Press Release: Summer Season Announced!

REBEL READERS CLEVELAND KICKS OFF SUMMER SEASON

HONORING PRIDE MONTH WITH A COMMUNITY BOOK TALK

ON SUNDAY, JUNE 23 AT 1PM

FEATURING LOCAL QUEER ACTIVISTS

DISCUSSING THE AWARD-WINNING & CONTROVERSIAL

GRAPHIC MEMOIR, “GENDER QUEER” BY MAIA KOBABE

[CLEVELAND, OH] — In honor of Pride Month, local queer activists Caitlin Fisher, Daniel Hamilton, and JD Harrison join Rebel Readers Book Club to read and discuss the award-winning and controversial graphic memoir, GENDER QUEER BY MAIA KOBABE, based on “eir” experience coming out as a non-binary, a-sexual person. The event will be held at Loganberry Books in Shaker Heights on Sunday June 23, starting at 1:00 pm. Free and open to the public. For more information visit www.rebelreadersCLE.com or www.loganberrybooks.com.

Fisher and Haney’s friendship was rooted in their mutual interest in cross-cultural experiences, and they spoke openly about the differences and similarities between them. Fisher is a white Jewish woman and Haney is a Black Muslim woman. They had an idea to open their conversations to people of all faiths and backgrounds who wanted to get to know each other better, but whose paths might not otherwise cross. So, they decided to invite anyone interested, searching beyond their own social circles, to rebel against silencing voices and narrowing perspectives, and join them in lifting voices and exploring identity, through reading and discussing books.

As author Joyce Carol Oates said, “Reading is the sole means by which we slip involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.”

Monthly book club selections include poetry, fiction, memoir, and more. Each month, special guests join the conversation to provide deeper insight into the books, and help readers unpack the stories being told.

Rebel Readers Book Club kicks off the 2024 summer season at Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere in Shaker Heights, Ohio; www.loganberrybooks.com), on Sunday, June 23 at 1pm. Honoring Pride Month with the award-winning and controversial graphic memoir, GENDER QUEER, by author and illustrator, Maia Kobabe, who uses Spivak pronouns (e, em, eir).

Book Browse writes, “Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story; it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.”

Sponsored by LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, the June book talk is an opportunity to increase awareness and understanding about gender and identity from a personal perspective, rather than considering the topic through the broad lens of politics and media.

Gender Queer is considered one of the most banned books of 2021, 2022, and 2023, according to the American Libraries Association (ALA). In response to the controversy, Kobabe said during an interview with NBC News, “I know it is a scary moment and the attacks definitely can be very intimidating, but I think it’s so important to stand by your truth and tell your story honestly and write what you need to write, what you feel called to write. Please don’t let the threat of censorship silence your voice before you’ve even spoken.”

Rebel Readers is proud to announce the names of three queer activists who will join the book club as June’s special guests.

Caitlin Fisher is an anti-capitalist coach, author, and podcaster on a mission to help people in the neurodivergent, disabled, and queer communities tell their stories through supportive coaching and courses about writing, creativity, and business. They are the author of “The Gaslighting of the Millennial Generation" and host of the Neurodivergent Creative Podcast.

Daniel Basil Hamilton is a queer activist and scholar. Names one of Cleveland Crain’s Business 40 under 40 in 2020, they are also recipient of the Ruth Barber Moon award from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), where they earned their MPH and PhD in Anthropology with a focus on transgender healthcare after completing their BA in Spanish, Sinology, and Religion, from Baldwin Wallace University. Daniel currently serves as Director of Finance at the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland and is a member of the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Queer Anthropology.

JD Harrison is a Cleveland native who earned a BA of Philosophy from Case Western Reserve University and has done work in the community surrounding harm reduction, self-defense, LGBTQ advocacy, housing and food insecurity, and racial equality. They have a passion for advocacy for multiply marginalized peoples which they currently pursue through their work as a case manager.

Interested community members are encouraged to attend even if they don't have time to read the book beforehand. Loganberry Books is offering 10% off all rebel reads, instore and online.

Free and open to the public. For more information or to register visit rebelreadersCLE.com.

REBEL READERS BOOK CLUB SUMMER SCHEDULE HELD AT LOGANBERRY BOOKS:

HONORING PRIDE MONTH, A BOOK TALK, JUNE 23 AT 1PM GENDER QUEER, A GRAPHIC MEMOIR BY MAIA KOBABE

RECOGNIZING JULY 4TH, A BOOK TALK, JULY 29 AT 1PM AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES BY ROXANNE ORTIZ-DUNBAR

CELEBRATING BLACK BUSINESS MONTH, AUTHOR TALK, AUG. 23 AT 1PM CLICK: TEN TRUTHS FOR BUILDING EXTRAORDINARY RELATIONSHIPS WITH CLEVELAND NATIVE, GEORGE C. FRASER

We are grateful for the community partnership of the following organizations:

ADL-Cleveland, LaRick Calhoun, LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, Literary Cleveland, Loganberry Books, and ReKindle Fellowship

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Cofounded by Dahlia Fisher and Felicia Haney, two women from different backgrounds with shared values, Rebel Readers Cleveland lifts voices of diverse authors and explores stories of intersecting identities to build bridges between cultures and communities. Follow Rebel Readers Cleveland on Facebook and Instagram @rebelreadersCLE and stay up to date with classes and events by subscribing to their email list online: www.rebelreadersCLE.com