Charis Books and More/Charis Circle

Trans Geographies of Joy charts the stories of trans activists in Atlanta, focusing particularly on people of color, to document how they confront the intersections of white supremacy and transphobia through their organizing. The volume offers insight into the oft-overlooked trans activist scene, particularly as political strategists and the broader news media struggle to make sense of newly-purple states like Georgia.

Charis welcomes Elias Capello () in conversation with SJ Dillon () in celebration of Trans Geographies of Joy: Building Community in Atlanta, an exploration of how trans activists confront the intersections of white supremacy and transphobia. ()

This event is in-person at Charis and virtual on Crowdcast. Please register at the link below:
https://live-charis1747038143.pantheonsite.io/event/2026-06-11/trans-geographies-joy-building-community-atlanta-elias-capello-conversation-sj

Tonight is "Meet Me There," a monthly intergenerational poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction experience curated by trans/genderq***r poet and sound artist Samuel Ace.

June's featured poets are Nicholas Goodly () & Jericho Brown () in celebration of their collections, Star Power and The Tradition.

This event is in-person at Charis and virtual on Crowdcast. More information at the link in our bio!

How Q***r Bookshops Changed the World by A.J.West We’ll be hosting a very special international panel of q***r booksellers with A.J. West this summer, date coming soon!

These q***r co-owners of our q***r bookstore are excited about How Q***r Bookshops Changed the World by A.J. West, out today! It’s the remarkable tale of how q***r bookshops built communities, nourished minds, redefined literature and changed the world.
Angela Marie Gabriel left, Sara Luce Look right

Q***r bookstores make life more fun! Just ask Charis Circle’s Saisha!

Charis Circle board member, Tenijah, knows that q***r bookstores nurture writers and build community!

Charis Circle board member, Kalin, knows the right q***r book from the right q***r bookseller at the right time can change the course of your life!

Community ASL Interpreter, Nat, knows q***r bookshops like Charis do more than sell books, they connect people across geographies, generations, and abilities.

Yarrow’s picks:

· Compassion in Crisis: Building Disaster-Resilient Communities by Kate Rose Weiner, Kailea Rose Loften

· The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane Jackie Morris

Angela’s pick:
· The Umbrella by Sylvia Walker

Kira’s picks:
· The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones: A Novel by Lex Croucher
· Endless Blue Beneath (Daughters of Atlantea #1) by Shannon English

Brittany’s pick:
· Headlights by CJ Leede

Other store picks and upcoming event books:
· The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation by Raquel Willis – now in paperback! Event on 6/9!
· Don't Buy What I'm Selling: On Breaking Up with Advertising and Finally Learning to Love My Whole, Fat Self by Lu Chekowsky – event on 8/12 (details TBA)!
· Transcendent: A Memoir by Laverne Cox
· Of Water Never Ceasing by Kristin Entler —event on 9/26!

Tonight at 6pm, Raquel Willis () in conversation with Alicia Garza () for a celebration of the paperback release of The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation, a passionate, powerful memoir by a trailblazing Black transgender activist, tracing her life of transformation and her work towards collective liberation.

A book signing will follow.

This event is in-person at the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (). Please register at the link below:

https://charisbooksandmore.com/event/2026-06-09/risk-it-takes-bloom-life-and-liberation-raquel-willis-conversation-alicia-garza

Charis & Lavender Lens () are teaming up for Q***R ARCHIVAL FILM NIGHT, a new film series at Charis celebrating historic q***r movies & documentaries!

Next Saturday (June 13th), join Lavender Lens and Charis for a film screening of Outlaw (1994), by Alisa Lebow. Raw and confrontational, this documentary follows Leslie Feinberg, a self-identified "gender outlaw", as ze speaks with passion and intelligence about zir experiences.

We will also be sharing some clips from a recording of Leslie's first event at Charis in 1993.

Please RSVP at the link below – space is limited for this in-person screening! We suggest a $10 donation to help cover the cost of licensing:
https://live-charis1747038143.pantheonsite.io/event/2026-06-13/q***r-archival-film-night-screening-outlaw-1994

We believe in your right to be weird, to be difficult, to be inconvenient, to be unpalatable, or to simply not perform.

In our internal shorthand, Charis is here to center the freaks and the geeks. It’s our joking way of affirming the principle that when our most marginalized folks within our larger LGBTQ umbrella are served, centered, and cherished, all q***r and trans folks will flourish.

For Give Out Day, we are raising a minimum of $10,000 to support our Charis Circle community programming.

Please consider making a gift in honor of a fabulous feminist in your life or in memory of a q***r or trans ancestor who shaped the world in the direction of justice. We need spaces to strategize, organize, connect, and dream the feminist future we all deserve. No gift is too small to help in this fight!

You can also help us win additional $$ by donating during Power Hours TODAY – Thursday, June 4th. Power Hour prizes are based on dollars raised on GiveOUTDay.org from 12pm - 1pm ET and 10pm - 11pm ET.

Together with our partner, Charis Books and More, we host more than 300 events a year. Most of them are free or donation based and most of them are also accessible online from wherever you live in the world. There’s never been a better time to plug into community.

Click the link below to give now:
https://www.giveoutday.org/organization/charisbooksandmore-CharisCircle

Check out this week’s picks from our staff round-up!
Abeo’s pick ():
· Don't Let It Kill You: Poems by Theo LeGro ()

Kira’s pick ():
· Puck: A Novel by Samantha Allen ()

Yarrow’s pick ():
· Homosexual Intifada: A Q***r Palestinian Anthology edited by George Abraham () & Hannah Moushabeck ()

Saisha’s pick ():
· Songs of No Provenance: A Novel by Lydi Conklin () – now in paperback! Event replay available on Youtube.

E.R.’s picks ():
· Mad Eden: A Novel by Morgan Thomas
· When Technology Fails, Revised and Expanded: The Definitive Manual for Preparedness in an Uncertain World () by Matthew Stein

Angela’s picks ():
· Girls Girls Girls by Shoshana von Blanckensee () – now in paperback!
· Palm Meridian: A Novel by Grace Flahive () – now in paperback!

Olivia’s picks:
· The Dry Season: A Memoir of Pleasure in a Year Without S*x by Melissa Febos () – now in paperback! Event replay available on Youtube.
· The Double Dutch Fuss: A Memoir by Phill Branch ()

Other store picks and upcoming event books:
· Star Power: Poems by Nicholas Goodly – event on 6/10!
· The D**e and the Dybbuk (Sapphic Classic) by Ellen Galford – check out the event with Ellen Galford tonight (6/2) on Zoom!
· Better Pets by Leigh Bardugo (), Liz Climo () – signed copies available!
· Breakout by Dhonielle Clayton (), Tiffany D. Jackson (), Nic Stone (), Angie Thomas (), Ashley Woodfolk (), Nicola Yoon ()

Happy Pride Month!! We’re q***r all year but especially excited for our gay agenda (aka our June events calendar) this year. Join us for author events, a new q***r film series, regular programming, and more!

· Trans & Friends--Youth Group
Mon, 6/1/2026 | 7:00pm - 8:00pm | Virtual
· Charis After Dark: An After-Hours Experience
Fri, 6/5/2026 | 7:00pm - 10:00pm | In-person at Charis
· Trans & Friends--Adult Group
Mon, 6/1/2026 | 8:00pm - 9:00pm | Virtual
· Gender-Creative Parenting Collective
Wed, 6/3/2026 | 7:00pm - 8:00pm | Virtual
· Support Charis Circle on Give Out Day!
Thu, 6/4/2026 | All Day | Virtual
· Q***r Ecologies Book Club Reads: Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiq***r Speculative Fiction
Thu, 6/4/2026 | 7:00pm - 8:30pm | In-person at Charis
· Black Feminist Book Club Reads: The Cancer Journals
Sun, 6/7/2026 | 3:00pm - 4:30pm | In-person at Charis
· Lean Cat, Savage Cat: Lauren J. Joseph in conversation with E.R. Anderson
Sun, 6/7/2026 | 5:00pm - 6:00pm | Virtual
· Q/T YOUTH BOARD GAMES @ CHARIS BOOKS AND MORE
Mon, 6/8/2026 | 4:30pm - 6:30pm | In-person
· Say Nephew: On Boyhood, Unclehood, and Q***r Mentorship -- Steven Pfau in Conversation with Charles Stephens
Mon, 6/8/2026 | 7:30pm - 8:30pm | Hybrid
· Save the date: Raquel Willis in conversation with Alicia Garza in celebration of the paperback release of The Risk It Takes to Bloom!
Tue, 6/9/2026 | Details TBA!
· Q***r Romance Book Club Reads: Moonlighters: A Novella Collection
Tue, 6/9/2026 | 7:00pm - 8:30pm | Virtual
· Meet Me There: Featuring Nicholas Goodly & Jericho Brown
Wed, 6/10/2026 | 7:30pm - 8:30pm | Hybrid
· Trans Geographies of Joy: Building Community in Atlanta -- Elias Capello in conversation with SJ Dillon
Thu, 6/11/2026 | 7:30pm - 8:30pm | Hybrid
· Q***r Archival Film Night: Screening of Outlaw (1994)
Sat, 6/13/2026 | 7:00pm - 8:30pm | In-person
· Community Art Making: Cyanotype Printing with Cait!
Sun, 6/14/2026 | 2:00pm - 4:00pm | In-person
· Trans & Friends--Youth Group
Mon, 6/15/2026 | 7:00pm - 8:00pm | In-person
· Trans & Friends--Adult Group
Mon, 6/15/2026 | 8:00pm - 9:00pm | In-person
· Monthly Sapphic Writing Group
Tue, 6/16/2026 | 6:00pm - 8:00pm | In-person
· Earthly Playing Field: Radhika Singh in Conversation with Holiday Simmons
Wed, 6/17/2026 | 7:30pm - 8:30pm | Hybrid
· Cliterati Open Mic Featuring: Stevie Edwards in celebration of The Weather Inside
Thu, 6/18/2026 | 7:30pm - 8:30pm
· Monthly Meet & Mingle for LGBTQ+ Folks 50+
Sat, 6/20/2026 | 3:00pm - 4:30pm | In-person
· Conversion Therapy Dropout: A Q***r Story of Faith and Belonging -- Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez in conversation with Garrard Conley
Sat, 6/20/2026 | 7:00pm - 8:00pm | In-person at Neighborhood Church
· Q/T YOUTH BOARD GAMES @ CHARIS BOOKS AND MORE
Mon, 6/22/2026 | 4:30pm - 6:30pm | In-person
· Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl: Essays-- Amena Brown in conversation with Tayari Jones
Mon, 6/22/2026 | 6:30pm - 7:30pm | In-person at AARL
· Kidliterate Book Club Reads: A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking
Tue, 6/23/2026 | 7:00pm - 8:30pm | Virtual
· Body Weather: Notes on Chronic Illness in the Anthropocene -- Lorraine Boissoneault in conversation with Micaela Blei
Wed, 6/24/2026 | 7:30pm - 8:30pm | Virtual
· Southerners Against Surveillance Systems & Infrastructure Teach-in on Data centers, surveillance, and policing in DeKalb
Thurs, 6/25/2026 | 7:30pm - 9:00pm | In-person at Charis
· LGBTQ+ Book Club Reads: Be Gay, Do Crime: Sixteen Stories of Q***r Chaos
Sat, 6/27/2026 | 10:00am - 11:30am | Virtual
· SFQP 2026 Festival Artist Market
Sat, 6/27/2026 | 12:00pm - 6:00pm | In-person

We’re taking it easy this week to prepare for Charis After Dark on Friday, but we’ve still got our regular programming to look forward to AND a virtual event with Lauren J. Joseph for Lean Cat, Savage Cat!!

More info: https://charisbooksandmore.com/events/calendar

· Trans & Friends--Youth Group
Mon, 6/1/2026 | 7:00pm - 8:00pm | Virtual
· Trans & Friends--Adult Group
Mon, 6/1/2026 | 8:00pm - 9:00pm | Virtual
· Gender-Creative Parenting Collective
Wed, 6/3/2026 | 7:00pm - 8:00pm | Virtual
· Support Charis Circle on Give Out Day!
Thu, 6/4/2026 | All Day | Virtual
· Q***r Ecologies Book Club Reads: Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiq***r Speculative Fiction
Thu, 6/4/2026 | 7:00pm - 8:30pm | In-person at Charis
· Charis After Dark: An After-Hours Experience
Fri, 6/5/2026 | 7:00pm - 10:00pm | In-person at Charis
· Black Feminist Book Club Reads: The Cancer Journals
Sun, 6/7/2026 | 3:00pm - 4:30pm | In-person at Charis
· Lean Cat, Savage Cat: Lauren J. Joseph () in conversation with E.R. Anderson ()
Sun, 6/7/2026 | 5:00pm - 6:00pm | Virtual

Happy Pride Month Eve to all our freaks and geeks. Looking for a way to support the work of Charis Circle through another year of community programming? Our campaign is live and linked in our bio! The donation window runs from now through June 4th at midnight! Read on for more information.

Photo by

Since 1996, Charis Circle has worked alongside the South’s oldest feminist bookstore, Charis Books and More (founded in 1974), to foster sustainable feminist communities, work for social justice, and encourage the expression of diverse and marginalized voices.

Charis is one of the most robust, visible, and accessible (both physically and economically) LGBTQ-centered social justice spaces in the country. As trends come and go, we bring our decades of lived experience to the fight for our lives, our words, our freedom. We were out and proud long before it was safe(r).

We are trans-inclusive, anti-racist, multi-generational, anti-capitalist feminists regardless of the political or economic consequences.

We believe in your right to be weird, to be difficult, to be inconvenient, to be unpalatable, or to simply not perform.

In our internal shorthand, Charis is here to center the freaks and the geeks. It’s our joking way of affirming the principle that when our most marginalized folks within our larger LGBTQ umbrella are served, centered, and cherished, all q***r and trans folks will flourish.

Q***r and trans people are under attack here in Georgia and around the U.S. so we have invested even more of our energy and resources in supporting the health and well-being of trans kids, teens, parents, and adults. We host 4 groups each month devoted to trans people in addition to being the South’s premier destination for trans authors to celebrate their books.

We added a new staff role this year, Assistant Director of Community Engagement, to respond directly to your non-book programming needs. Already in 2026, we hosted mixers, support groups, indie film screenings, parties, and DIY workshops, and there are lots more to come!

Charis is an essential and historic “third space” in Metro Atlanta that asks you to come as you are, share what you wish, and take what you need.

We are uniquely able to speak and act freely because 80% of our income comes from our community members in increments of $10-$100 at a time. We don’t take money from people who seek to control the kinds of speakers we invite or the popular education programs we create for our community.

But that means we really need everyone’s support. We have grown our staff and infrastructure to support all of the programming and events we host, but in order to remain the community space you love and rely on, we need your help.

For Give Out Day, we are raising a minimum of $10,000 to support our Charis Circle community programming.

Please consider making a gift in honor of a fabulous feminist in your life or in memory of a q***r or trans ancestor who shaped the world in the direction of justice. We need spaces to strategize, organize, connect, and dream the feminist future we all deserve. No gift is too small to help in this fight!

Together with our partner, Charis Books and More, we host more than 300 events a year. Most of them are free or donation based and most of them are also accessible online from wherever you live in the world. There’s never been a better time to plug into community.

Join us today: https://www.giveoutday.org/organization/charisbooksandmore-CharisCircle