Congrats to Soapbox co-founder Jennifer Baumgardner!  In September, Akashic Books will release Jennifer's book Abortion & Life, based on her film I Had An Abortion .  The campaign created around the film included t-shirts, screenings, and now a book of portraits and testimonials from women including Gloria Steinem, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Ani Difranco. 

 Learn more about the book at an upcoming reading:

Mon., July 28, 6:30pm
Zandbroz
420 N. Broadway
Fargo, ND
*Cosponsored by the Women's Network of Red River Valley and the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, with an introduction from Mitch Marr of the NDHRC. Wine & cheese reception to follow.

Thurs., July 29, 7:30pm
Magers & Quinn
3038 Hennepin Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN
*Cosponsored by Pro-Choice Resources

Wed., September 3, 6:30-8pm
Busboys & Poets
2021 14th St. NW
Washington, DC

Tues., September 23, 7pm
McNally Robinson Booksellers
52 Prince St.
New York, NY
*Cosponsored by the New York Abortion Access Fund

Wed., September 24, 7pm
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
South Side Works
2705 E. Carson St.
Pittsburgh, PA
*Cosponsored by the November Gang and the Abortion Conversation Project. With an introduction from Claire Keyes, director of Allegheny Reproductive Health

Tues., October 7, 7:30pm
Elliott Bay Book Co.
101 S. Main St.
Seattle, WA
*With Amy Richards, author of Opting In: Having a Child without Losing Yourself. Cosponsored by RH Reality Check and the CAIR Project.

Wed., October 8, 7:30pm
Powell's
1005 W. Burnside
Portland, OR
*With Amy Richards, author of Opting In: Having a Child without Losing Yourself

Thurs., October 9, 7pm
City Lights
261 Columbus Ave.
San Francisco, CA
*With Amy Richards, author of Opting In: Having a Child without Losing Yourself

Sat., October 11, 7:30pm
Skylight Books
1818 N. Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
*With Amy Richards, author of Opting In: Having a Child without Losing Yourself

Sun., October 12, 5pm
Vroman's Bookstore
695 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA
*With Amy Richards, author of Opting In: Having a Child without Losing Yourself

Sat., October 18, 12-2pm
Conkey's Bookstore
226 E. College Ave.
Appleton, WI

We're excited and proud to welcome Ashley Rhodes-Courter to our roster this Spring!  Ashley recently published a memoir about her experiences in foster care and adoption titled Three Little Words.  The video above is of the BR!CK Awards where she won a Golden Brick Award for her work as an advocate for children still in the system.  You can also learn more about Ashley by viewing a CNN profile of here. 

Congrats to Soapbox co-founder, Amy Richards!  Her new book, Opting In: How to Have a Child Without Losing Yourself was recently released -- and just in time for Mother's Day.   Amy's book has so-far been featured in Newsweek, Salon, and others. 

 Soapbox speaker Shelby Knox testified before Congress during a hearing for abstinence-only education.  Her testimony also appeared on Jon Stewart's Daily Show, here.  Go Shelby! 

Take a look at Soapbox founder Amy Richards talking with Dan Savage about abortion, adoption, and what "choice" means. They spoke together at City Arts & Lectures earlier this month.

Soapbox speakers Amy Richards, Gloria Steinem, and Jennifer Baumgardner participated in a panel on feminism last week at Eckerd College.  Fast Forward to 25 minutes into the WMNF's broadcast to hear coverage on the event and for Gloria and Amy's comments! 

Loretta Ross has made it her life’s work to connect reproductive rights with human rights. She is the founder and National Coordinator of Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Collective, co-director of the monumental 2004 National March For Women’s Lives, and former National Program Director for the Center for Democratic Renewal. Ross has appeared in front of Congress and the United Nations numerous times, testifying on issues of civil rights and women’s health. 

T Cooper is the author of Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blonds, Some of the Parts, and A Fictional History of the United States With Huge Chunks Missing. Cooper has taught high school in New Orleans, received an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, and worked for Teen People magazine. The founding member of The Backdoor Boys, a music group that satirized boy bands, Cooper enlightened audiences with provocative on stage antics.

Determined to reclaim the “prime advertising space” of the female chest, Periel Aschenbrand founded the tee-shirt company Body As Billboard. Her first shirt “The Only Bush I Trust Is My Own” was worn by the likes of Gloria Steinem, Susan Sarandon, and Betsey Johnson. Aschenbrand followed it up with a book by the same name- part memoir and part commentary, infused with her outspoken and audacious personality. She has gone on to produce a myriad of different tee shirts, which shed light on everything from domestic abuse to gay marriage.

Anne Fessler is connecting adoption with reproductive justice in her book, The Girls Who Went Away. Chronicling the experiences of young mothers who were coerced into relinquishing their children in the decades before Roe vs. Wade, it explores the shame and loss that reluctant birthmothers experienced. A photography professor and specialist in video and audio installation art, Fessler combines her experiences in the art world with her expertise in gender studies and adoption for truly intriguing presentations.

Courtney E. Martin, the author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body, joins Soapbox with her perspective on how the perfection that so many young women today strive for is destroying their bodies and lives. Her work has been published in many books and anthologies, and she has won the Choice USA Setting The Message Straight Award, Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics, and numerous fellowships.

Julia Serano is a writer, slam poet, activist, musician, and biological researcher. A male-to-female transsexual, she challenges gender roles and explores the stigma of femininity in her work. Her new book, Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, finds a middle ground between social and biological perspectives on gender. She has organized performances in support of Camp Trans, an annual protest outside the Michigan Womyn’s Festival, and has been a finalist in San Francisco-area slam poetry competitions.