Affiliations
NYC Books through Bars is grateful to have the generous support of several community organizations, without which our group could not function:
ABC No Rio was our fiscal sponsor for nearly 2 decades, until we became our own 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2018.
Our project is run primarily out of the basement of Freebird Books, completely free of charge, which allows us to direct all our proceeds into postage. Without the use of this space, there would be nowhere to hold our library of donated books, weekly packing sessions, group meetings, and stamped packages.
Our connection with Bluestockings Bookstore makes it possible for the books we send to be permissible by the prison facilities we send them to, as books are only allowed to be sent directly from approved vendors, bookstores, or publishers.
Here is some more information about each organization:
ABC No Rio is a collectively-run center for art and activism, known internationally as a venue for oppositional culture. It was founded in 1980 by artists committed to political and social engagement.
No Rio is a place where people share resources and ideas to impact society, culture, and community. They believe that art and activism should be for everyone, not just the professionals and experts.
No Rio’s community is defined by a set of shared values and convictions. It is a community committed to social justice, equality, anti-authoritarianism, autonomous action, collective processes, and to nurturing alternative structures and institutions operating on such principles. It includes artists and activists whose work promotes critical analysis and an expanded vision of possibility for our lives and the lives of our neighborhoods, cities, and societies. It includes punks who embrace the Do-It-Yourself ethos, express positive outrage, and reject corporate commercialism. It includes nomads, squatters, fringe dwellers, and those among society’s disenfranchised who find at ABC No Rio a place to be heard and valued.
Learn more about No Rio at www.abcnorio.org.
Freebird Books opened in 2004, and is located across from the still working docks and container port in Red Hook, Brooklyn. A general used bookstore specializing in New York history and culture, it is primarily open on weekends and owned by a local resident. Freebird is community-oriented, sponsoring events, readings, book clubs, and workshops. To learn about Freebird’s events, go to www.freebirdbooks.com.
Bluestockings is a 100% volunteer-powered and collectively-owned radical bookstore, fair trade café (with vegan and organic options), and activist center in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. They carry over 6,000 titles on topics such as feminism, queer and gender studies, global capitalism, climate & environment, political theory, police and prisons, race and black studies, and radical education. They also carry magazines, zines, journals, and merch such as totes and tees for groups like NYC Books Through Bars.
Bluestockings host readings, workshops, performances, discussions and films almost every night. To see their events calendar for details on upcoming events, go to bluestockings.com