We expand access to literature by sending good books to people around the country. We emphasize queer and trans content. 

We also throw great parties that celebrate literature. See our “past events” section for more details.

Please fill out this form. 

We ship books three or four times a year. Please be patient.

This started as a tiny effort at Fabulosa Books, with a small pile of books and a desire to get diverse content to folks with less access to paper books. It sort of grew on its own from there.

We believe in the power of paper books. They can be shared, and stumbled upon quite accidentally. The presence of paper books leads to a more engaged ecosystem.

Sending books also creates a connection between San Francisco, the home of BNB, and the rest of the country. The point of everything is to care about each other, and America is too deeply divided.

Kind of. But also no. We are firmly opposed to banning books. but that’s not our primary focus.

This is about expanding access to good books. Some of these books are bans. Some of them are not. We are focusing on a generative approach, and are trying to infuse everywhere with good books and affirming stories. Books Not Bans started in a queer-focused bookstore, and we have this as our touchstone.

Books Not Bans has no staff. As of November, 2024, most of the work is done by one person and scattered enthusiastic collaborators.

We need help!

There are a lot of tasks that come up now and then that we need help with.

- Get your friends to follow us on insta / spread the word 

- Get folks to donate money 

- Be available for small once-in-a-while tasks like flyering or events support or running items to the post office and let us know by filling out this form.These tasks require a 3 hour commitment minimum. 

- Help find restaurants to donate catering for one of our events

- Help improve the website (if you have experience) 

- Help us get orchestrate cool swag and marketing materials 

- Make us some cool art for marketing materials (with our input, of course) 

- Help us get specifically needed donations (varying depending on everything)

COME TO OUR EVENTS

Fill out the form on the volunteer page and we’ll get back to you.

We are looking for long term volunteers who can spare between 3-6 hours each month (more during the fall and spring). We ask a 2 year commitment.

FIll out this form and we’ll get back to you. And thank you!

Donations are tax deductible when given online. Oasis Arts is our fiscal sponsor, and we are under the umbrella of their nonprofit status.

We are very selective about what books we send, and choose books based on a number of factors. We only send unused books that fit a very specific set of criteria. Please ask before donating books.

100% of money donated is used for purchasing and shipping books. All other expenses are funded out of pocket by the founder. Nobody takes a salary.