Today is Alphabettes.org’s 10th Birthday! On our first birthday, we celebrated with cake. On our fifth birthday, we celebrated with wood type. Five years later, we’re still here and this time, we’re celebrating the milestone with a book! Our book.
Alphabettes Soup: Feminist Approaches to Type
384 pages
100+ contributors
55 original articles, essays, and interviews
120+ typefaces by women and non-binary people
Alphabettes Soup: Feminist Approaches to Type features over 55 articles, essays, and interviews exploring intersections between culture, language, business practices, technology, and type. It also includes interviews with Alphabettes members, visual histories, and reflections on past and ongoing initiatives. More than an anthology, the book is conceived as a type specimen, showcasing over 120 typefaces designed by women and non-binary individuals. Aimed at challenging dominant narratives in type history and contemporary practice, the book ultimately seeks to inspire future generations to create their own decentralized design communities.
What’s inside?
- The Alphabettes origin story: radical spontaneity, humor, and friendship in action.
- Impacts of key Alphabettes initiatives like the Mentorship Program, AlphaCrit, and the iconic 24-Hour Hangouts.
- Highlights from the Alphabettes blog, from the beloved Love Letters series to the timeless Dear Alphabettes advice column.
- Insights on type design, pedagogy, and multiscript politics.
- Cultural histories of scripts from Armenia to Zimbabwe.
- Interviews with over a dozen leading type practitioners, educators, and agitators.
- Our crazy typesetting rule: One dypeface. One designer. Used only once. Over 120 typefaces in use designed by women and gender-diverse individuals.
Need more? Just a few of the 55 articles you’ll find in the pot:
- “Marginal Presence: Gender Bias in 21st Century Type (So Far)” by Sibylle Hagmann
- “Tools of Resistance: Ukrainian Type History in Contemporary Context” by Kateryna Korolevtseva
- “Tu Letra es Poderosa: 8M Poster-Making Across México” by Romina Hernandez
- “On Designing Type: Writing the Book I Wanted to Read” by Karen Cheng
- “أحْرُف وكَلِمَاتْ وقِصَص: Toward a Multiscript Type Design Program” by Naïma Ben Ayed
- “Brave Spaces: Bye Bye Binary in Conversation” by Amy Papaelias and Nina Paim
- ”Behind the Headers: 250+ Ways to Say Alphabettes” by Dafne Martinez, including the full ten-year archive of blog headers
- “In Good Faith: Advice on Running a Font Foundry” by Joyce Ketterer
- “Rereading, Rewriting, Rethinking: On Alternative Publishing Practices” by Pooja Saxena
… and so much more!
Alphabettes x Bikini Books
In March 2024, I reached out to Nina Paim who had just hatched a new independent feminist publisher, Bikini Books, with an idea that had been living rent-free in my brain for too long: an edited volume celebrating ten years of Alphabettes, published in time to celebrate its 10th birthday. Nina was intrigued. I was relieved.
Tereza Bettinardi joined in the kitchen as the book’s typographic chef, unphased by the absolutely bonkers idea of using different typefaces for every article title and text. Eight months later, Nina found herself at my kitchen table in New York, reading early article drafts, brainstorming typographic puns, planning DIY fundraising, and making soup from scratch. Tereza found herself concocting the book cover out of hundreds of glyphs, sprinkling in a few hidden messages to savor.
After a year and a half of editing, meeting, scheming, designing, and spreadsheeting, we’re almost ready to serve. While copy editor extraordinaire Caren Litherland puts the finishing touches on the texts and Tereza whips up a font feast for your eyes, today celebrates the start of the pre-order of Alphabettes Soup. Bon Appétit!
How Can You Support Independent Feminist Publishing? Pre-order your copy of Alphabettes Soup today!
It’s not easy to operate as an independent publisher in the world today (it never was of course!). Thanks to the geopolitical hellscape we’re all living in, deranged executive orders and dystopian tariffs impact even the mightiest of small publishers just trying to make beautiful books about typography and feminism (while maintaining ethical production practices as much as possible). Your support of this project means the world to us and the best way to keep this pot boiling is to pre-order your copy and perhaps one for a friend? This soup is made for sharing!
Soup Sponsors
This book is coming together thanks to the generous sponsorship of the following companies in the design and type industry:
adcStudio • Bizlet • Blast Foundry • Blaze Type • Commercial Type • Contrast Foundry • Dalton Maag • Darden Studio • Dinamo • DJR • Fatype • Fontself • Fontstand • Formagari • Frere-Jones Type • Future Fonts • Glyphs • Kerns and Cairns • Klim Type Foundry • Kontour • Kilotype • Lineto • Morisawa • Nova Type • OH no Type Co • Plau Design • Readymag • R-Typography • SwissTypefaces • TypeMates • TypeTogether • TypeNetwork • Typotheque • Universal Thirst • XYZ Type • Zetafonts
We also thank all of the individual donors who have generously contributed via PayPal and will also be acknowledged in the book. You know who you are ♡.
Le Colophon
Organized and edited by Amy Papaelias
Foreword by Teal Triggs
Copy and line editing by Caren Litherland
Editorial assistance by Xindha Yaeger
Coordination by Nina Paim
Publishing assistance by Sera van de Water
Design by Studio Tereza Bettinardi
Design assistance by Guilherme Mohr and Lou Huguenin
Illustrations by Vitória Bas
Authors: Alessia Mazzarella ♡ Amy Papaelias ♡ Anna Srikitkul ♡ Bianca Berning ♡ Boom Promphan Suksumek ♡ Briar Levit ♡ Carine Vadet-Perrot ♡ Catherine Dixon ♡ Catherine Griffiths ♡ Chris Campe ♡ Dina Benbrahim ♡ Dafne Martinez ♡ Dyana Weissman ♡ Elena Veguillas ♡ Eleni Beveratou ♡ Elizabeth Carey Smith ♡ Evelyn Wh-ell ♡ Garine Gokceyan ♡ Imad Gebrayel ♡ Indra Kupferschmid ♡ Isabel Urbina Peña ♡ Jessica Griscti ♡ JIllian Adel ♡ Joyce Ketterer ♡ Julia Novitch ♡ Kaiya Warea ♡ Karen Cheng ♡ Kateryna Korolevtseva ♡ Laura Meseguer ♡ Liron Lavi Turkenich ♡ Lisa Huang ♡ Luisa Baeta ♡ Lynne Yun ♡ Mallory Haselberger ♡ Maria Montes ♡ Maria Paganopoulou ♡ Mariko Takagi ♡ Maryam Golpayegani ♡ Muk Monsalve ♡ Nadine Chahine ♡ Naïma Ben Ayed ♡ Nina Paim ♡ Nina Stössinger ♡ Nora Gummert-Hauser ♡ Pooja Saxena ♡ Ragini Siruguri ♡ Robin Mientjes ♡ Romina Hernandez ♡ Roxane Gataud ♡ Sahar Afshar ♡ Sandra Garcia ♡ Sandra Morales ♡ Schessa Garbutt ♡ Shaqa Bovand ♡ Sibylle Hagmann ♡ Sol Matas ♡ Sophia Tai ♡ Susana Carvalho ♡ Tânia Raposo ♡ Tanya George ♡ Taylor Childers ♡ Taurai Valerie Mtake ♡ TIffany Wardle ♡ Veronika Burian ♡ Victoria Rushton ♡ Zainab Marvi
Interviews with: Alice Savoie ♡ Bye Bye Binary (Camille Circlude, Ludi Loiseau, Eugénie Bidaut, Sophie Vela, and Enz@ Le Garrec) ♡ Carolina Giovagnoli ♡ Fiona Ross ♡ Georgia Angelopoulos ♡ Jessica Harjo ♡ Irene Vlachou ♡ Kathleen Sleboda ♡ Loraine Furter ♡ Maha Akl ♡ Mohamed Gaber ♡ Monique Ortman ♡ María Ramos ♡ Sadie Red Wing ♡ Violet Duncan
With additional contributions by: Agnieszka Ewa Olszewska ♡ Aleksandra Samuļenkova ♡ Alexderik S.J. Berlers ♡ Azucena León ♡ Alina Kiliwa ♡ Alisa Nowak ♡ Allie Schmitz ♡ Alyona Korysta ♡ Amélie Bonet ♡ Aoife Mooney ♡ Anagha Narayanan ♡ Ana Sanikidze ♡ Anita Jürgeleit ♡ Anna Cairns ♡ Anya Danilova ♡ Ariadne Remoundakis ♡ Barbara Bigosinska ♡ Blondina Elms Pastel ♡ Brooke Hull ♡ Carolyn Porter ♡ Céline Odermatt ♡ Clara Cayosa ♡ Diana Ovezea ♡ Đông Trúc ♡ Elena Papassissa ♡ Elena Schneider ♡ Émilie Rigaud ♡ Erin McLaughlin ♡ Fabiola Mejía ♡ Fátima Lázaro ♡ Fer Cozzi ♡ Florence Fu ♡ Francesca Bolognini ♡ Frida Medrano ♡ Golnar Kat Rahmani ♡ Heidi Rand Sørensen ♡ Hendrika Makilya ♡ Inga Plönnigs ♡ Irina Koryagina ♡ Jen Mussari ♡ Joana Correia ♡ Joohee Lee ♡ Julieta Ulanovsky ♡ June Shin ♡ Justine Herbel ♡ Kaja Słojewska ♡ Kamilah Carter ♡ Kara Gordon ♡ Kelly Thorn ♡ Keya Vadgama ♡ Kimya Gandhi ♡ Laura Serra ♡ Laura Worthington ♡ Leah Spencer ♡ Lena Weber ♡ Lila Symons ♡ Linda Hintz ♡ Lipi Raval ♡ Lisa Fischbach ♡ Lisa Maione ♡ Lisa Timpe ♡ Liz DeLuna ♡ Louisa Fröhlich ♡ Lora Shtirkova ♡ Lucila Guajardo ♡ Maria Doreuli ♡ Mariko Saji ♡ Marisol Ortega ♡ May Jolyvet ♡ Meghan Arnold ♡ Mint Tantisuwanna ♡ Mónica Munguía ♡ Nada Abdallah ♡ Najla Badran ♡ Namrata Goyal ♡ Natalie Rauch ♡ Nicole Arnett Phillips ♡ Noopur Datye ♡ Noheul Lee ♡ Océane Juvin ♡ Omaima Dajani ♡ Paula Mastrangelo ♡ Purvi Kotharii ♡ Raafia Jessa ♡ Raven Mo ♡ Rosalie Wagner ♡ Ruxandra Duru ♡ Sabrina Lopez ♡ Salomi Desai ♡ Samar Zuriek ♡ Sara Gregs ♡ Selina Bernet ♡ Shiva Nallaperumal ♡ Shuchita Grover ♡ Sol Uauage ♡ Snehal Patil ♡ Soulaf Khalifeh ♡ Spike Spondike ♡ Stéphane Dupont ♡ Theresa dela Cruz ♡ Thalia Echevarria ♡ TienMin Liao ♡ Ulrike Rausch ♡ Valentina Casali ♡ Valery Marier ♡ Victoria & Vitalina Lopukhina ♡ Vitória Neves ♡ Yaprak Buse Çağlar ♡ Yesha Goshar ♡ Zenab Bastawala ♡ Zeynep Akay ♡ Zrinka Buljubašić
All spelling errors or missing names are completely my fault. My inbox awaits!
