Alphabet Book Club is a brand new female-led, family-owned, queer, independent online bookstore in Aotearoa - New Zealand, selling books
and products with positive LGBTQIA+ representation.
They believe that books are for everyone and all Kiwis should be able to see themselves represented in books without
paying for excessive shipping, waiting for months, and supporting large international conglomerates. Their slogan is
‘Books Are For Everyone’ and it is their hope that all people, rainbow or otherwise, can benefit from reading outside of
their lived experience. While Alphabet Book Club has a primary focus on Young Adult, Middle Reader and Children's books,
they also stock Adult and Non-Fiction titles.
The Alphabet Book Club community is made up of book lovers and people from, by and for the rainbow community. With every
book purchased, a portion is donated to non-profit groups that are looking after Queer, Trans, Intersex and Takatāpui
people. For the 2021/2022 year, the company is donating to Gender Minorities Aotearoa, a national organisation supporting transgender people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds.
Founding Book Master, Chelsea (she/they), reads every title held in stock so she is able to help answer any questions
that deciding customers have about appropriateness for gift giving and reading ages. It also means the Alphabet Team
intimately understand the representation in the books they have in store and thus, there is always a good
recommendation.
The Human Rights Commission report from June 2020 found that young Kiwis with diverse sexual orientation or gender
identity were up to four-and-a-half times more likely than other students to be bullied. In 2021, Aotearoa still has one
of the highest rates of youth suicide in the developed world, with even higher rates for LGBTQIA+ people. The kaupapa of
Alphabet Book Club is to work towards reducing these statistics. Their goal is to provide resources and support for
rainbow kids and their families. They'll be creating spaces, both online and in real life, where their customers can
feel safe to share and talk about books and life as a part of the wonderful rainbow community.
On Tuesday 7 December, Alphabet Book Club will launch The Alphabet Book Club Book Box, a monthly subscription that
includes a Young Adult novel and several themed gifts that relate to the story. The boxes will be sent out in the first
week of every month and at the end of each month, their Book Chat podcast will talk about the subscription box, including the book, themes, authors and items that were chosen to go
along with it – a great holiday season gift for the Young Adults in your life!