In conjunction with Black and other POC writers, booksellers, educators, and other leaders/community members, The Word drafted the open Community Letter (found below) to the owners of Tattered Cover in June 2020.
In late July 2020, we received an update from the owners of Tattered Cover on their ongoing response and continuing learning plans. These plans are outlined on Tattered Cover's blog, found here.
The update acknowledges that long-term work is ahead. We are glad to see the immediate implementation of various items outlined in the letter. We additionally hope to hear updates on the plans for sustaining a dialogue with the community and for regular efforts that will be instituted to promote a more inclusive environment for authors and patrons of Tattered Cover.
Community Letter to the Owners of Tattered Cover Bookstore
6/11/2020
To Len and Kristen, owners of Tattered Cover,
After your recent letters of June 6 & 8, we the undersigned—as members of the literary community of Denver, of Colorado, of the region—write to insist that the concerns raised in response to your initial letter, concerns which reverberate from past events, be met with more than a written apology. We write to insist that Tattered Cover take immediate actions necessary to its responsible participation in our community.
As you acknowledge, neutrality with regard to the murders of innumerable members of the Black community owing to nothing other than the color of their skin does not arise from a neutral political stance. It is not a political matter that humanity demands that an individual not be shot, choked, or beaten to their death simply for being born into their existence. It is not a political matter that members of the Black community should not be made to bear over and over again the loss of sons, sisters, mothers, uncles, fathers, daughters, neighbors, community leaders, stolen by unconscionable brutality. We ask further: where is the safe space you aim to provide for all members of the community when, for its Black members, the most basic right to breathe is one you do not feel you can insist upon?
An independent bookstore is meant to be a trusted partner, a uniting space. Every indie bookstore has its own DNA, personality, voice. We do not expect Tattered Cover to have the same central mission, the same look as its sister indies near or far. But we do expect Tattered Cover to reflect the community of which it aims to be a part. An indie bookstore that is disconnected from its heart cannot remain relevant to the larger body it serves.
Tattered Cover is not simply one independent bookstore among hundreds: it has sought out and plays a deeply interconnected role with the literary and educational networks of this region and beyond. Its ordering choices affect our local libraries’ lists; its choices of authors for school visits affect availability of educational programming; its decision to leverage its visibility to create programs such as the Teen Book Con or the Colorado Big Summer Read affect which stories and voices are most amplified. As representatives of your store, a large, respected entity that is looked to as a model across the Mountains and Plains bookselling region, you are asked to serve on influential bookselling and book award committees. None of us would be in the literary world if we did not believe in the power of storytelling to shape our culture. In each of these spaces, you do far more than sell a few books—you serve as an example of the culture you mean to build.
Championing the free exchange of ideas is a laudable central goal, but turns quickly dangerous without clarity of the principles you seek to steward. Free expression is curbed when voices are muted by state-sanctioned genocide. Additionally, holding your business in line with the silencing of systemic marginalization of communities of color does nothing but deny your readers the knowledge of these groups.
For Tattered Cover to continue in this community as a trusted partner, as well as a champion of free expression, we insist that you take immediate action as outlined here:
1. Tattered Cover will articulate specific goals for increased hiring and retention of individuals from marginalized backgrounds, to bring its staff in line with the demographics of the Denver-area. Tattered Cover will additionally create a meaningful program for promotion for new hires and existing staff to further the goal of a representative employee makeup. Tattered Cover will commit to hiring/promotion to managerial and book-buying roles for individuals from marginalized backgrounds, rather than with a focus centered on its café, stock, and floor bookselling positions. Tattered Cover will additionally articulate specific steps it will take to train upper management with regard to the presence of systemic workplace racism.
2. Tattered Cover will additionally develop a plan, with the input of employees, to ensure that its work environment is safe, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of employees from marginalized backgrounds. As a first step, Tattered Cover will acknowledge the pain caused to its employees in releasing the June 6 statement, will issue an apology to its employees and employees who recently voluntarily separated, and will seek meaningful input from these parties with regard to response to this action. This will also include planning to ensure that future employee concerns relating to diversity and inclusion are meaningful heard and addressed.
3. Tattered Cover will articulate specific goals for increasing representation among its carried titles, to ensure that its lists adequately reflect the demographics of the United States. Tattered Cover will additionally articulate specific goals for ensuring that authors invited for in-store events adequately reflect these demographics and will commit meaningful marketing resources to ensuring those events are promoted. Tattered Cover will also articulate specific goals for increasing representation of small and independent presses, especially those publishing Black authors and authors from other marginalized backgrounds, among its carried titles. These goals should include the store’s research and outreach initiatives to invite a wider variety of small publishers to submit their catalogs.
4. Tattered Cover will immediately desist in charging any and all fees to authors not represented by major publishing houses in order to carry those titles in Tattered Cover stores or in relation to author events. Authors from marginalized backgrounds are far less likely to be associated with major publishers; fees that limit the reach of their works are simply another form of systemic bias preventing these authors from accessing resources equitably.
5. Tattered Cover will donate 10% of its paid promotional space (i.e. endcaps, standing displays) to highlight Black authors and authors from other marginalized backgrounds.
6. Tattered Cover will continue to support authors and community members who participate in actions for basic human rights, including this and future such actions.
7. Tattered Cover will articulate a policy to ensure that its store environments are welcoming to guests from marginalized communities and will be transparent about its policies. For example, Tattered Cover should consider development of an alternative “disruptive behavior protocol” that does not include police intervention for petty offenses. Every police interaction exposes Black and other marginalized community members to deadly risks.
8. Tattered Cover will articulate guiding values and principles, determined in conjunction with relevant community organizations, for future educational and public interest programming. Any future educational or large-scale community programming must be managed in conjunction with a voting-empowered board that includes relevant community members. In determining where such programming resources are placed, Tattered Cover will ensure a focus on underserved communities. Tattered Cover will take immediate steps to manage assets, such as ARCs that can be donated, to provide more sustained and consistent support to communities in need. Additionally, Tattered Cover will consider supporting organizations with experience and expertise in any relevant programming, rather than spearheading such programming within the bookstore.
9. Tattered Cover will acknowledge the influence and responsibility it holds within the literary community. The owners of Tattered Cover will take a minimum of one (1) year to learn from and listen to its community; during that time, in lieu of serving directly on book award judging committees and in other similar roles, the owners will seek to identify and recommend individuals of marginalized backgrounds to serve in such roles.
10. Tattered Cover will articulate a set of guiding principles in its stewardship of reader privacy and free expression. These principles will reflect the distinction between basic truths of human rights and political speech. Clarity and transparency on these goals is necessary to rebuild community trust and to ensure future accountability.
We insist on clear articulation of Tattered Cover’s plans and response to the above stated action-items within 30 days of this letter. Until that response is received, the undersigned individuals and organizations will not pursue purchases or partnerships with Tattered Cover.
In closing, we share a statement from a former employee who recently resigned to protest the handling of this matter. “This is voluntary evil, white America is choosing to do this. America is a rootless land. This country did not just end up this way. It was built this way. And the spectacle of a black person terrorized by a white person, struggling to breathe and stay alive while other folks looked on, is not new; in fact, it’s foundational to America's becoming. This violent America was built on king cotton on stolen grounds. To be black in America and survive is to be of dual wakefulness on how to survive a country bent on your not becoming, all the while clasping for dear life onto a dream, to fantasize that it will one day include you.”
Sincerely,
The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary
Viniyanka Prasad, Executive Director, The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary
Bunmi Ishola, Board Chair, The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary
Chris Aguilar Garcia, Board Member, The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary
Liza M. Bevams, Board Treasurer, The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary
Manuel Aragon, Board Member, The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary; Lighthouse Writers Workshop
Olivia Abtahi, Board Secretary, The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary
Aida Lilly, Communications Fellow, The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary
KT Literary, LLC
Kerrie Joy, The Kaleidoscope Project
Chinelo Tyler, The Kaleidoscope Project
Kristin Nelson, President, Nelson Literary Agency, LLC
Tallahj Curry, Literary Assistant, Nelson Literary Agency, LLC
Quressa Robinson, Literary Agent, Nelson Literary Agency, LLC
Danielle Burby, Literary Agent, Nelson Literary Agency, LLC
Joanna MacKenzie, Literary Agent, Nelson Literary Agency, LLC
Angie Hodapp, Director of Literary Development, Nelson Literary Agency, LLC
Courtney Milan, Colorado author
Suzi Q. Smith
Bobby LeFebre, Colorado Poet Laureate
Brenna Yovanoff
Sandhya Menon
Mariam Osman
Jade
Elise
Abi
Simone Liggins
Ryan Dorman
Virginia Webster
Eileen Silverthorne
pavlos stavropoulos
Julia E. Torres
Angela Maria Spring, Owner, Duende District Bookstore
Michael Henry, Executive Director, Lighthouse Writers Workshop
Brooke Dilling
Helen Armstrong, Administrative Specialist, Lighthouse Writers Workshop
Maria Gabriela Guevara, author, reader
Cynthia Swanson, Colorado author
Carleen Brice, author, former employee
Carolina Alvarado Molk
Shaleen DeStefano, Urban Life Wash Park Magazine
Olivia Waite, author
Ali Sweeney, customer
Kelsey Bowe, poet, former customer
Patricia McCrystal, writer
Alyssia Bevams, customer
Jake Arlow, author
Brice Maiurro
Carrie Bindschadler, teacher, customer
Anya Prosser, former customer, teacher
Larisa Hohenboken, editor
Iden Sheng, customer
Jessica Montgomerie, customer
Eun Jung Decker
Suzanne Brockmann, author
Chelsea Bashford, former customer
Jenna Miles, Center for Visual Arts
Hillary Leftwich, author
Kit Nowell
Sinjin Jones, storytelling artist, former customer
Misty Saribal
Tara Roberts, former employee
Andrea Rexilius, customer
Brian McElmurry, customer
Compost Colorado, customer
Monterey Buchanan, author, customer
Christina McClelland
Caitlin Sulik, writer, lover of books, former customer
Bailey Pittenger
Deborah Jang
Renee Marino, Dirt Media, independent publisher
Tori Thacher, editorial director
Joy Carletti
Nina Reyes Rosenberg, Mala Forever, LLC
Eric Baus, author
Kateri Kramer, Lighthouse Writers, former customer
Alice Gerfen, bookseller
Sarah LaRue
Natalie Winslow, former employee, customer
AP Kramaric
Natja Soave, customer
S.E. Fleenor, author, essayist, former customer
Michelle Cantwell, teacher, writer
Vanesha McGee, poet, writer, former customer
Izra Rodriguez, employee, customer
Heather Garcia, customer
Vince Trujillo, educator/program manager
Amy Quinton, author
Jen Curran, Future Publishers of America
Gemma Webster, customer, Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop Student
Ahja Fox, customer, Colorado poet
Ken Arkind, poet
Sheyenne Magana, former customer
Scott Beck, writer
Nawal Nader-French, EIC: Inverted Syntax
Herman Luis Chavez, former customer
Emily Marie Passos Duffy, reader, poet
Marjorie Florestal, professor, novelist
Bekki Forstrom, former employee, customer
Amanda Worden, customer
Erica Bates, former employee
Patrycja Humienik, poet, writer, former customer
Roberto Martinez, playwright, poet, comics author, former customer
Ashley Wallis, community health worker, author, reader
Mickey Thompson, teacher
Cydney Trapp, customer
Sophia Cordero, community member, customer
Rebecca Hunter, author
Rita Ruderman, former customer
Ashley Bunn, former customer, local writer, editorial staff: Inverted Syntax
Matilde Marrero VanFleet, former employee
Amy Jo Cousins, author
Aleeya Wilson, MFA, Denver poet
Leah Koch, Owner: The Ripped Bodice Bookstore
Michael William Prince, writer, publisher, poet
Brittany O., customer
Jef Otte. writer, reader
Z. Hunter, customer
Mary Catherine La Mar, writer
Lucy Sroka, former employee
Marie Scott
Maxx Zenisek
Selah Saterstrom, Director of Creative Writing: University of Denver; writer
Anna Berthon, bookseller
Claire Heywood
Matilda (Tihleigh) Roach, InfoSec analyst, former employee
Maureen Lincke
Sarah Elizabeth Schantz, customer, author, writing teacher at Lighthouse and Front Range Community College, owner and teacher of (W)rites of Passage Workshop Series, daughter of The Rue Morgue Bookstore and Press
Katie O., teacher
Lauren Brown, customer
Diana Schmitt, former employee
Katie Koivisto, social worker, community member, customer
Andrea Giron Mathern, researcher
Kyle Sutherland, Islamic writer, poet, punk emcee, Sufi
Sydney Rakestraw, DPI alum
Julie Carr, writer, professor: CU Boulder
Nami Thompson, author
Mary Ann Dimand, Colorado poet, reader
Tony Mancus
Avry Williams, customer
D. L. Cordero, author
Kayla Borden, DPI Alum, former customer
Christopher Merkner, writer, teacher, customer
Fernando Gomez, poet
Adina Glickstein, customer, Colorado writer
Andre Hoilette, poet, former customer
Philip Clapham, customer
Yvette Frida Lonteen y Torres, customer
Julie Piller, customer
Catherine Bathe, writer, student
Kate Nicholson, lawyer, writer
Lindsay Turner, poet, professor of creative writing: University of Denver
Jo Cusick, RN, customer
Kelsey Pepin, customer
Hayley Brooks, poet, former customer
Beth Leyba, writer, community organizer
Carol, teacher
Mary McEuen, customer
Angelika Bravo, former customer
Antonio Escamilla, writer, former customer
Shy Yant, CPhT, customer
Em Leo, student, customer
Eleanor Swensson, poet, co-director of Writers Warehouse, former customer
Caspian Samuel, artist
Victoria Lopez, customer
Ella Longpre, author
Olivia, customer
Raymond Cober, DPI alum, author, customer, member: Denver Branch NLPW, Chairperson: Parker Writers
Hannah Bowe, editor, customer
Lee FG
NiNi Banh, customer
Shawnie Hamer, author, former customer
Christy Bouchard, customer
David Dye, author
Tiffany Fitzgerald, customer
Tim Earley
Evelyn Hampton, author
Robyn Parker, customer
Whit Griffin, poet, former customer
Lizzie, customer
Elisabeth Rappe, reader
Camila Biddulph, local journalist, customer
TJ Bishop, customer
HR Hegnauer, book designer, author
Kevin Reidy, customer
Adriana Gonzales, customer
Ashleigh Ruehrdanz, educator, customer
Shannon Tharp, writer, librarian
Emily Browning, customer
Tasneem Muhammad, educator, writer, teacher, parent
Yesica Mirambeaux
Diane Sullivan, customer
Yolanda Anyon, customer
Jen Simon, customer
Sarah Richards Graba, writer, educator, former customer
Jesse Morse, adjunct professor: Clark College, former customer
Emily McCabe, customer
Maria Diaz, royalty analyst
Steve Smith, customer
Jessica Comola
Shannon Wheeler, writer, reader, editor: Colorado State Capitol
Elyssa Lewis, poet, former customer
Jaimie Gershen, creative, customer
Lainie Formby, former employee, librarian
Carmen Cordova, former employee
Bryan Marmolejo, customer
Samuel Clare Knights, writer
Sara Veglahn, writer, instructor: Naropa University
Erinrose Mager
Toni Riggio, customer
Anthony
Max Miller, customer
Linda Hladik
Alicya Tebo, former employee
LJ Holder, customer, lover of books
Samantha Miller, customer
Sarah Slater, customer
Katie P., former employee
Violet Mitchell, writer, former customer
Melanie Merle, writer, Chickasaw Nation Multimedia: communications division
Teresa Carmody, writer
Esther Hernandez
Kate Crowe, librarian, customer, Friends of Tattered Cover member
Ami Heinrich-LaGreca, publicist, customer
Julie M.
Kate Shylo, author
Harris Armstrong, writer, bibliophile
Amelia Cessna, former employee
Jessica Jones, criminal defense lawyer, customer
Leigh Ann Cowan, DPI alum
Sloane Kohnstamm, reader, producer: Who Cares?! Podcast
Erin Wilkins
Haydn Jeffers, DPI alum, editor, former customer
Stan Yan, author, SCBWI member, customer
Dennis James Sweeney, writer, customer
Iley Cao
Angela Nguyen, designer
Dustin Resch, aspiring author, former employee
Theo Spain, former customer
Penny S. Evans, customer
Grace Johnson, special issues editor: Peninsula Publishing & Distribution
Jen Mart, former customer
Claire Wright, library assistant
Yvonne Su
Carlos Francisco Rodriquez, customer
Laura Bond, writer, customer
Sprout Conner
Amber Taufen, editor, writer, former Friend of Tattered Cover member, customer
Katherine D. Morgan
Dwan Dawson-Tape, indie bookstore employee
Damon May, reader, former customer
Kristen Andersen, writer, translator, customer
Magdalen Thulson, teacher, former customer
Melissa Rolli, journalist, aspiring novelist, editor, DPI alum, former customer
Carrie Olson, customer
Lauri Lynnxe Murphy, artist, writer, former employee
Laura Donohue, book blogger
Lindsey Earl, grant writer, author, creator, activist
Joel Warner, writer, author, instructor: Lighthouse Writers Workshop
Julie Whitehead, former customer
Sarah Olsen, customer
Erin Severs, former customer
Erin, conditional customer
Monica Romero, former customer
Erin C., customer
Aron Macarow, writer
Laurel Harris, customer
Megan Noone, customer
Anthony Chavez, former customer
Shannon Schmit, customer
Maddie Hosack
Glenn Jacoby, reader
Cass Eddington, poet
Allyson Mills, poet, artist, teacher, former customer
Laura Wolf, civil rights attorney
Alexus Blanding, DPI alum
Karen Spooner, teacher
Liana Kiddy-Gan, library assistant, customer
Teow Lim Goh, author, customer
Annalouiza Armendariz, parent, homeschool teacher
Sydney Chinowsky, writer, editor, former customer
Sara Gordon, customer
Susanna Donato, customer
Adrian Barron, customer
Michael Martin, bibliophile, customer
Sonja Thomas, author
Meg Wells, bookworm
Madden Ott, customer
Bree Davies, Denver media
Monique Bourdage, former employee
Susan Squibb, Cannabis Maven: writer
Maxfield Sparrow, author, MFA candidate
Melissa Pettek, former customer
Tari St.Marie, teacher, writer, customer
Catherine O’Neill Thorn, Art from Ashes, Inc.
Kelly Guest
Joanna Szabo, bookseller
Katherine Peterson, former customer
Tara Milligan, customer, neighbor
Matthew Omalley, customer, neighbor
Cecily Cullen
Kathy Moss Bradford
Mandy Rose, writer
Claire Radtke, teacher, customer
Reuben Gregory, former customer, former employee
Sarah Jackson
Meredith, customer
Scott Sawyer, author
Joy Roulier Sawyer, author
Melissa L. Amstutz, writer, bookseller
Nadine Jackson, customer
Lily Williams, author, illustrator, customer
Adam Ross, RosscoLorenzo General Store & Newsstand
Ashlan Christensen, teacher, former customer
Jody Nolting
Susan Smolinski
Brianna Robinson
Madison Hosack, customer, librarian
Kendall Kultgen
Luke Dan
Jordan Lopez
Emily, lover of books, art and media community spaces advocate
Nancy Brehm, customer
Kat Burney, former customer
Kate West, DPI alum, technical editor, former customer
Susie Gallaudet, customer
Jessica Hatch, freelance editor: Hatch Editorial Services
Matt West, customer
Atlas Zaina, customer
Jessica Landes
Brittany McKeighan, former customer
Daniel McKeighan, former customer
Rachel Waugh, former customer
Ashley McCulloch, teacher, customer
Nancy Tranzow, former customer
Katherine Keegan, customer
Leah Cleeland, assistant professor, former customer
Jonathan B., educator, customer
Garrett L. Mengel, customer
Renee Ruderman, poet, professor
Yoni Gottlieb, music producer, customer
Seth, teacher
Daniel Mazur, Soul Stories
Shelsea, Soul Stories
Maureen O., teacher, customer
Rebecca Chickadel, customer
Liliana Cervantes, customer, community member
Heidi Cooper, parent, activist, social worker
Emma Will, teacher
Renee Vander Veer, customer
Jessie Romero, student, former customer
Rebecca Almon, attorney, reader
Richie Snook
Connie M., customer
Stephanie Rosenbaum, teacher
Liz Noyes, customer
Esteban Gomez, customer
Jana Everett, customer
Djeane Peters, customer
Joe Ponce, writer
Matt Suprunowicz, customer, literacy teacher
Karin Ranta-Curran, customer
Benjamin Waugh, Friends of Tattered Cover member, customer
Alli Fehlman, customer
Carey Jones, editor
Erin Gaskins, educator
Nick Plumber, author
Corey Ryan
Angie Harsh, customer
Nick McIlroy, explorer
Darion Ramos
Raye Holab, teacher, writer, customer
Cassidy Matthew, former customer
Andrew Motts, artist, customer
Madeline, customer
Tiffany Stephens
Teague von Bohlen, writer, creative writing professor
Sam Kennefick, customer, educator
Kyle Eversley, customer
Jeffrey Scanlan, customer
Brittney Lomond, customer
Eleanor Kurucz, customer
Kathryn Downing, librarian, former customer
Elise Pagel, therapist, customer
Jill Karno
Maddie Bobrick, customer
Kara Patterson, customer, former employee
Jordan Bobrick, special education teacher
Chris Herr, Climate Solution Center
Josie Russell, journalist, customer
Patsy Everett, educator
Hannah Harsin Drager, teacher, customer
Kal Rajhi, former customer
Kate Munz, former customer
David Burris-DeBoskey, customer
Kristen Henriksen, customer
S.M. Cunningham, author, activist
Abby Shea Pigott, marketing & publicity: Farcountry Press
Lucy, musician, educator
Alece, customer
Robert Cox, customer
Christina Mulcahy, reader, former customer
Corinne Daddario, customer
Caroline Roberts, customer
Charlotte Willard, customer
Ruby Pierce, customer
Maggie Burkhardt
Calley Pierce, customer
Matthew Downey, customer
A.V. Schilt
Rachael Carroll, customer
Lauren Hayden, customer
Margaret Melhus, customer
Riley Hutchings, customer
Katie Wamsley, customer
Anna Smith, customer
Keith Garcia, customer
Meredith V., customer
Taylor Kirby, writer, customer
Courtney Gallagher, psychologist
Taryn Martin, customer
Jenna Vogen, therapist, educator, customer, neighbor
Sarah Bolin, former customer
Jill Rittersbacher, customer
Meg Thompson, student, customer
Nathaniel Routh, attorney
Joe Kelley
Irish Augustine, reader
Anthony Salazar, student
Susan Allspaw Pomeroy, author, poet
Taylor Harrell, customer
Ursa Nuffer-Rodriguez, customer
Deyja Enriquez, customer
Carolina Adams, customer
Amber W. Pearson, psychotherapist, customer
Ayla, customer
Emily O., writer, student, customer
Mollie, musician, customer
Sangeeta Mehta, emeritus board member: The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary
Allison Green, customer
Nikki Tomkinson, customer
Virginia Gold, customer
Charli Renken, former Friends of Tattered Cover member, writer
Camila Navarrette, customer, writer
Stefanie Molina, editor, customer
Cat Shea, customer
Jamie Allen, DPI alum, educator
Megan Walters
Katie Priske, former customer
Christina Robison, former customer
Anna Sparlin, former customer
Ian Huschle
Amber Baack, social worker, reader, customer
Dani Buchheister, customer
Ana Horn, student, former customer
Michelle Driessnack, DPT student
Kate Leos, reader, parent of readers, former customer, daughter of an independent
Sara Hildreth, teacher, host: Novel Pairings podcast, creator: @fictionmatters
Jenna Lane, writer, editor, member: Lighthouse Writers, customer
Kiana Marsan
Jesaka Long
Robert Harbour, customer
Norris Rettiger, bookseller, former employee, writer
JM Samson, customer
Theresa Rozul Knowles
Kane Klipka, librarian, organizer, former school and outreach coordinator: Tattered Cover
Kelly Crandall, former customer
Caroline Brown, writer, community member, ally, former bookseller
D. McGruder, customer
Matthew Hamilton, former customer
Moira Sens, customer
Teresa Grayce, educator, former employee, customer
Karen Neville, librarian, customer
Nat Gove
Brandi Stanley, Tilt West Board, writer, editor
Naomi Zawadzki, sociology student: CU Boulder
Kate Carmody, writer, teacher
Srinitya Tripuraneni, customer
Yesenia Nava, customer
Andrew LJ
Kuwa Jasiri Indomela, Authentic Creations Publishing: Founding Executive
Kate Livingston, writer
Troy Livingston, former customer
Brenda Hardwick, author, owner: Shine Your Light Publishing, LLC
Elena Klaver, conditional/former customer, community activist, Spanish interpreter
Paul Mulligan, former customer
Kelsey Turner, customer
Steve Holz-Russell, customer
Shyanne Chavez, DPI student
Oak Slater, customer