JBTCbookstore

08/14/2026

🚨CALL TO ACTION🚨

Now that we're back in the store, we have less time to be out in the community and engaged in every event, meeting, and organizing effort. This doesn't mean we're not watching and listening.

It's time for all of us to lift where we stand.

What we, at Judging by the Cover, can do right now is lift up the work happening around us. We can use our platform, and we have a platform: more than 10,000 engaged newsletter subscribers across the Central Valley, more than 10,000 followers on Instagram, and thousands of one-on-one conversations with customers in the shop every month. If even a small percentage of you participate in any one of these calls to action, we can see real change.

We can't be everywhere, but sometimes our role is simply to help spread the word, connect people, and make sure important things don't go unnoticed.

So, here are a few important things we're noticing this month...

ACTIONS TO TAKE:

Letter Writing Party: Sunday, August 16th @ Root Access or LaQuerencia Common House
Join the Fresno Friends of the Library for a letter-writing party to let our elected officials know we want to keep our public libraries public! Privatization would eliminate several benefits available only to PUBLIC libraries. It would also impact libraries beyond Fresno County that benefit from cross-branch licensing sharing. Our rural communities would feel the biggest impacts.

Or purchase a t-shirt to show your support:

SEDA IS BACK: Wednesday, August 19th @ City Hall
SEDA is coming back to City Hall on Wednesday night. Bring your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors to say NO to this urban sprawl project. The economic, environmental, and community impact would be devastating if SEDA moves forward. We showed up once; let's do it again. Session starts at 6 pm. Be prepared for a long night. Follow on Instagram for updates leading up to the meeting.

4th Annual Q***r Housing Summit: Friday & Saturday August 21 - 22 @ Fresno City College
Now, more than ever, Trans and Q***r folks are experiencing an all-time high attack on their personhood. Housing remains a challenge for the community, but the folks behind the Q***r Housing Summit have ideas to change that! They are currently looking for volunteers! Sign up here:

High Speed Rail Survey: ASAP
We may have moved out of Chinatown, but we're still watching how High Speed Rail and Downtown city development impacts our former neighbors. High Speed Rail is currently working to gather community input on the future construction in Downtown and Chinatown.

They are hoping folks will care more about new retail than the history or existing businesses and that this survey will prove it. Please respond and remind them that there are generations of folks who have made Chinatown and Downtown their home or the home to their place of business:

Flock out of Fresno: ASAP
As book people, we can't help but reference 1984 when discussing Flock. Big Brother is already watching, but Flock and other ALRP technologies push us further into a surveillance state and a future we don't want to see. Beyond violating our 4th Amendment rights, we've seen time and time again the risk of harm. Examples range from system errors that lead to erroneous arrests to stalking cases. The myth that more surveillance equals more safety is prevalent, but it's still a myth.

Sign the petition to urge Fresno City Council to vote no on renewing the Flock contract; take it a step further and write your council member a book report on 1984's Big Brother to remind them that it's not just NO to Flock; it's also no to mass surveillance in our city:

Click here for an update from Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore!

08/11/2026

10 Days until Q***r Housing Summit 2026

Have you heard? The 4th Annual Q***r Housing Summit is happening August 21–22 in Fresno! And once again, Judging by the Cover will be the official bookstore for the event.

That means we’ll be bringing books to the Summit at Fresno City College—and we’ll be closed at the bookstore on Saturday, August 22 so our team can be on-site. If you’re planning to stop by the shop that day, we’d love to see you at the Summit instead!

🏳️‍🌈 Over the Borderline

This year’s theme, “Over the Borderline,” explores how q***r and trans communities build connection, safety, and collective power beyond the systems and barriers that divide us.

At a time of growing displacement and attacks on our communities, the Summit continues to affirm something we believe deeply: housing, dignity, and joy are human rights.

For the first time, the Q***r Housing Summit is expanding to a two-day convening, featuring keynote speakers, panels, workshops, art, and opportunities to connect with organizers, advocates, artists, students, and community members.

This year’s keynote speakers are:

Dr. Amber Alton
Writer and thinker with a PhD in sociology

Mercury Stardust
The Trans Handy Ma’am

And there’s even more programming throughout the weekend—including a session led by our own co-owner, Ashley Mireles-Guerrero, on Anti-Capitalist Businesses and how to support organizations that support your community.

We’re excited to be part of a gathering that brings together so many people working toward a more just, affirming, and community-centered future.

🎟️ Ready to join us?

Ticket admission is valid for both days of the Summit.

General Admission: $35
Students & Elders (60+): $20

The Summit is hosted by South Tower Community Land Trust, Fresno City College Social Justice Center, Housing Now!, Youth Leadership Institute, Gender Alchemy, and Casita Feliz, with logistics support from Collectiva.org.

Whether you’re there for the workshops, the art, the books, the keynotes, the community—or all of the above—we hope you’ll join us.

See you at the Summit!

And remember: we’ll be closed Saturday, August 22 because we’ll be there with you. 💜

Click here for an update from Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore!

08/07/2026

Did you hear the news? LeVar Burton (yes, that one!) is releasing a memoir!

If you follow us over on Instagram, you might have seen when we teased this back in February, when it was announced at the American Booksellers Association's annual conference. Well, now is the time to pre-order and get your copy when it releases on November 11th.

While we're walking down memory lane, we've included a few of our favorite children's books from our days watching Reading Rainbow, as well as some new faces from current-day PBS Kids programming. Check out the full list at Bookshop.org. (https://bookshop.org/lists/calling-all-pbs-kids-with-adult-money)

Click here for an update from Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore!

08/04/2026

Hi friends,

We wanted to share a quick update about Fresno Art Hop.

It recently came to our attention that Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore and South Tower CLT was listed as an Art Hop stop in this month's Fresno Arts Council email newsletter. While we have officially signed up to participate with our partners at South Tower Community Land Trust, our gallery and event space are still under construction.

That means we won't be hosting an Art Hop exhibition this month.

We're making great progress on the space and anticipate opening the gallery in October. Once it's ready, we'll be celebrating with local artists, community members, and plenty of books—and you'll be among the first to know when we announce the grand opening of the space.

If you were planning to stop by during First Thursday, we'd still love to see you! The bookstore will be open during our regular business hours from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Come browse the shelves, discover new reads, and see how the space is coming together.

Thank you for your patience and continued support as we build a space for books, art, and community. We can't wait to welcome you into the finished gallery this fall.

Click here for an update from Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore!

08/01/2026

It's the 1st of the month!

August will be our first full month in the new space. So far, it has been busier than ever, and we not only hit our monthly book goal but also exceeded it by 75 books in July! 🥳📚 Here's what we have cooking up this month...

August Calendar:

Tuesday, August 11: Books & Bebidas & Book Swap! We're meeting on the second Tuesday of the month to read silently and swap books. Find us at St. Dulce; doors open at 5:30 pm, and silent reading starts at 6:30 pm. Swap starts at 7:30 pm!

Friday, August 14: Celebrate Love Your Bookstore Day with your favorite bookstore (JBTC, of course). We will have an in-store photo op with pay-what-you-can polaroids from 4 pm to 7 pm, the same time as our book happy hour. 15% off all books for a limited time only!

Saturday, August 15: Visalia's Artist of the Year, Michael Jasso, joins us in-store for poems on demand. Pay what you can and get a one-of-a-kind gift for your friends or yourself.

Missed the photo-op on the 14th? We'll have another chance to get the shot on Saturday. Pay-what-you-can polaroids will be available to capture your book lover moment!

Wednesday, August 19: We will be closing an hour early to attend the Fresno City Planning Commission Hearing on SEDA. Join us in saying NO to urban sprawl and poor city planning. Fresno City Hall Chambers, from 6 pm until they let us speak.

Friday, August 21 - Saturday, August 22: The 4th annual Q***r Housing Summit is happening at Fresno City College! We will be closing the store to pop up as the official bookseller for this year's event. Register to attend in person or virtually.

We will be selling copies of Mercury Stardust's Safe and Sound on-site. There will also be a special pre-sale offer for her new book Lost and Found (https://bookshop.org/a/98732/9780593847824) available in September 2026.

Click here for an update from Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore!

07/16/2026

We're back!

Find us at our new location at 617 N Fulton St, south Fulton between Olive and Belmont. Our current hours are: Wednesday - Friday 1 pm - 7pm and Saturday from 12 pm - 6 pm. We're testing these out for the summer.

The building is still partially under construction which means, no on-site events and no on-site bathroom for now. We hope to return to our regularly scheduled programming with permanent hours in the Fall.

Swing by and say hi!

Find us this Sunday at Matcha + Mariachi, a special Matcha After Dark event hosted by Maarte Studio in partnership with Warnors Center and Frank's Place. We're excited to be working with Maarte again. If you attended our last event with them, you know how special this will be!

Get your tickets before they sell out:

Click here for an update from Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore!

07/13/2026

We are thrilled to partner with our friends at maarte.fresno for their upcoming Matcha + Mariachi event next Sunday at Franks Place 🥳🍵 To celebrate, we are giving away a set of tickets to one lucky winner 💜 So if you love Matcha, mariachis, or want an excuse for a Sunday fun day, this is for you!

Head over to the maarte.fresno page to get your tickets now or enter the giveaway and text your luck! 🎲

To enter:
✅ Follow Judging by the Cover Mariachi Monarca 🦋🧡 and maarte.fresno
👍 Like this post
🔃 Share this post
👯 Tag the person you're bringing with you

We will pick the winners on Thursday, July 16th at 7pm. Good luck! 🤞🏽

06/15/2026

Hi friends,⁠

⁠
We're going to be frank and honest: our move hasn't exactly gone according to plan. We say it over and over again, but radical transparency is a HUGE part of our values, so here it is... ⁠
⁠
We encountered a few unexpected delays in the city's approval process, which pushed our move date back from March to May. Then, we finally got the green light, moved into our new space (yay!), hosted our test launch, gathered valuable feedback, finalized our new hours, and even set a reopening date... which should have been tomorrow. ⁠
⁠
Unfortunately, life had other plans. ⁠
⁠
Our AC system went out and, despite best efforts, it still hasn't been repaired. With temperatures climbing well over 100 degrees, the bookstore has quickly become a tiny little greenhouse. Great for our plants, not so great for us. 🥵 ⁠
⁠
Because of this, we've made the difficult decision to remain closed until the AC is repaired. Protecting our health and ensuring a safe, welcoming environment for our community has to come first. ⁠
⁠
This delay is a hard hit for us. Moving has been expensive, and every unexpected setback puts additional strain on our cash flow. We are officially at 30 days since our last normal business day; at 40 days, things will start to hurt unless we can make a few good sales. ⁠
⁠
If you'd like to support us while we navigate this bump in the road, you can shop through our Bookshop.org storefront (https://bookshop.org/shop/judgingbythecover) , listen through our Libro.fm (https://libro.fm/playlists?playlist_bookstore=judgingbythecoverbooks) link, donate to our GoFundMe (https://www.gofundme.com/manage/help-our-bookstore-move-grow) , or become a store sponsor. We also have one off-site event at the end of the month on June 27th, (https://www.meetup.com/a-silent-book-club-fresno/) and we'd love to see you there!⁠
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Things don't always go according to plan, but we're committed to making it work. Thank you for your patience, your encouragement, and your continued support of our mission and our store. ⁠
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We can't wait to welcome you into the new space soon. 💜📚

- Ashley & Carlos

Click here for an update from Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore!

06/08/2026

We're moved in! But... we're not quite ready to open...

Thank you to everyone who attended our test run on May 31. We were thrilled to see the new space filled with so many familiar faces. We're getting closer to a reopening date (come on, AC repair!), but for now we're still sprucing up the space and planning ahead.

With the store closed, we've had a little more time for advocacy work. We've been supporting the efforts of incredible local coalitions, showing up for causes we care deeply about, and even collecting and harboring fugitive LGBTQ+ books for some badass retired librarians ahead of Pride Festival. 😉 (They gave away 200+ LGBTQ books thanks to y'all!)

A lot is happening locally right now, and if you'd like to get involved, here's how you can do it:

💰 Fresno Budget Hearings

The Mayor has proposed a new budget for the General Fund, and our friends at Fresnans for a People's Budget are encouraging community members to imagine something different.

Check out their interactive art exhibit and submit your own budget proposal to send to your City Council representative. What would Fresno look like if our values shaped our spending priorities instead of always defaulting to more money for police?

fresnans-for-a-people-s-budget-884346149911.us-east1.run.app (https://fresnans-for-a-people-s-budget-884346149911.us-east1.run.app/)

🏳‍🌈 Fresno County Board of Supervisors BS

While many of us were celebrating Pride, Supervisor Gary Bredefeld was preparing another attack on Fresno's LGBTQ+ community.

On June 16, the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on a proclamation declaring June "Nuclear Families Month." While the title may sound harmless, the text of the proclamation includes inflammatory claims suggesting that LGBTQ+ people are indoctrinating children and contributing to the decline of society.

The language in this document is appalling. It stigmatizes LGBTQ+ residents, spreads MORE misinformation, and has no place in official county business.

We encourage community members to submit public comments opposing this proclamation by contacting their district supervisor and the Board Clerk. If you're able to attend the June 16 meeting in person, please do. This will impact all of Fresno County, so Sanger, Reedley, Selma, Firebaugh, Kerman, we want y'all to speak up too!

As if that weren't enough, Bredefeld has also expressed interest in privatizing Fresno County libraries. Privatization threatens equitable access and increases the risk of censorship and book bans. These continued comments further vilify the librarians who work tirelessly to serve our communities and are already receiving death threats because of his previous BS. If you love libraries, you need to pay attention.

Follow Fresno Friends of the Library to learn how you can support Fresno County Library workers and push back against these efforts:

fresnofol.org (https://www.fresnofol.org/)

📢 Measure P EEAC Cycle 3

If you've been following us on Instagram, you've probably seen updates about the proposed guidelines for Measure P EEAC Cycle 3.

Since the City took over the granting process in January of this year, community members, artists, and organizations have participated in listening sessions, provided extensive feedback, and submitted recommendations based on their experiences with previous funding cycles. After reviewing more than 200 public comments, the Parks Department presented a final draft of the guidelines to PRAC on May 18th.

Despite this process, several organizations have continued to advocate for higher funding caps and restrictions on fiscal sponsorships—changes that would disproportionately impact smaller, grassroots organizations and make Measure P less accessible.

It's a frustrating contradiction, considering EEAC stands for Expanded Access to Arts and Culture.

The City Council will soon vote on whether to approve the guidelines as finalized by the Parks Department or make additional changes before Cycle 3 applications open.

We're encouraging folks to speak out for equity by contacting their City Council representatives and urging them to adopt the guidelines as presented.

Want to learn more? Join us today at 5:30 p.m. at St. Dulce (https://www.instagram.com/p/DYz6rSaMWDN/) to discuss the current proposals, or stop by on June 15 for a conversation about fiscal sponsorship and why it matters for expanding access to arts funding.

🛑 Stop SEDA

The fight against SEDA—the Mayor's urban sprawl pet project—isn't over.

At the end of 2025, the City Council postponed further discussion until July of this year. At the moment, only one City Council meeting has been scheduled for July, and it's unclear whether SEDA will appear on the agenda.

Follow on Instagram for updates, action alerts, and opportunities to speak out against a proposal that would accelerate urban sprawl and potentially jeopardize Fresno's long-term financial health.

You can also sign up to get involved here:

stopseda.org (https://stopseda.org/)

It's June, we're halfway through the year, and countless important issues are coming before our elected officials as new fiscal-year budgets take shape. We'll continue sharing information about the issues we care deeply about and have been educated on over on our social media pages.

At a Hops & Talks event earlier this year, Sebastian said something that really resonated with us: We might not be able to change what's happening in the whole world, but we sure as hell can change Fresno. So, speak out. Show up. Take care of one another and help build the city we want to see.

In the meantime, we'll keep unpacking boxes, waiting on that AC repair 🥵, and getting the bookstore ready to welcome you home.

We'll see you soon. 😉

In solidarity,
Carlos & Ashley
Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore

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05/17/2026

On May 13, 2026, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted to ban the Fresno County Public Library from participating in Fresno’s annual Pride festival and parade.

This decision did not happen in a vacuum. It comes after years of escalating attacks on our libraries fueled by homophobia, censorship, and far-right political rhetoric targeting LGBTQ+ books, librarians, and public spaces.

We refuse to let our community lose access to stories that save lives.

Books matter. Representation matters. Q***r youth deserve to see themselves reflected in literature without shame, fear, or political interference. Pride has always been about community protecting community — and now, we need to step up for our libraries and for each other. We've been contacted by a group of concerned citizens to assist in a bit of malicious compliance. Librarians cannot participate in pride, but that doesn't mean resources and a free little library couldn't just... appear.

So we’re building a free little library pop-up at Fresno Rainbow Pride on June 6, 2026!

We’re asking our community to help stock the shelves with banned books, q***r stories, affirming literature, and books that remind people they are not alone. Every book ordered from the list below will be shipped directly to a secure location and distributed for free at Pride.

But we are on a deadline.

📚 Books must be ordered before May 30 to arrive in time for the event.

This is a direct way to fight censorship and put life-saving books back into the hands of the people who need them most.

Order a book today and share this campaign with allies.

🏳️‍🌈 Order now and support the pop-up library.

Click here for an update from Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore!