Earlier this week, RuPaul launched Allstora: an online bookstore that he says will “challenge the e-commerce status quo by introducing a new model of splitting its profits with authors, in turn doubling their income on the sale of a book,” per a press release from the company. This will, the company says, “uplift the voices of underrepresented groups, including LGBTQ+ people, women, and communities of color.”
This announcement was initially met with positive press. Many noted that, given the current lack of diversity in publishing (Lee & Low Books’ quadrennial “Diversity Baseline Survey” of the publishing industry found that a majority of respondents were cis-gendered and white), any efforts to elevate people from underrepresented or marginalized groups would be appreciated.
However, when Allstora launched, internet users quickly soured on the venture. Users browsing the site found that one could purchase books that they did not feel fit with RuPaul’s stated message of “uplift[ing] the voices of underrepresented groups”; for example, one X user discovered that Libs of TikTok founder Chaya Raichik’s childrens’ book is on the site.
Others noted that the infamous antisemitic text The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is available for purchase on the site, as well as other texts associated with white nationalism like The Turner Diaries.
To be clear, these titles are not prominently featured on Allstora. They are simply available alongside many other books. Allstora does not seem to take any political positions at all with the books it sells—shoppers can easily purchase a variety of religious texts including The King James Bible and the Qur’an, as well as politically-charged texts from across the political spectrum, from The Communist Manifesto to Mein Kampf.
On the site’s FAQ, Allstora defends its decision to keep this broad array of literature, including titles many RuPaul fans may find offensive. “At Allstora, we believe that the censorship of any book, perspective, or story is incompatible with the survival of democracy. We cannot fight the ideologies of hate if we lack the ability to study, understand, and react to them. For this reason, like university libraries and online book marketplaces across the world, Allstora has made the decision to carry all books.”
However, given that Allstora was launched with the express purpose of “uplift[ing] the voices of underrepresented groups,” many internet users felt dismayed that the company was selling literature that they perceived to be working against this goal. Additionally, some questioned the practices of this business, with a few users accusing the site of simply being a front for a dropshipping operation.
One user on TikTok recently shared their complaints about Allstora, going viral in the process. In a clip with over 352,000 views, and more across many reposts on X, an employee named Ira of the Bookends in Florence in Florence, Massachusetts explains why RuPaul’s bookstore isn’t as much of a publishing revolution as he might want shoppers to think.
“Allstora isn’t increasing access to gay books, it’s a rainbow capitalist dropshipping operation,” Ira says.
From looking at the site, the TikToker says that the company is likely simply shipping books from Ingram Content Group, a major book supplier, and “the method that every bookstore uses to buy their books,” Ira notes.
“It means that there’s all kinds of sh*t on there because they haven’t actually been thoughtful about what they’re stocking,” the TikToker states. “They just stock literally any book, so you can buy anti-woke books, you can buy transphobic books, you can buy books written by Nazis and other fascists.”
“Again, because this is not a queer bookstore; this is a dropshipping operation with a kind of veneer of progressivity over it,” Ira summarizes.
The TikToker then questions the profit split mentioned in promotional material. While Allstora’s author program claims that authors will get an additional 10% commission that will “[double] the earnings potential per book,” it’s presently unclear if books sold through Allstora, but not under their author program, will earn authors more than if they were sold on other platforms.
“This is a scam. This is completely fake. This is completely nothing,” Ira summarizes. “This won’t actually do anything to increase access to queer literature. What it will do, because of their membership where they sell books for less expensive, is undercut brick-and-mortar retailers, undercut actual queer booksellers, and make RuPaul more money, which I guess he can frack with.”
“So f*ck this. This is completely stupid. Don’t waste your money on Allstora,” the TikToker concludes. “There are better ways to obtain queer books. There are better ways to obtain diverse books, including supporting your local bookstore, like us.”
@bookendsinflorence #stitch with @RuPaul #greenscreen i love rainbow capitalism! I love “founding a bookstore” (dropshipping operation)! I love profiting from banned books being in the news! Yasss mama ru!!!!! Get that coin honey!!!!! #rupaulsdragrace #werktherunway #yaaaas ♬ original sound – Bookends in Florence
In the comments section, many users said that the TikToker’s investigation has pushed them away from using the site.
“The second I saw the ad it felt sooooooo off. Makes sense. Thanks for the info!” said a user.
“Thank you for this. I was planning on looking into it, but now I’m not even going to give the website a landing hit,” added another.
“Love how this launch is also timed perfectly with Ru’s just-released memoir,” observed a further user. RuPaul’s memoir The House of Hidden Meanings, which was released earlier this week, is not only available on the site, but it is the inaugural pick for the site’s RuPaul’s Book Club, according to Publisher’s Weekly.
The Daily Dot reached out to Allstora via website contact form and Bookends in Florence via Instagram direct message.
Update 7:04am CT, Mar. 8, 2024:
In an email to the Daily Dot, Madden of Bookends in Florence offered her thoughts on Allstora’s explanation about why they sell the books they do.
“I think the utility of a bookstore can get lost in the debate over Allstora’s promises and practices — a bookstore isn’t just a warehouse,” she wrote. “Any bookseller can get you pretty much any book, certainly any of the 10 million listed on Allstora, but what makes a bookstore worthwhile is the care and attention that goes into finding and uplifting books and authors, and building a relationship with the community that orbits your bookstore, whether it’s in person or online.”
“What I find exploitative about Allstora is it made the claim that it prioritized that work, while lazily bulk importing a major distributor’s catalog,” she continued. “It’s clear from the inventory, the price scaling, and the smoke and mirrors around the promise to ‘give back’ to authors.”
Madden went on to say that the claim that this is a conversation about censorship is “pointless”; instead, she says the conversation should be about “laziness and misrepresentation of the nature of their store.”
“If they want to be a warehouse or a third party distributor for a mass catalogue, that’s fine! But it’s disingenuous to present otherwise, especially when you’re profiting from historically underrepresented and underresourced people on both ends: the writers and the consumers,” she stated.
For those who are interested in literature that fits Allstora’s stated mission, Madden has some advice.
“Libraries and independent bookstores are special because they are stocked and maintained by people who care about the books in them,” she detailed. “Ask a bookseller! We have lots of recommendations, we like getting the chance to tell people about them.”
“There is an extensive, but endangered, history of LGBT bookstores in particular. The existing ones benefit from your support, and we want the chance to offer you what you’re looking for,” she said. “In addition to Bookends in Florence, I want to champion Charlie’s Queer Books, which opened recently in Seattle, and Giovanni’s Room in Philadelphia, which is the oldest still-running gay bookstore in the country.”
“Even if you don’t have one near you, many of us are online so that we can reach people in an area without physical access,” Madden concluded.