Pride in a Time of Turbulence 🏳️⚧️🧱
I Celebrated Pride with a Mental Breakdown
People have asked over the past few months how the bookstore came to be, & it's true that it was a natural next step for us, but it was this time last year that my queer little heart was ripped apart & it catapulted The Nonbinarian from a book bike into a bookstore.
My previous bookstore was actively trying to erase the queer & trans legacy made by its booksellers & I was among them. Confronted with the literal removal of queer books on the shelves at my day job while simultaneously distributing queer books for free in my spare time, I could no longer compartmentalize, deny, or dissociate. I rang in Pride by filing for immediate disability & refusing to return to work.
Seeing firsthand the necessity of what a lifeline a space like The Nonbinarian could be for someone (and that someone was me), that's what pushed me into action. A space in which trans people were not only a part of the narrative but front & center, this physical nexus capable of holding queer power & grief & liberation all at once so much so that it would be baked into the floorboards of the place.
Run down by employers who sought to strip us of our essence, the transexual booksellers & librarians & book industry freaks are rehabilitating themselves by running a bookstore in Brooklyn built for us, by us. And now, newly armored with book bike 2.0, which you, our community, helped us reclaim, we celebrate this Pride Month, 2025, our first with both a brick-&-mortar & as a mobile mutual aid initiative.
So whether you celebrate Pride Month at a march or by simply existing in your truth, in joy or enraged, know that you are not alone & from one Nonbinarian to another -- we're never going back.
— k. kerimian (they/them), Nonbinarian Founder & Co-Owner
We Need Gay Books!
The book bike is BACK, baby, & just in time for Pride Month. She'll make her maiden voyage (peep the event schedule below) at Brooklyn Pride, doing the free distro thing parked right outside of Ginger's.
And now that we're getting back on the road, we're asking YOU for your gay book donations!!! We HAPPILY accept ARCs, library discards, self-published books, & a-little-too-loved-to-resell titles, but we especially need kids books (board books, picture books, middle grade, & kids graphic novels).
Please review our book donation policy here.
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Bookshop.org Nonbinarian Book List Recs
+ Partner Wishlists
When you choose The Nonbinarian Bookstore as your bookstore of choice on Bookshop.org and shop our booklists or any item on Bookshop.org, we receive a 30% affiliate fee from every sale! The affiliate fee directly supports us as a newly opened bookstore as well as sustaining our mutual aid initiative, The Nonbinarian Book Bike.
If you would like to purchase books to donate to The Nonbinarian, please shop below:
Nonbinarian General Inventory — We love it, you love it, help us restock some of our favorite books for adults.
Nonbinarian Kids Book Inventory — Board & picture books are always the first to go at outings—help keep us stocked!
Spanish-language Books — Help us increase our high demand Spanish-language offerings in-store & on the book bike.
If you would like to donate books to our partners, please shop their wishlists below:
Drag Story Hour x The Nonbinarian — Picture books from the DSH NYC book list!
Trans formative Schools x The Nonbinarian — Help stock the permanent classroom library for a trans-centered afterschool program!
The Reading for Black Lives Project x The Nonbinarian —Specifically Black + Queer, all books from this wishlist go towards our comrade in mutual aid distro R4BL.
Project Human Dignity x The Nonbinarian — We provide books to build a permanent library for an adolescent (9-17) in-patient psych ward—because everyone deserves to see themselves on the shelf.
Oklahoma Bar Project x The Nonbinarian — Help stock in-house libraries for 3 of the remaining lesbian bars in the states.
June’s programming is already under way, so here’s what’s happening this month. All times EST; 💻 = virtual, 🛍 = in-store, 🚲= book bike outing, 📍 = off-site meet-up. Reminder: All in-store events at The Nonbinarian Bookstore are masks required! Testing is encouraged and we have free tests on-site, but negative tests will not be accepted in lieu of a well-fitted mask.
🛍 T4T Clothing Swap: Sunday, June 1, 1—4 p.m.
💻 Virtual Queer Writers Brooklyn Workshop: Tuesday, June 3, 7—8 p.m., Zoom
🛍 Angry Asian Womxn Pepper Spray & Slay Workshop: Friday, June 6, 7—9 p.m., SOLD OUT
🛍 Nuyorican Poets Cafe Pride Open Mic: Saturday, June 7, doors 2:30 p.m., event 3—5 p.m., RSVP via Partiful
🛍 Drag Story Hour NYC: Sunday, June 8, 1—1:45 p.m., No registration required; open to all!
🛍 Slow Jams & Sapphic Lit with Be Steadwell: Tuesday, June 10, doors 8 p.m., event 8:30—10 p.m., RSVP via Partiful
🛍 Brooklyn Yoga Co-op QTBIPOC Seated Yoga Flow: Wednesday, June 11, 6—7 p.m., Complete the form here. Limited slots, open to QTBIPOC attendees only, chairs provided.
🚲 Brooklyn Pride Festival: Saturday, June 14, 12—3 p.m., Free public book bike distro event! Find us outside Ginger's. Please note the store will open late while we are at BK Pride.🛍 Drag Story Hour NYC: Sunday, June 15, 1—1:45 p.m., No registration required; open to all!
🛍 Volunteer Community Craft Drop-In: Pronoun Button Making: Sunday, June 15, 2:30—4:30 p.m., No registration required, open to all, materials provided!🛍 Queer Cookbook Club: Sunday, June 15, 4—6 p.m., RSVP via Partiful
🛍 BDSM Basics Workshop: Wednesday, June 18, 7—8:30 p.m., RSVP via Partiful
🛍 Intimate Fragments: A Smutty Trans Open Mic: Thursday, June 19, doors 6:30 p.m., event 7—9 p.m., RSVP via Partiful
🚲 The Brooklyn Pride Comic Book Fair: Saturday, June 21, 12—6 p.m., The book bike joins Anyone Comics at The Brooklyn Community Pride Center on Bedford Ave.
🛍 Volunteer Community Craft Drop-In: Crocheting Packers: Saturday, June 21, 1—3 p.m., No registration required, open to all, materials provided!
🛍 Queer Disability Aid Art as Therapy Support Group: Saturday, June 21, 7—9 p.m., RSVP Link TK. Materials provided!
🚲 The Nonbinarian Book Bike Pride in Bed-Stuy Mutual Aid Fair co-hosted with Fearless Queers: Sunday, June 22, 12—4 p.m., Free public book bike distro & self-defense classes at Herbert von King Park, featuring additional local queer grassroots initiatives!
🛍 Bake Sale for Gaza Fundraiser with Stitchin' for Justice: Sunday, June 22, 11 a.m.—3 p.m., Sidewalk bake sale proceeds go toward helping a displaced family in Gaza.
🛍 Drag Story Hour NYC: Sunday, June 22, 1—1:45 p.m., No registration required; open to all!
🛍️ COVID-Conscious Crafting: Tuesday, June 24, 7—9 p.m., RSVP link TK. Materials provided!
🛍️ Steamy RPG Night: Thursday, June 24, 7—9 p.m., RSVP via Partiful💻 The Nonbinarian Book Club with Nonbinarian Sam: Friday, June 27, 8—9 p.m.,Zoom
🛍 Masc4mask C-19 Pluslife Testing Site: Saturday, June 28, by appointment only (form TK).
🚲📍 The Nonbinarian Book Bike Pride Picnic & Read-along in Prospect Park:Saturday, June 28, 12—6 p.m., Free public book bike distro event with picnic, read along, book swap, & fun & flirty giveaways for a safe & sexy pride ;)
🛍 Drag Story Hour NYC: Sunday, June 29, 1—1:45 p.m., No registration required; open to all!
📍Riis Reads Nonbinarian Meet Up: Monday, June 30, 11—4 p.m., No registration required; open to all! BYObook & beach gear.
*Please note: This month's Hybrid Reading Trancestors Book Club is moved to July 7th (because the gays don’t want hw for pride).
The Nonbinarian Book Club
Happy Pride, gays! This month, we are reading So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color by Caro De Robertis.*
Join us on Friday, June 27 at 8 p.m. ET on Zoom to meet other club members and chat about the book! The Zoom link will be sent out on the day of the meeting.
The Nonbinarian Book Club is a monthly, virtual, queer and trans-focused book club. Attendees will receive $5 off their next purchase at The Nonbinarian Bookstore, in-store or online. Meetings take place on the last Friday of each month and book club picks will be announced via the Nonbinarian Newsletter and social media on the 1st of each month.
If you prefer to listen to the audiobook, support indie bookstores and the Book Bike by purchasing through Libro.fm and selecting us as your store of choice!*
**The transexuals didn’t want homework this month, so please note this month’s club is meeting July 7th!
Hosted monthly by Nonbinarians Philomena and Alexander, Reading Trancestors will meet monthly both in-store and virtually on Zoom. Each month we will collectively suggest and vote on our next book together.
In May, we’ll be reading Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline. (available in print, digital, and audiobook).*
Reading Trancestors is a free, monthly, hybrid reading and discussion group centering trans authors and readers, focused on learning from a past that insists on continually repeating itself. How did our trancestors survive the things we’re scared will happen again? Where did they find purpose in a world with no concept of their existence? What beautiful siblings are in the archive, siblings we may not even know existed?
Attendees (both virtual & in-person) will receive $5 off their next book club pick purchase at The Nonbinarian Bookstore.
Note: Cis queer and/or het allies are welcome to attend, understanding we are centering trans facilitators and attendees in this book group. We encourage cis queers and het allies to make a small donation (via Venmo @nonbinarianbike) to help cover the cost of each month's book club pick and lower costs for TGNC attendees.
*If ever you cannot afford to obtain a copy of the book club pick for any of our meetings, please reach out to us via email. No judgment, no questions. We take care of us.
Folks can now find us on We Need Diverse Books' Diverse-Owned Bookstores resource page (we’re Asian-Owned, Disabled-Owned, & LGBTQIA-Owned!).
We also made the cover of Gay City News!
“Representation is a lifeline,” Kerimian said. “It is not a secret that when we are in community with each other, we have better mental health and stability. We might not be able to afford the future we want to see, but right now, with the future under attack, this is a safe haven.”
If you'd like to partner with us for an event or sponsorship, please reach out via e-mail! In addition to subscribing to our newsletter, following us on social media, visiting the store, and participating in events, you can also support the Nonbinarian in the following ways:
📚 Donate a book (or books)! See our used book policy for details.
📚 Donate funds to help upkeep costs rent and bike maintenance! You can make a one-time donation or set up a monthly one on Ko-Fi, or you can donate via Venmo.
📚 Buy a book from our wishlist!
📚 Buy a book through our Bookshop storefront!
📚 Support us with a Libro.fm subscription!
📚 Buy Nonbinarian merch!
To get involved in our virtual or in-person programming, please email info@thenonbinarian.gay!
Thank you to the Nonbinarian community for always showing up and showing out! We wouldn’t be here without our comrades, cheerleaders, volunteers, and backers! It has been a joy to meet you in-store and at pop-ups, interact with you on social media, and get to know the Brooklyn community and its various neighborhoods.
Want to contribute to the Nonbinarian Newsletter?
If you want to submit something to the newsletter, including events, mutual aid needs, book recs, or ideas you'd like to see us include, please email us at newsletter@thenonbinarian.gay.
Thank you for supporting the Nonbinarian Book Bike! Look for our next newsletter on the 1st of the month. In the meantime, follow us on social media for daily updates.