Literary Activism

Indie Bookstores Boycott FedEx Over NRA Ties

Nikki VanRy

Contributing Editor

Nikki VanRy is a proud resident of Arizona, where she gets to indulge her love of tacos, desert storms, and tank tops. She also writes for the Tucson Festival of Books, loves anything sci-fi/fantasy/historical, drinks too much chai, and will spend all day in bed reading thankyouverymuch. Follow her on Instagram @nikki.vanry.

Phoenix-based indie bookstore, Changing Hands Bookstore, recently announced that they’ll no longer be using FedEx for their outbound shipping services, due to the company’s ties to the NRA.

The NRA-sponsor boycott began in the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting, and targets companies who have ties to the National Rifle Association, hoping to damage the organization’s bottom line and support. Most of these companies offered discounted products and services to NRA members.

Other bookstores have also joined in the boycott, including The Ripped Bodice, a California-based romance bookstore.

Since the boycott began, companies like Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Hertz, and MetLife, have dropped their NRA deals. FedEx is one of the last major holdouts. While a recent FedEx Tweet gave lip-service to opposing civilian use of assault rifles, they still haven’t severed their relationship with the NRA.

Changing Hands’ boycott is only one aspect of the bookstore’s continuing support of public discourse and political action. In the past month, they’ve also hosted Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors and partnered with the ACLU of Arizona for a Read, Write, Resist event to raise public awareness about the U.S. criminal justice system.

This, of course, is just one example of many among booksellers, librarians, and all readers of literary-based activism and discourse within the current political climate. And, at Book Riot, we’re here for that.

Hit the comments to share news about any booksellers you know that are boycotting FedEx or other companies with ties to the NRA!