What Would Jane Austen Do?
I’m coming to you today from Austen’s Shelf, a new independent bookstore in New Jersey, dedicated to all things Regency and romance. From my seat at the selfie station, where I’ve nestled my laptop amidst an assortment of floral teacups, I can hear an old white man on the sidewalk tell his wife he will not be coming inside. Why not, you ask?
Well, dearest gentle reader, you might suspect it’s because he doesn’t care much for Bridgerton or Jane Austen. But no. He’s pissed off because of the sign in the window. It reads—in my handwriting— “ICE belongs in coffee, not in our communities.”
For this I blame Julia Quinn.
But perhaps I should start at the beginning.
As some of you may recall, I wrote a blog post this past spring about donating books to immigrants in ICE custody. I was having a bit of an existential crisis at the time, because I had gone into my fancy MFA program thinking I would write literary fiction but wound up with a tongue-in-cheek memoir chronicling the year I spent at Oxford at which point homeschool summer camp had failed to yield the love of my life so—naturally— I took my broken heart across the Atlantic to avail myself of Jane Austen’s “truth universally acknowledged” and find a new boyfriend who looked as good in wet linen as Colin Firth…
Fast forward to twenty years later, I’m revising this manuscript so that I’ll be ready to start querying agents this fall, and Julia Quinn emails me.
The Julia Quinn.
For those not in the know, she’s the genius behind Bridgerton (and no, I don’t use this term lightly: she went to Harvard for undergrad and then left med school at Yale to write full time.) Now, a communication of this sort—famous author to emerging writer— requires a minimum of seven minutes spent staring at one’s phone in disbelief, but then it was time to get down to business: she liked my post, donated several of her books, and wanted to know: could we make this bigger?
Well.
Those of you who know me in real life will acknowledge that I am not a “less is more” sort of person. (To cite but one example, the president of the MFA Org recently made the mistake of asking me to assess the lecture hall in which our graduation reading was to be held… I immediately snapped into production mode and convinced department admin we needed to order not only backdrops but also three dozen battery operated candles to set the right “mood.”)
As such, when Julia Quinn asked what else could be done—how could we get more books into the hands of people who could use an escape?— I reached out to Juntos, a community-led, Latine immigrant organization in South Philadelphia, and asked them to put together a wishlist. They came back with 50 titles—almost 500 books in total!— to support their Youth Team and Guerreras Committee (you can read more about this amazing work below).
Next, I got in touch with my new friend Charity, the owner of Austen’s Shelf (who is also the author of the YA novel Other Side of the Tracks) and asked, “Would you like to host this thing?” She said yes, so the next step, obviously, was to get out my embroidery hoop because sometimes, when each day brings another gut-wrenching headline, absurdity is the only answer…
Now, are books and teapot tableaus going to bring back either of the fathers who were killed earlier this summer? No. They won’t. They’re not going to get kids out of detention centers either. If you want to see the elimination of state-sponsored violence, you need to be calling your senators. But in the meantime, if you’re here, you know that books are important, that hope is important– and it is especially important for the communities that have been torn apart: the women who are afraid to attend their prenatal appointments because they might be taken into custody, the children who need to go back-to-school shopping.
This is where community organizing comes in: Juntos is dedicated to fighting for the human rights of workers, parents, youth, and immigrants, and they’re holding a Back-to-School Supply Drive on July 31. Our goal—with your help— is to fulfill every “wish” on their list in time for distribution at the end of the month.
If you’d like to contribute, head to Austen’s Shelf and purchase as many books as you’d like to donate. You’ll find some Julia Quinn favorites—in both English and Spanish—in addition to children’s books, books about community organizing, and beloved titles by authors ranging from Sandra Ciscernos and bell hooks to Javier Zamora and Suzanne Collins. Each purchase supports an independent bookstore (owned, I might add, by a Black woman in a predominantly white town where old men take offence at the suggestion that federal law enforcement officers should not go around murdering people and incarcerating children…) and all books ordered will be distributed by Juntos to community members in need.
Thank you for your support.
PS: When placing your order, you’ll be prompted to enter your shipping address; please do so to complete the order but rest assured that all books will be shipped the Austen’s Shelf for delivery to Juntos for the Back-to-School Supply Drive on July 31. This link will take you to a lovely note written by Charity about the importance of literacy (and justice!) for all, and this one will take you directly to the Juntos Book Drive Wishlist to place your order.
And now, some additional information for the detail-oriented among us:
What is the Guerreras Program?
Comprised of 25 immigrant, women leaders – many of whom are mothers and artists – Guerreras is one of five core leadership committees that structures Juntos’ base-building work. Guerreras members help advance Juntos’ mission to organize those most impacted by state violence to transform the very systems that have harmed them. From hosting self-defense workshops to initiating our food bank, Guerreras are a core part of Juntos’ reach.
Guerreras’ efforts focus on addressing gender-based violence, reproductive justice, and the distinct challenges that come at the intersection of being an immigrant woman. They use arts & culture and community organizing to create change within their families and neighbors and build community solutions to systemic issues. Guerreras members meet regularly for workshops supporting leadership development, creative practices, and movement building.
Can I donate used books?
Currently, Juntos does not have the capacity to accept unsolicited used book donations. The wishlist was curated based on specific requests from members of the South Philadelphia immigrant community for members of this community. (This was hugely important to me in working on this initiative, because I sometimes fall into the well-meaning white lady category, but I always intend to learn from my mistakes and to avoid making them again.)
The good news is that there is another incredible organization in Philadelphia that does accept donations of used books: ProjectHOME. All donations are used for job training for individuals recovering from homelessness and fundraising for the organization’s groundbreaking work to disrupt the cycle of poverty and housing insecurity. (My sister in law used to work in development for ProjectHOME, my parents have supported them for many years, and our church has participated in several of their used book drives, so I can personally vouch for this awesomeness of this org.) Their website contains all the necessary info about where and when to drop off books.
Can I donate additional school supplies for the Back-to-School event?
Again, thank you so much for your generousity but Juntos has limited storage space so we need to graciously ask those of you who want to donate additional school supplies to hold off until August. Austen’s Shelf will then hold a seperate Back-to-School supply drive to collect backpacks, notebooks, markers/glue/scissors/tape to benefit the Trenton, NJ chapter of Black Lives Matter (which happens to be run by a former student of mine who is now a total badass activist). Stay tuned for additional info!
What if the books I ordered to donate don’t arrive in time for the Back-to-School supply drive on July 31st?
No worries! This is why I wanted to partner with a local organization that has a longstanding presense in the community for this book drive. Donations received after July 31st throughout the month of August will still be distributed to their intended recipients through Juntos’ ongoing programming.
Can’t we send books/art supplies/toilettries/food/medical care directly to people incarcerated by ICE?
Unfortunately, ICE “policies” make this virtually impossible. (I learned this the hard way. However, Juntos does have a Moshannon Support Network where you can donate directly to the commisary accounts of folks detained at Moshannon.) I suggest you channel your rage into writing a letter to the editor and calling your elected officials to tell them how stupid and assinine these policies are and, while you’re at it, to just go ahead and abolish ICE.
You can call the US Capital Switchboard directly at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your representatives, or look them up at the official US Senator Contact Page. Save their number in your phone. Be nice to their staff (think Regency-tea-party). And if you’re nervous, channel your inner Elizabeth Bennet and tell Lady Catherine to go fuck herself.
Here again is the link to order books from Austen’s Shelf 🙂
Kat Echevarría Richter 
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