RuPaul surprised followers this week by announcing the opening of a “revolutionary” online bookstore. Allstora launched just in time to sell copies of RuPaul’s new memoir, The House of Hidden Meanings, but just two days after opening, the bookstore is already causing a bit of controversy.
To answer your first question: Yes, the Allstora controversy has something to do with conservatives and far-right dingbats—just not in the way you might think. But let’s rewind for just a minute. On March 4, RuPaul posted a TikTok announcing the launch of Allstora, which is not the name of an AI-generated drag queen, but a new online bookstore.
Co-founded by RuPaul, author and historian Eric Cervini, and drag performer and actor Adam Powell, Allstora is touted as a “revolutionary, all-inclusive world of book lovers” and an alternative to Amazon that promises to be more profitable for authors. According to a section on the homepage, the store’s profit-splitting model means that, “When you buy a book from Allstora, the author makes double what they’d make from any other retailer.” I won’t pretend to understand the publishing business or its math, but having another alternative to Amazon seems like a good thing—especially one started by members of the LGBTQ+ community with an emphasis on inclusive content and a mission to fight book bans nationwide.
Allstora offers over 10 million titles in addition to a monthly book club and a paid subscription; for $5 a month, members get 50% off their first order, 30% off of all orders, a discount on RuPaul’s book club, and—the biggie—100% of the profits from books you purchase go straight to the authors. There’s also the Rainbow Book Bus, Allstora’s charitable effort “dedicated to distributing diverse books to communities facing book bans and censorship, especially in LGBTQ+ communities.”
Okay, you say, all of this sounds great, so what’s the problem???
The problem, according to critics on social media, is that Allstora’s massive book catalog includes controversial selections, among them multiple editions of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and a children’s book by Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik. In the Politics section, for instance, you’ll find books by bell hooks, Angela Davis, and Ijeoma Oluo alongside Ted Cruz’s Unwoke: How To Defeat Cultural Marxism in America, Vivek Ramaswamy’s Woke, Inc., and Rand Paul’s Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up. You can even buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution or the Unabomber’s manifesto.
While Allstora is committed to amplifying LGBTQ+ voices, the site sells titles written by bigoted figures such as Kirk Cameron, Riley Gaines, and Matt Walsh. You’ll certainly find those books for sale, but browsing the vast library, you’ll also notice that the majority of books aren’t offensive. More importantly, Allstora says that it donates “100% of proceeds derived from titles deemed harmful by our community to organizations that fight book bans.” If anyone buys Matt Walsh’s transphobic What Is a Woman?, for any reason, 100% of the profits will be donated to an organization that opposes Matt Walsh and everything he stands for. Spite charity, if you will.
And Allstora is up front about its decision to include controversial books in its store. When you visit the Allstora website, the first thing you’ll see is a popup that reads:
We’re a marketplace for all books and all stories, with a focus on elevating marginalized voices.
Here, you may find books you disagree with. We certainly don’t agree with every book we carry, either. And that’s worthy of a conversation.
We cannot fight the ideologies of hate if we lack the ability to study, understand, and react to them. We do that by reading books.
We donate 100% of proceeds derived from titles deemed harmful by our community to organizations that fight book bans. Our philanthropic initiative, the Rainbow Book Bus, is currently driving across America to deliver 10,000 banned books to the communities affected most by anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
Above all, we believe that banning books is never the answer.
We hope you’ll join the conversation. We’re glad you’re here.
Fighting censorship with more censorship isn’t productive. And yes, the ideologies of people like Hitler and Rand Paul are dangerous, but hiding them and pretending they don’t exist isn’t helpful to combating their harms. Allstora makes it so that users can flag offensive titles to make sure the company marks them accordingly and that all profits from those sales go to the appropriate charity organization.
Maybe I sound like a corporate shill by defending RuPaul’s bookstore (still not cool with the fracking), but I also fail to see the problem with operating like any other major bookstore or library—with the exception of donating proceeds from books written by bigots and assholes to charities committed to fighting the very book bans those jerks support.
(featured image: NBC)
