By Freddie Moore

“Two Men with Book, Beer and Pipe” by Victor Schivert — Tideland will be better than this, promise. (via Wikimedia Commons)

Lazy Fascist, Broken River and Civil Coping Mechanisms are hoping to launch an indie bookstore/craft beer shop, but they need your help.

In an industry where even the biggest players are cowering in fear of Amazon drones, it’s refreshing to see indie publishers band together to do something awesome. And that is exactly what Lazy Fascist Press, Broken River Books and Civil Coping Mechanisms are doing by supporting Tideland Books and Bottle Shop in Astoria, Oregon. The best part? They’ll be pairing great books with delicious craft beer. (We’ve been advocating that for years!)

Tideland is aiming to build a community for book-and-beer lovers, but right now it remains a beautiful, beautiful dream. The folks behind the project have turned to Kickstarter for funding, appealing to readers and drinkers to help them furnish, stock and maintain the bookstore/beer shop for the first two or three months. Though Tideland will be located on the Oregon waterfront, the team hopes to also launch an online bookstore, magazine and web community, making it your bookstore regardless of where you live.

In an email about Tideland, Cameron Pierce, one of the founders of Lazy Fascist, explained his motivation behind the project:

In recent years, I've looked more to the business models of craft breweries, who treat each other as allies and creative collaborators, not competition. I think that sort of camaraderie will be the key to surviving — and even thriving in — the tumultuous publishing landscape we're facing now.

Indie publishers often don’t have the clout to make it on to display tables at stores like Barnes and Noble, and at times, we even struggle to get recognition at indie bookstores amidst the Big Five best-sellers. Tideland is such a big-hearted project that it feels like it may be ushering in a new era of teamwork amongst indie publishers while bringing us one step closer to readers as well. We couldn’t have asked for anything cooler than this.

Tideland will only be funded if at least $15,000 is raised by Wednesday, October 15, so make a pledge today and spread the word!


Freddie Moore is a Brooklyn-based writer. Her full name is Winifred, and her writing has appeared in The Paris Review Daily and The Huffington Post. As a former cheesemonger, she’s a big-time foodie who knows her cheese. Follow her on Twitter: @moorefreddie

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