gift guide, because i've caved to peer pressure

(this is like 50 other emails in your inbox!)

(if every substack released a gift guide, would you? in this case, probably.)

full disclosure—these suggestions fall into the camp of “gifts you need to buy or logistically arrange,” not because i believe that this is always the vibe to bring to your winter gift exchange or holidays, but because time and energy are limited, and sometimes spending money is the most realistic option. but if you have energy, by all means, make playlists and write poetry and plan experiences for your loved ones. <3 without further ado, the guide.

for your incarcerated friend

• any of Haymarket Press’s books—they have a program for books-to-prisoners. they pay for it, you handpick it.

• a subscription to Sinister Wisdom. recently guest edited by the awesome

  cav/ar
  , they send free issues to incarcerated folx.

• zines by Sick Of It or True Leap. both will send for free, but you can help choose the zines to show your love and support.

• a care package. this organization is PNW specific, but there are others in different localities—gender-affirming clothing always makes a great gift.

• if you’re able to send letters yourself, passing along any of sprout distro’s resources has the potential to help your friend a lot—they have how-to guides relating to survival and mental health on the inside.

for your cool aunt who just came out as bi+

• any classical anarchist autobiography ever (especially this one lol).

• any of

  Sadee Bee
  ’s poetry collections! awesome reads for the poetry-curious, they have tons of great queer and feminist themes.

• a subscription to MyrtleHaus. they follow the form of a traditional women’s magazine, but their profiles of emerging queer and trans artists are anything but.

• The quintessential first thing to read after coming out.

• a copy of my zine abyss for two or disappear first. both romantic and light…but also not.

for your closest acquaintance's three-year-old

• this gorgeous coloring book, because nobody is too young to support independent artists ;)

• this absolutely hysterical anarchist childrens’ book.

  • (and its sequel.)

• this antifascist coloring book.

• for the parents—gift subscriptions to

  Virginia Sole-Smith
  and
  Anya Kamenetz
  ! both of these publications address parenting and social justice so well and are must-reads for anyone.

for the recovering dudebro in your life

• Lee Shevek’s truly awesome zine A Woman Can Be Any Gender He Wants To Be.

• [sarah] Cavar’s recent book FAILURE TO COMPLY (reviewed here)—enough action and adventure to please fans of scifi, but also tons of trans and Mad theory <3

• a copy of my zine UNGRATEFUL. it’s kind of a trans 101, but doesn’t look like it lol.

• a gift subscription to

  Elizabeth Doerr
  ’s awesome blog—rooted in the kind of practicality that might be accessible to this crowd, Cramming For The Apocalypse is deeply communal and universally loving.

• (new pronouns…although that’s more something they give to themself <3<3<3)

for your unhoused comrade

• (first of all, donate to their mutual aid fund if you have the means)

• gift cards, particularly for practical items, are an awesome choice here—if you have a local grocery or general store that offers them (you can find anarchist-aligned cooperative businesses on Slingshot Directory), this makes a great gift.

• according to a mutual aid thread, if you’re going to give physical stuff, try to give hothands/hand warmers, clean thick/warm socks, clean underwear, gloves, shoes/boots, sleeping bags, tents, fuel for camp stoves, & camp stoves. <3

for your anarcho-curious 10 year old cousin

• a selection of zines from Coin Operated Press—they’re heavy on photos and tend to be accessible reads, but are also deeply radical in their queer liberationism.

• this kid-centered anthology on youth liberation is always a hit with radicals of all ages.

• any book by The Anima Print—they’re a great youth-led anarchist publishing house.

• nat raum
  ‘s excellent zine about high school!

• i read this history of queercore at age 11 and it changed my life forever…just saying.

for the critical theory nuts who’ve already read every book you could think to give them

• try anarchism for life by

  Cindy Barukh Milstein
  has a beautiful element of visual art that’s sure to get theory nerds to engage a different aspect of their anarchy.

• days of war nights of love disrupts the form of traditional literature enough to have a similar vibe.

• a subscription to the Anarchist Review of Books..

  • and/or

    Raechel Anne Jolie
    ’s blog or both. if you know, you know.

• jade vine’s new work of poetry <3 i got to review this one and there’s something here for every anarchist.

for your unfairly cool nomadic crush, or anyone else who can't reasonably store physical stuff

• itch.io is your friend here! Ind Of The Year has a lot of TTRPGs and zines that can be experienced from a computer without lots of printing.

• Beth And Angel have an entire TTRPG collection that doesn’t require physical stuff, if that’s their thing :)

• a gift subscription to this blog. had to do it lol.

• gift subscriptions to

  ONLY POEMS
  are also a great idea for this individual! they’re digital-only and intended to be such, so unlike other litmags, they’re super accessible for people without an address.

• if they get to the Midwest at all, a co-op membership at this cool punk venue would be great for any visual artists <3

for your dad (and his book club, probably)

• Andrew Lee
  ‘s book Defying Displacement is a must, especially for anyone working through class privilege and in need of self-education.

• if they’re a fiction reader,

  Margaret Killjoy
  ’s short story collection is a life-changer.

• if they haven’t been radicalized but desperately need to be, Le Guin is surprisingly effective.

• if they enjoy political analysis but don’t want to deal with mainstream news,

  Elad Nehorai
  ’s substack is a good choice.

• a copy of my zine New Queer Resolution. it’s kinda perfect for these discussions.

for the feral queers

• the oral history Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments is kind of awesome for this crowd, especially if mainstream critical theory is less than accessible for them.

• this text of course (although they’ve probably already read it).

• and this too, so they can either critique or declaim about it.

• an ebook of my new zine (un)timezine. this zine explores rejection of linear time through trans poetry! the target audience is…you guessed it, other feral beings.

• a gift subscription to

  Margaret Killjoy
  ’s blog because of course.