
Inclusion and You Can’t Do That He’s Disabled are available to read now.
The Burger Principle arrives on 25 December 2026.
For Once, It’s Not About YOU follows on 31 January 2027.
And every single one is FREE.
I’m not doing this to cash in. I’m doing it because I’ve spent more than 20 years working with disabled performers and audiences, making mistakes, adapting things, learning what works and occasionally wondering why we make some of this stuff so bloody complicated.
If something I’ve learned can help another magician, entertainer or performer create a better experience for someone, I’d rather share it than sell it.
Some of the books are practical.
Some challenge the way we think about disability.
Some might annoy a few magicians.
I’m quite comfortable with that.
The important bit is that the information is there, freely available, for anyone who wants it.
Please subscribe to Magic Touch on Substack. That’s where the books, new writing and whatever I decide to poke with a stick next will appear.
Read them. Share them. Disagree with them. Use whatever helps.
Just don’t buy them.
They’re free.
https://jjmagictouch.substack.com/

06/10/2026

🎄 MAGIC TOUCH CHRISTMAS SHOW 🎄

Friday 11th December
Key Theatre Studio

For our final Magic Touch show before Christmas, I’d really like to make this one a bit special.

Not just a Christmas-themed magic show. A proper little Christmas event.

🎅 We’re looking at having Santa there
🥛 Milk and cookies
🎄 Plenty of Christmas nonsense
🎩 And, obviously, magic!

I’d also LOVE to find a sponsor, business or generous person who might be willing to help us with one idea.

I’d like every person who comes along to leave with their own small magic trick.

We’d need no more than 50.

Nothing expensive or elaborate. Just something simple they can take home, learn and hopefully annoy their family with over Christmas.

If you run a business and would like to sponsor the tricks, can supply something suitable, or just fancy helping us make the evening a bit more special, please drop me a PM.

Likewise, if you can help with Santa, milk, cookies or anything else Christmas related, give me a shout.

Let’s make the last Magic Touch of 2026 a good one. 🎅🎩🎄

06/10/2026

What if some of the things we call “inclusion” are actually patronising?
The Burger Principle asks some uncomfortable questions about disability and magic.
Why does everything a disabled person enjoys have to be therapeutic? Why do we applaud disabled performers simply for taking part? Why are adults still treated like children? Why do we talk to carers instead of the person? Why do we remove every risk, lower expectations and call it inclusion? And why are organisations so keen to photograph disabled people enjoying themselves?
This isn't a book about being nicer to disabled people.
It's about treating them like people.
People who can swear, fail, heckle, have s*x, make bad decisions, be bloody annoying, learn difficult magic, take reasonable risks and occasionally just want to have fun without somebody measuring the outcome.
Some of it may make you uncomfortable.
Good.
Maybe accessibility needs fewer inspirational posters and a few more uncomfortable conversations.
The Burger Principle
A magician's guide to disability, accessibility and treating people like people.
Released 25th December 2026. Free to read.

03/10/2026

Ive dropped the first part of my new book tonight, as a treat! its now live, the rest will be released on Monday

Part 1

03/10/2026

30/09/2026

My next book will be available to read free from 5 October.

I decided to write it for two main reasons.

Firstly, the response to the first book showed me there was an appetite for this subject.

Secondly, even now, there are very few practical resources about doing magic with disabled people.

I have taken a lot of the information from the first book, expanded it, added much more detail and gone much further into subjects that I could only touch on before.

So this is not simply the first book rewritten.

It goes deeper into the practical side of adapting magic, working with different needs, choosing props, communicating with people, involving volunteers, avoiding common mistakes and dealing with situations that do not always have a neat answer.

I could probably name four or five books on this subject, but a lot of what is out there is therapy-based. There is nothing wrong with that when therapy is the aim, but that is not always what people are looking for.

Sometimes people just want to know:

How do I adapt this trick?

What should I say?

What should I avoid?

Can a blind person enjoy magic?

What if someone cannot speak?

What if they have very limited movement?

What happens if I get something wrong?

These are often the questions people really want to ask, but sometimes feel uncomfortable asking.

I have tried to answer them honestly.

I have taken as much as I can from more than 20 years of experience and put it into one place. Not theory for the sake of theory. Practical things I have learned from working with disabled performers, volunteers and audiences.

The book will be available through Substack. You may need to subscribe to access it, but the book itself is completely free.

I also want the Substack to become more than somewhere you read a book.

I want it to work almost like a help desk.

If you are a magician, entertainer, teacher, carer, activity coordinator or anyone else trying to make something more accessible, and you have a question you are unsure about, send it to me.

If I can help, I will.

I might not know every answer. Nobody does.

What I can do is share what has worked for us, what has gone wrong, what I would do differently, and what I have learned from the disabled people I have worked alongside.

Sometimes people shy away from disability because they are worried about saying or doing the wrong thing.

I would rather people asked the awkward question.

That is how we get better at this.

Hi everyone and welcome to Magic touch. We are based in Peterborough and enable access to the world of magic for disabled people and adults with learning difficulties. Stay tuned for our new E-Book - landing here soon

24/09/2026

“You Can’t Do That, He’s Disabled” is a book about magic, disability, inclusion and, more than anything, letting people enjoy things without needing to justify why.

It’s built around more than 20 years of Magic Touch experiences, mistakes, adaptations, strange moments, great people and lessons learned along the way.

You’ll find practical ideas for adapting tricks, working with blind, deafblind and disabled participants, choosing suitable props, handling unexpected moments and making magic more accessible without sucking all the fun out of it.

There are stories too. Some are funny. Some are awkward. Some probably shouldn’t have happened.

This isn’t a therapy manual.

It isn’t an academic textbook.

It’s about people doing magic because they like magic.

If somebody wants to learn a trick, perform on stage, mess about with a pack of cards or make something disappear, that should be reason enough.

The book will be free to read online.

More soon.

18/05/2026

18/05/2026

Had an amazing time performing at Miraiker's Punch Up made some new friends, did a bullet catch and wore a bikini