#firestormcoop — Public Fediverse posts

This Monday, Firestorm is teaming up with scholar Zane McNeill for a conversation on the terrifying new wave of anti-transgender rhetoric and political persecution. Speaking with activists Eric King and Josh Davidson, co-editors of "Rattling the Cages: Oral Histories of North American Political Prisoners," we'll put this federal attack on trans rights in historical perspective—connecting it to repression during the Red Scare, the Lavender Scare, Black Liberation and Gay Rights Movements, the Green Scare, and solidarity with Palestine.

We'll also explore what we can learn from past struggles—how organizers not only survived but built movements under constant FBI surveillance—highlighting harm and risk reduction strategies that remain relevant today.

Find more and register to join this free event at https://firestorm.coop/events/3478-gender-terrorism-surviving-magas-war-on-trans-people.html. The recorded conversation will also be shared via our YouTube channel for folks who cannot join live!

#TransLiberation #TransRights #LavenderScare #NoTrumpNoKKKNoFascistUSA #WeKeepUsSafe #QueerSouth #FeministBookstore #FirestormCoop (- L)

The anarchist bookfair is kicking off next week! 🏴 And while Firestorm isn't a primary venue this year, we are hosting a welcome table and the first session with local author Blu Buchanan!

Blu, who recently co-edited "Be Gay, Do Crime," an anthology from PM Press, will provide a short talk about the history of radical queer resistance and what it means for us in this particular historical moment. The presentation will be followed by a discussion of the communities boldly rising to challenge capitalism, white supremacy, and authoritarianism. This opening session will be followed by the bookfair's opening night potluck, so bring a dish if you're able (vegan and gluten-free preferred).

More information about our event with Blu and copies of the book can be found at https://firestorm.coop/events/3436-be-gay-do-crime-book-launch.html. Can't make the session in person? We'll be streaming it live on our YouTube channel (no registration required).

Additionally, don't miss PM Press's booth on Saturday alongside 30 other radical publishers and grassroots projects! Bookfair sessions, including numerous presentations related to mutual aid disaster relief and the anniversary of Hurricane Helene, will be running in other locations throughout the day and into Sunday. If you're looking for a chill activity, swing back by Firestorm on Sunday between 11am and 5pm for prison books packaging and political prisoner letter writing.

#BeGayDoCrime #QueerSouth #QueerLiberation #AnotherCarolinaAnarchistBookfair #FeministBookstore #FirestormCoop (- L)

On Wednesday, August 13th, Firestorm Books is teaming up with AK Press to host an online event with multidisciplinary artist Rasheedah Phillips, author of a radical new treatise on time, "Dismantling the Master's Clock." Rasheedah will be joined in conversation by geographer and Scalawag founding editor Danielle Purifoy!

In "Dismantling the Master's Clock: On Race, Space, and Time," Rasheedah Phillips unfolds the history of time and its legacy of racial oppression, from colonial exploration and the plantation system to the establishment of Daylight Savings. Yet Black communities have long subverted space-time through such tools of resistance as Juneteenth, tenant organizing, ritual, and time travel. What could Black liberation look like if the past were as changeable as the future?

Register for this free event and find your copy of the book at https://firestorm.coop/events/3429-dismantling-the-masters-clock.html. Can't make the conversation live? Sign up and we'll send you a recording to enjoy at your convenience!

#BlackQuantumFuturism #TemporalJustice #BlackSpeculativeFiction #Temporality #FeministBookstore #DismantlingTheMastersClock #FirestormCoop (- L)

Preorder Promo ⌛💥 Order "The Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice" before June 3rd and your copy will include an exclusive bookplate signed by the author! https://firestorm.coop/products/22746-the-immortal-choir-holds-every-voice-danielle-cain-3.html

We're just a little more than a month away from the release of @margaret 's next book and maybe like us, you've been waiting patiently for the last seven years to read this third title in the Danielle Cain series—or maybe you're a fan of Margaret's podcast but haven't yet gone in for the deep cuts. Either way, this book is for you! (We recommend going back to read the other two books in the series, but you can jump in anywhere.)

Trolls, lost comrades, murder faeries, small town punks, riot queers, and some fancy magic to boot, "The Immortal Choir" packs three intense short stories into a hundred pages. And in true Margaret Killjoy fashion, it blends dark fantasy, wry humor, and earnest reflections on friendship, self-discovery, and trying to change the world.

#Boosktagram #QueerFantasy #QueerSouth #QueerAppalachia #MargaretKilljoy #FeministBookstore #DanielleCain #FirestormCoop (- L)

The morning Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, members of our collective sat in the dark, listening to the howling wind and the crack of huge trees falling all around. When we emerged Friday evening to take stock, a cardboard sign on our co-op’s door read “Community meeting here, Saturday at 2pm. Let’s talk about how we can take care of each other + community.” That first autonomous act by an anonymous neighbor set the stage for the week, with Firestorm becoming a container for other people’s brilliant, beautiful, and generous self-organizing.

About forty people attended the first meeting. Nearly four hundred attended the next one. The gatherings, now a daily anchor, have generated a multitude of connections and volunteer powered projects. Before city officials had finished assessing the damage, community members were sharing supplies, doing wellness checks, and serving hot meals. Over the next few days, things became more organized. Anarchist arborists collected chainsaws and dispatched crews to clear roads for trapped residents; activists mobilized to build long term water distribution systems capable of delivering 6k gallons/day; bike punks offered free repair clinics; a farmer began driving regular water supply loops to Firestorm from a nearby spring; and an enthusiastic DIY-er set up a tent to distribute dry toilets made from affordable materials.

In the midst of this anarchic moment, Firestorm isn’t setting the agenda or directing anyone—we’re offering a space that welcomes independent initiative, we’re supporting the exchange of critical information, and we’re modeling a do-it-ourselves approach that’s responsive, experimental, and human-scale.

Yes, government and NGO aid is now flowing into the region—but the work of caring for one another continues to be done by neighbors, grassroots organizations, small businesses, and activists. It’s done voluntarily, with thousands of autonomous actions synchronized through a shared solidarity. For a brief moment, the logic of the capitalist market is suspended, care is given freely, and everyone contributes what they can.

It’s a strange paradox that the utopia we dream of becomes most visible in the dark.

#HurricaneHelene #MutualAid #Anarchism #Cooperativism #MutualAidDisasterRelief #FeministBookstore #FirestormCoop