Renee and Mhairie welcome you to the NEW Feminist Book Club on Bindery! Tune in to hear a little bit about the process, where we've been, how we got here, and where we're going as a community!

Transcript:
Hello, everyone! Welcome to our bindery! I am so excited that we are finally here! Um, Mhairie and I and, um, Nox
And Jordy have been working especially hard to get this up and running. The entire team is on board, um, but we are…
we've called ourselves the transition team. So, today we're just gonna talk about where we've been, where…
were going, and kind of what's next for…
Hi!
feminist book club. Hey, Mhairie, happy… happy Thursday, as we're recording! Happy launch day!
Happy lunch day! I'm so excited! It's been…
So… difficult to not tell people, like, what we're up to.
I know, I know. People in my life, I've been like, so I'm doing this thing. You can't tell anyone.
Right, like, 20 different people.
And you can't talk to each other either.
Right, right.
Oh my gosh, so…
Yeah, basically, I thought it would be a fun little…
thing to just go back and revisit
how this all started, where did feminist book clubs
You know, this was your…
Baby for…
It was my baby.
Yeah.
Still quite it is, but, like, for a really long time, and so I thought it would be…
just really cool for people to see.
a bit of the behind-the-scenes and how we got where we're at.
Sure, yeah, and maybe I'll… I'll edit this, and maybe I'll add in some, like, shots and, like, photos and stuff, too, of, like, where we started. Um, but in 2019, I…
just had this harebrained idea. I loved a subscription box, I loved a book club, and I had just dropped out of my PhD program, um, and I wanted to read for fun again.
And so, I just started, like, an online book club with my friends.
from all different walks of life, and um…
Then I started shipping them the books, because I was like, what? Like, don't worry about it, I'll just get you the books. Um, and then one day, I was…
I was looking… I don't know, I was on, like, GoDaddy or something, and I was looking for…
domain names, I was… I don't know. And I just put in feministbookclub.com to see if it was available,
And it was. And I was… this was 2019, this is when, um…
what's-her-face? Emma Watson had her feminist book club, but she didn't call it that. And I was like, why doesn't Emma Watson own this yet?
I don't know what I'm gonna do with it, but I'm gonna… I'm gonna buy it, because it was, like, 20 bucks at the time.
Right.
Now, if you tried to buy it from us, it is several thousand dollars, which I'm very proud of.
And we're not selling it either, so…
And we're not selling it. Um, we are parked there for life. Um, and so yeah, it just started as kind of this harebrained idea. I was, like, an accidental entrepreneur, and
Um, over the years, it just grew and grew and grew, and I mean…
If you are new to Feminist Book Club,
Man, we've had some really, really cool things. Roxane Gay joined us, um, for a chat, we had Jane Fonda join us for a chat, um…
That was so cool.
We were the official bookseller for the National Women's Studies Association Conference here in Minneapolis, which means we did a book signing, we hosted Angela Davis.
It's just, like, wild, the opportunities. Um, we won a…
An award through American Public Media, um, called the Vision Award, which, um…
is for organizations reimagining
journalism in the digital age, um, and we won that.
a couple of years ago, and it was just like…
I don't know. I don't know. That was… that was a…
peak moment for me. Um, I was selected as a Tori Burch Foundation Fellow. They choose 50,
Uh, women-owned companies across the country to mentor and, um, provide resources to
every year, and we were selected, um, in 2021. And so it's just been…
It was my heart and soul for…
6 or 7 years, um…
Burnout is real.
And…
And I didn't want entrepreneur to be my full identity anymore. Um, and so I approached the team at the time, our
Yay's.
contributors and, um…
Rah, who's our Director of Operations, um…
And they worked in the office, so we had a… we had a physical space in Minneapolis, um…
And so Rah and I worked out of that space, and…
I asked if there would be interest in buying it to run as a worker-owned co-op, and for a couple… that was a really long process, and I want you to talk about that, Mhairie, because you are a worker-owner. Um…
Ma'am.
And that has been…
frustrating at times. It has been a really slow process that…
And I think that…
This move to bindery has become kind of…
the final fruition of that transition. What do you think?
The move to boundary, I don't know about final, because… because we still have goals to hit.
100%, 100%.
Like, I am full tilt, orgas, no brakes, going for imprints, so…
I know.
like… that is…
that would just be…
amazing. And honestly, who knows where it would even go from there, like, never say never.
Um, I am…
happily delusional, um… It works great for me.
But, like, yeah, the worker…
our inner process, so…
I ended up much…
Like you, this all started as kind of an accident that escalated.
And that's… that's kind of how I ended up on board. Um, so I found Feminist Book Club initially in 2020,
I moved to the US in 2019,
And… decided to stay, like, the end of 2019, and so it would have been somewhere in 2020
You know, after lockdown had started, and things had just all gotten very weird,
that I was looking for…
community and, like, a book club, and something to be involved in, and I just happened across Feminist Book Club on Google, and I joined.
And we've been a member ever since.
And then… one day…
you all were posting on Instagram.
which was mainly Warfology.
looking for contributors, and so… and I'd seen the post a few times, and at the very last minute,
When it was about to, like, okay, this is the last day, you have to get your applications in by, like,
midnight, or whatever it was, I was like, do you know what? Fuck it.
I already have the time for this, but fuck it, like, where can it- what could happen? You know, they're just…
Right.
They'll say no, because I've got no experience, I'm just…
An idiot in sweatpants that has a lot to say, you know, whatever.
And I applied, didn't expect to hear back, and here I am.
And so…
Obviously, I got brought on as one of the content contributors, and then…
I'm not even sure how long I was here, but I do know when we started talking about the worker-owned co-op situation,
There are…
criteria you have to meet to be able to
like, buy into the company, basically, to buy your share of the company.
I say share, we do not have shares.
But, like, we're gonna… I'm just gonna go with that terminology.
Um, so you have to meet the criteria, and I had not been around long enough, quite, to yet meet the criteria.
So, it can't have been…
more than a year after I started
you know,
talking shit on the podcast, and suddenly it's like, oh, we're gonna do this thing, we're gonna… we're gonna be workout owners.
And… before that went official, I had hit all of the requirements,
Uh, to buy in, and I was like, I'm in, sold, you know, whatever, I'm sent, you know, all my…
paperwork and everything off.
And then…
I think it still took another…
I don't know, 6 months a year?
Because it's such an involved process, like, people don't realize…
And, you know, one of our strengths is that we do have such a, like,
big team of people now doing this.
But it's also one of our, kind of, roadblocks, because everything has to be…
put to a vote, and we have to hold…
AGMs, and then we have to hold separate, like, worker owner meetings, and then we obviously have
staff that are not worker owners, and we have to clue them into things and take their opinions into account and stuff.
And so…
It is a really long, drawn-out, complicated…
process, and there are a lot of, like…
legal things that we also have to consider.
So it did take a really long… like, a really, really long time. People that have been with us since before…
We transitioned to worker-owner will…
remember, because we used to post about it a lot, and we're like, you know, we are… I promise we're working on this.
Because, you know, people don't see what goes on in the background here.
A lot of work and a lot of conversations.
But I'm glad we… we made it.
Yeah.
And we survived that… that transition because, you know, it's not a free thing to do.
And it's a time-consuming process, and then obviously,
the premises that you mentioned earlier got…
broken into twice.
Yeah, yeah.
Which really works.
That really set us back.
Yeah, that was a real big setback, and…
Yet, here we are.
Yeah. It has been tumultuous, the transition to… and, like, any big change is going to be, um…
I think that because we wanted to do it really mindfully,
Um, but also take care of ourselves as individuals. We want to take care of the community, and we wanted to take care of ourselves as individuals.
it meant that…
every step had to be taken with intention, and sometimes we didn't have…
the capacity, right?
the mental, emotional, financial, social capacity.
Um, and so I think that contributed to it taking a little longer. We had, um…
some staffing issues that came…
That came up midway through it that really threw us for a loop.
But I think, like I said, every…
every change worth making…
is going to be…
tumultuous. It's going to have turbulence, and we experienced our share, but I feel like…
The landing gear is coming down, the runway is ahead, and bindery is…
where we're landing, um, after all of that.
That messy flight.
I… and I really love that…
I don't think there's been any point…
through this process, where…
The main group of worker owners have ever…
like, doubted our…
mission, like, individual steps, for sure. We don't all agree on everything all the time, but…
everyone, and I've heard it so many times, everyone's like, I really believe in this, I, like, I…
I don't have all the answers, but I really believe in what we're doing, and I want to continue.
And I wanna…
take us in a direction that is gonna…
be meaningful. Yeah.
guest more people, and do some, yeah, be meaningful, do some good, make us feel good, like…
Yeah, yeah, be fun!
I just… yeah. Yes!
I mean, I think… and I think that's what Bindery is allowing us to do, is, um, if you have questions about, like, why bindery, I think that the real answer to that is
It is taking away all of the, kind of, administrative stress
that has become such a burden to us, or had felt like such a burden to us.
And is allowing us the freedom
to…
just have fun again. To get back to where we started, to go back to step one and, like, rebuild, um, what
With our mission so clearly in mind, right? And just be like,
It feels like… I don't know. To me, it feels like a fresh start, that we're literally hitting the reset button.
Um, going back to what we know works, what we know we enjoy doing, what we know other people enjoy being a part of, and we don't have to worry about the messy, um…
like, business-y part of it, because bindery is helping us take care of that, and it's just, like, such a weight off of all of our shoulders, I think.
It really, truly is. Like, we've…
or come in here. Obviously, you started this, now you're officially an entrepreneur, like, you…
have some knowledge and some experience, but beyond that,
Most of the rest of us are experiences
you know, content creation,
I don't know, I just work here, um…
Yeah.
You know, so making these business decisions as a group has definitely been an education and an experience.
And I really…
also love about coming to the bindery platform,
the way that everything's gonna be streamlined, and it's not just going to be bits here and bits there, we still got our website.
But… we don't have…
Um, you know, mighty networks over here, and, like, the blog over here.
We're keeping the podcast, but all the show notes will be coming on to you.
bindery, or the links at the very least, we will, you know,
learn things as we go, and what works, and what people like, so…
It's… it's going to be nice to have, like, this central hub again, I think.
Yeah, yeah, and we're open to… for feedback, too. Like,
And I think… oh, Waze.
No.
we're not gonna get it right the first go around. Like, just, like, help us help you.
But I think it's gonna be, like, a much…
better, like, user experience for… for us, definitely. Like, I've seen the back end of the bindery.
website, so it's easier for me already.
But, like, it's gonna be a much better user experience for the community.
Yeah. Yeah.
I hope. I really hope.
Yeah, all of your membership stuff is going to be through Bindery, um, feministbookclub.com is really just, like,
Yeah.
the landing page. It's gonna have the archives of the blogs that were always available. Um, we might post some new content there, just to keep it fresh, but
Um, all of the main content that you're used to is gonna be on bindery, the community is on Bindery, um…
like I said, your membership, everything you need to do is through Bindery, and that includes…
Quarterly subscription boxes will be through Bindery.
I'm so excited.
Yeah, I'm excited to bring that. I'm so excited to bring that back. I think our… I hope.
I hope that old members that were with us before
get wind of that, and they…
Yeah.
Because, you know, that was really what a lot of people were in for, was the book box and the discussion, and…
And I… so I'm gonna…
really enjoy bringing that back to the community, and then Bindery also has discord integration.
Yes.
So, we're gonna have a Discord, which is…
where obviously there'll be, like, comment sections and stuff, but the Discord is where, like, the…
The nitty-gritty, like…
conversations are gonna…
happen, and I think that that's gonna be…
Exactly. And…
where community is built. That's where community is built. That's where you find your friends.
I think that that's gonna be a lot…
Yeah.
better for people. I'm… I'm excited about that, so…
Yeah, yeah. Um…
Mhairie, I am so…
just delighted by your energy that you've given to this project, and I am really… like, I could not be more excited.
Um, and more energized by…
you and Nox and Jordy and the passion that the… that this transition team has put into…
what's next? And I just… I'm so grateful for you.
Thank you, I'm so glad that everyone picked up, because…
It has been, you know, it has been a tough process, and constantly re…
Um, not a restructuring, but, like,
reorganizing things, and…
you know, a lot of us have got… I think all of us, pretty much, have got…
full-time jobs, and some of us have got side gigs as well as this, and…
You know, it can be a lot to keep up on, and when the first suggestions of,
Join and bindery came up, I was the first one, I was just like, nope!
I think this is a brilliant idea.
I don't… no further questions.
Um, Mhairie put together a pitch deck for our worker-owner meeting, and it was brilliant. Um, and I was like,
Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, I think I was the one that got the email from inviting us to be on their platform, which was so exciting. I was like, I think we should do this, and then I copied the email to our staff Slack, or our worker owner Slack,
And, um, yeah, Mhairie, you were like,
Done. Let's go.
When can we start?
So you wanna…
So funny! Because I love it, like,
the members of the board and you can, you know, you don't necessarily like to immediately influence people's…
Yes.
opinions and choices, so you'll put stuff like that in our Slack, no, like, with no further comment, and then I, again, all gas no breaks, just, um…
just, no, we need to do this, I'll set up a meeting, who do I need to call, what are we doing?
Yeah, and that's been really intentional on my part, is when I… when we transitioned to a worker-owned co-op, and I… I…
I stepped aside from the day-to-day operations of Feminist Book Club. It was really…
intentional for me to hand it off and say, like, you make it what you want to make it. Like, this… let's get me out of this. I don't want to be kind of the face, or the… I'll be here for institutional knowledge, and that's it.
Um, but this I was like…
I really want to do this, you can…
I'm gonna put it out there, but I'm going to push for it.
So, um, but you became the cheerleader for it, and here we are, and I just want to say congratulations to you.
for all of the work that you put into this.
Thanks, always up until 11pm doing that pitch deck.
And it shows. Maybe we'll… maybe I'll put some screenshots of it in here.
Oh my gosh, you should. And the world should see that, I've, you know, to be fair, the underlying pitch deck…
credit where credit is due, you did that originally.
I gave you a template for a pitch deck, how about that?
You gave me a template, and so I took…
Yeah.
design elements and the color theme, and some of the layout, and then just went to
Yeah, that it was great, and it worked. Check. I think it was a unanimous vote to, uh, to join Bindery, so…
here we are.
Mm-hmm. It was a unanimous vote, and then I was sat there for a minute, like, this is great, but now we have a lot of work to do.
Now what?
Yeah, so the last couple of weeks have been, um, I feel like a duck, right? Where my… my…
I'm paddling underwater like this, but everything looks fine!
There's a lot going on. Um…
But we're here, we did it, we've launched, welcome everybody, and um… let us know…
what you're thinking, and be loud. Like, just let us know what you want the space to be. We've got ideas, we've got things in store for you all.
Um, but right now, this is your time to put your two cents in, and um… and show up!
And if you want to help us…
I mean, we're taking volunteer contributors!
We are taking volunteer contributors, um…
obviously, full disclosure, because we've always been quite transparent,
Um, we did previously pay our contributors.
but with, um…
the transition to bindery and some changes in staffing,
We are running on a voluntary…
basis right now. We don't intend to keep that.
Forever, um…
But, you know, we do need to…
Straighten some things out.
And then…
More importantly,
We are trying to work towards imprint status with binderies, so…
The other way…
that our community can help us, um…
If this is something that
people believe in and they want to see it succeed, and they want to see some feminist literature of the fictional kind.
Uh, that might not have seen the light of day otherwise. If you want to be part of that and make that happen…
comment, subscribe, it doesn't matter at what level, the free level helps,
come in at $5, come in at…
$25, join the quarterly…
book box subscription…
you know, every…
sign up is a vote of confidence.
and support in, like, you believe what we're trying to do here, so…
Yeah.
We still… we still have goals, we always have goals.
Yeah.
And… giving us feedback in the community, whether it's on Discord or on Bindery directly, about what you want and what you want us to see,
And how you would like things, sort of…
presented and whatnot is really helpful.
to us, because ultimately, we wanna…
provide a community and a product that…
Yeah.
People enjoy. Like, we want to enjoy making it, but we really need other people to enjoy…
being here.
Yeah, we want to be a safe place for you to land on the internet, um, where you can kind of let your feminist-free flag fly, um, in… in the ultimate goal of, yeah, becoming a publishing imprint. That means that we choose the books. We work with the authors, we work with the…
Illustrators! I mean, I am…
cautiously optimistic we will get there, but we need…
We need everyone's help to get us there, and of course we're gonna take you on the journey every step of the way. Like, that's… this is a truly democratic process. In case that hasn't been clear, is…
Every decision that gets made, including, like, what our tiers are called, we got just Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 right now. You're gonna help us decide what those are called. This is your community, and this will be your imprint, too. This is your feminist book club!
So, just, um…
Yeah, just stay tuned for what's next! It's gonna be… it's gonna be a lot, it's gonna be a bit of a change. Let it be a little turbulent.
But I think it's going to be so much…
clearer.
From here on out.
I really, yeah, I really do.
It's gonna be so much fun.
Yeah, thanks for joining us, y'all.
Bye, Mhairie!