My plans for today have drastically changed and I don't know... I think I want to have a conversation about it.

Today is launch day for our third publication--Buzzard by Inez Ray--so naturally, my day is pretty much going to be all about content.

Videos for TikTok, Reels and carousel for Instagram, a witty post every few hours on Threads. Maybe even a blog or two (as I am currently demonstrating).

My plan for today was to take a bookstore tour, promoting all of the shops that have Buzzard in stock. Because obviously, I want people to go buy it from local bookstores! Which I expected to take most of the day because, well, I don't have any bookstores near me. Which means I was going to be traveling to some of the surrounding bigger towns, visiting both indie bookstores and dropping by the bigger retailers like Barnes and Noble and Books-a-million.

However, my plans have changed because, unfortunately, I can't find a bookstore within driving distances that has the book stocked. And I want to have a candid conversation about that.

Before I dive in, I want to be clear that this is not an indictment of bookstores. It is a candid conversation about this industry and our current political climate as a country.

In the year since Cry, Voidbringer launched, I have walked into exactly one bookstore that did not have at least one Left Unread book in it. Typically, I can find a copy of Cry, Voidbringer or Devil of the Deep pretty quickly when I enter a bookstore. Usually both, if I'm being honest. And that is not just bookstores local to me. I travel fairly regularly and I visit bookstores everywhere I go. Our books have done very well in bookstores, both indie and larger chain-retailers. I have taken for granted just how much access we have, and today, I am thinking about just how many people in our country don't have easy access to the books they are so hungry for.

And I am not suggesting Buzzard is not being stocked! It absolutely is. Bindery, as a whole, has done an amazing job of building relationships with indie bookstores and retailers and consistently, booksellers have stood ten toes down behind our books. And that has absolutely held true for Left Unread specifically. Like I said, there has only been ONE bookstore I have entered in the last year that didn't have a Left Unread book in it. So our books are being stocked.

And Buzzard specifically has had booksellers FERAL. And I mean that. It was not only chosen for Indies Introduce, but it was chosen unanimously. Meaning booksellers from all over the country read this book and saw it as a promising new debut. And since then, my DM's and comments have been filled with booksellers who are excited for this book. And it went on to be chosen as an Indie Next as well, which is another huge endorsement from the American Bookseller Association, directly because of the enthusiasm of indie booksellers across the entire country.

So I am not here on a soap box telling you that this book is not in stores. It is in stores.

But it is not lost on me that it might not be as widely stocked in rural bookstores around the country.

I'm sure you won't struggle to find it in blue havens. In cities and counties where abortion is an unwavering right. But I live in one of the bluest states in the country and I realized this morning that if I want to go see this book in stores I will have to drive several hours to Chicago, where a story like this will be celebrated.

When I partnered with Bindery Books to start this publishing imprint, my intention was to fight for stories that NEED to be fought for. To champion authors who are using their voice (and pen) to say things that are dangerous. Things that this industry is not exactly open to. And I have done that consistently. As a community, we have chosen stories with big messages that readers NEED to hear. And Buzzard is no exception. This book is important. It feels silly to say it that simply, but its true. This book is important. But it is important to note that it is most important in the areas where it is least likely to be readily available.

And a part of championing this book is going to mean fighting to make it available in those spaces.

And I want to be clear again, this blog is not about sales. I am not worried about this book doing well. We have done the work to get this book into the hands of retailers and readers who want it. So I am not here complaining about potential sales. I am here pointing out that a part of our effort as a community is going to have to be finding a way to get this book into the hands of readers who live in communities that are strongly lead by conservative voices. (Because its important to distinguish between people who make up rural communities and the political strength of those communities.)

Inez wrote this book as a focus point for her anger and her hope. And it is our (Bindery's) job to put it in front of the people who need to be challenged by her rage and the readers who need permission to dream as Inez shows them what that looks like in Mae's story.

This afternoon, I am thinking about the people who live in areas where this type of hope is harder to come by. Where bodily autonomy is not a guarantee. Where Buzzard is not just a story to be enjoyed.

I want this book in their hands.

I don't have all of the answers on how we make that happen yet. I will, don't you fret. But for now, I am just being open about where my head is at and what mission I am most focused on.

Yes, I want this book in the hand of every person who wants it. But I also want to fight like hell to make sure that the people who aren't positioned to hear about it DO.

I spent the last hour and a half calling every bookstore that I regularly shop at in my rural community, asking them to stock the book. And if you, like me, live in an area where stores may not have jumped at the idea of a Dystopian about abortion, I'd love to see you do the same. There are absolutely booksellers who will worry that this type of story won't draw sales for them. Booksellers who understand the political climate of their community. Booksellers who don't want to deal with pushback when... certain people...come across a book like this in their store.

But we, the readers who actually frequent their establishments, can encourage them by letting them know that we do want the book. That its not a risk. That even in politically... difficult areas, there are many many people who are hungry for stories like this. And that encouragement might just make a difference.

I also want to encourage everyone reading this to be loud about this story. Buzzard is a book that needs to be read. And the louder we are about its impact on us, as individual readers, the further our collective voice travels. Yes, asking bookstores to stock the book is a great way to fight for this book. But another way is to give the story such a loud voice that people hear about it even if they can't walk into a local bookstore and find it. We can make sure it is heard about in every corner of online bookish spaces, so that people who will never come across it in their local store see it and have the option to order it online.

Here are a few things we can do as readers:

• Post your picture of the book

• Encourage your book club to read it together

• Review it honestly on Goodreads and Storygraph

• Ask your local booksellers to stock the book

• Request a copy at your local library

• Post your favorite quote as you read, or complain about that character you just can't stand

There is no right way to give a book a voice. The key is just to give it one. It will say whatever it wants to. All we can do is empower it to speak.

I also want to highlight one fun little way we are doing the most because, one thing about Left Unread, we are gonna double down every time. Tomorrow, a 40 day anti-abortion initiative begins across the entire country. A movement called 40 Days for Life. So what are WE doing? We have partnered with bookstores across the country to not only sell more copies of Buzzard, but to put money right into the hands of Reproductive Healthcare Organizations at the same time.

• Paperbacks & Frybread. We are donating to Carolina Abortion Fund. Buy HERE.

• Jay's House Bookshop & Bakery. We are donating to Broward Women's Emergency Fund. Buy HERE.

• Pocket Books Shop. We are donating to Abortion Liberation Fund of PA. Buy HERE.

• Golden Hour Books. We are donating to All-Options Hoosier Abortion Fund. Buy HERE.

• Homeward Books Collective. We are donating to Tucson Abortion Support Collective. But HERE.

• Beyond the Covers. We are Donating to Fund Texas Choice. Buy it HERE.

• Buffalo Street Books. We are donating to New York Abortion Access Fund. Buy it HERE.

• Sunny's Bookstore. We are donating to Abortion Fund of Arizona. Buy it HERE.

As always, love y'all!!! Happy reading! And if you haven't ordered YOUR copy yet, let me know where you're buying it after you close this blog lol!