Firestorm Books is a fifteen-year-old queer, trans, and collectively owned bookstore and community event space in Asheville, NC. The co-op, known for its social movement–oriented book selection, sells all-ages titles online and in person. Since 2008, they’ve supported grassroots movements in Southern Appalachia while developing a workplace on the basis of cooperation, empowerment, and equity.

In January 2024, Firestorm announced that it had acquired thousands of children’s books banned from the Duval County Public School system in Florida and would be giving away hundreds of copies of nearly four dozen titles. The banned books explore topics such as racism, colonialism, social movement history, and visionary organizing. 

In 2022, advocates raised alarm after Duval County school administrators ordered the removal of titles in the Essential Voices collection from classrooms and schools. Of the books that were permanently removed, more than half featured LGBTQIA+ characters or history. “When we were told that these books were at risk of being destroyed, we knew we had to act,” noted Firestorm Books co-owner Esmé Joy.

Under the campaign name “Banned Books Back!,” bookstore staff and volunteers ship books removed from Duval County schools directly to kids. The campaign focuses on states where the freedom to read is under attack, starting with Florida. Among the banned books Firestorm distributes are award-winning titles such as Newbery Honor Book Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968 by Alice Faye Duncan and R. Gregory Christie. 

More information about the Banned Books Back! initiative, including a full title list and FAQ, is available at https://givebutter.com/bannedbooksback. You can learn more about Firestorm Books on their website: https://firestorm.coop and you can follow them on Instagram @firestormcoop.