Blog

RISEWITHUS is a consulting agency that specializes in helping organizations better understand and implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles. Founder and CEO KJ Williams and Managing Director AJ Williams met with Bookselling This Week to talk about their work, their experiences with booksellers, and their love of books.

Annastasia Williams is the Bookstore Director for The Bookshop at the Bottom in Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Maggie Tokuda-Hall is an acclaimed author of children's and YA books such as The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea and The Worst Ronin. She is also a founding member and on the national leadership team of Authors Against Book Bans.

Here is an update on the latest book challenges for the weeks of May 1st and May 8th, 2024.

Tara Lipsyncki (they/them) is a drag performer, owner of Mosaics Community Bookstore and Venue in Provo, Utah, and director of the United Drag Alliance nonprofit. In April 2024, they received a bomb threat to their store in response to their Drag Story Hour programming, the most recent of many threats they’ve received and part of a major uptick in threatening content.

 Lauren Groff is the author of The Vaster Wilds, Matrix, Florida, and others. She is also the owner of the indie bookstore The Lynx, which will have its grand opening in Gainesville, Florida, on April 28 (but will be open on April 27 for Independent Bookstore Day). Earlier this week, she was named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024.

Laney Hawes is a Texas parent and a co-founder of the Texas Freedom to Read Project.

Here is an update on the latest book challenges for the weeks of April 3, 2024 and April 10, 2024.

In the current climate, drag story time events are powerful statements of inclusion. They also entail risk of online harassment, confrontational protests, and even bomb threats. Here are some things to consider when planning a drag story event in your store.

Dea Lavoie is the owner of Second Star to the Right Books in Denver, CO and a founder of the nonprofit book access organization Books to Kids. Sophie Nogar is the Store Manager and Event Coordinator for Second Star and an organizer of the Gay It Forward program, among many others.