The Discord is 18+ only
WHAT IS THE RENEGADE BOOKBINDING GUILD?
The Renegade Bookbinding Guild is a registered 501c3 educational non-profit organization. As a non-profit, we are focused on building community for amateur bookbinders, easy-access educational resources, and promoting preservation through bookbinding. Members of our community often focus on binding fannish works (fanbinding), including fanfiction, meta, original fic, zines, and other works. We are a transformative community connected by shared values, goals, work, and stories. We value fanfiction and fanwork in all its forms, and our fannish culture’s infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
COMMUNITY
Renegade is committed to building a community of bookbinders dedicated to sharing, collaborating, and encouraging each other. We also seek to support our larger fandom communities by promoting healthy fandom etiquette and the fandom gift economy. We want to make it easier for like-minded bookbinders to connect with each other and with the greater bookbinding community, online and in-person.
EDUCATION
From the beginning, Renegade has aimed to help people learn bookbinding and book formatting skills. In service of this goal, Renegade creates places and events to share resources, tutorials, tips, and mentorship. We encourage questions, process notes, and pictures; we believe anyone can be a bookbinder, no matter your bookbinding experience level or access to resources.
PRESERVATION
We value fanfiction and fanwork in all its forms, and our fannish culture’s infinite diversity in infinite combinations. We elevate fannish works based on what we view as valuable, and worth preserving. Both within and beyond fanworks, Renegade believes that the ability to independently print and circulate the written word is a critical component of the fight against censorship.
You too can be a fanbinder! Join our community! Experience and enjoy the resources of the guild!
Find a text you value, bind it, share it!
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is "fanbinding"?
Fanbinding, also called “fannish bookbinding,” is the act of binding a fandom story or creation into a physical book. While many fanbinders focus on the binding of fanfiction, some also bind art, fandom social media commentary, or replica books of canon texts.
What is "Renegade Bookbinding Guild"? What's the difference between Renegade Bookbinding Guild and the Renegade Bindery?
Renegade Bindery: A collective workshop community where fanbinders can collaborate, learn from each other, and share their work. Membership in the Bindery does not necessarily imply membership in the Renegade Bookbinding Guild. This primarily refers to the Discord, but also includes anywhere you can interact with Renegade — Dreamwidth, Tumblr, etc.
Renegade Bookbinding Guild: Members of the Renegade Bindery can claim membership of the Renegade Bookbinding Guild by agreeing to our Code of Conduct. You can submit here to accept the code and claim membership. Membership is entirely voluntary regardless of participation elsewhere. Member binders are included on our membership list on this website.
Can I join the Discord without being a Renegade Bookbinding Guild member?
Yes, absolutely! We highly encourage it, and regularly hold wide community events that are open to everyone and do not require membership.
Do I have to give gift copies to authors to join Renegade Bookbinding Guild?
Nope! The only rules for membership are outlined in the Code of Conduct. Gifting books is a part of our Ethos, i.e., the spirit of our community; in essence, we highly encourage gifting books, but completely understand that this is not within everyone's power/ability/want, and it is by no means required.
Can I be a member if I haven't made a book yet?
Yes! There is no guild membership requirement and no fee to be in the Discord server. As for guild membership, as long as you believe in and agree to our Code of Conduct and pay your annual membership dues, there are no other requirements. Think of it like this: you can sign up for AO3 without ever posting a fic, and your contributions are equally as valuable to the organization!
How can I learn to fanbind?
Please utilize our resources! Join the discord, ask questions, we're happy to help. Our Bookbinding 101 page is a great place to start! This kit is free for everyone (membership not required!) and comes with several public domain typesets and guides made by our members.
What community events does Renegade run?
We run a variety of events, and are always adding more!
⬥ Renegade Exchange: A typesetting and bound fic exchange, akin to secret santa.
⬥ Binderary: A book a day for the month of February; akin to Inktober.
⬥ Fan Fiction Writer Appreciation Day: A community event geared towards gifting a book to an author.
⬥ Tiny Books Bang: A collaborative event where typesetters and binders work together to complete a tiny book.
⬥ Smaller events including Edible Book Day, Banned Book Week, International Fanworks Day, & Renegade's Birthday.
⬥ And many more in the works!
Check out our events page for more details, along with a full events calendar!
Renegade Bookbinding Guild Code of Conduct Clarifications
What is the "gift economy?"
Gift Economy is a social science term that refers to a system where things are given without any formalized system of exchange. In fannish terms, gift economy refers to the process of fans making fanworks available openly and freely without any formalized requirement that anything be given in return.
Defined from the "Gift Economy" Fanlore page
What is a “good-faith” effort?
A good-faith effort is defined for our purposes as a sincere intention to be fair to an author’s wishes. The bare minimum expected is to check for any publicly available transformative works policies (usually available in an author’s profile), and to abide by them. Some authors have explicit policies for or against fanbinding, and that is what this is geared towards.
If I’ve violated the code of conduct prior to becoming a Renegade Bookbinding Guild member, am I still eligible for membership?
Yes, you are. Abiding by this code is a choice; it’s about defining our community values. This is not an attempt at punishment or policing; it’s an attempt to unify. Past incidents, willful or not, have no bearing on the future you build in this community.
*If further clarifications are needed, they will be added here. Updated 8/25/2022.
What are the benefits of Renegade Bookbinding Guild Membership?
I am so glad you asked!
⬥ Nerd fellowship, AKA a community of binders excited to talk all things fandom and binding!
⬥ Listing on our Renegade Membership page.
⬥ Access to a selection of Members-only shared files, separate from our publicly-shared resources; including Member-created typesets, logos, etc.
⬥ Volunteer opportunities to engage with the community.
⬥ An amplified voice in the community, especially regarding the Code of Conduct and Member Ethos.
⬥ Discord benefits, including a special Renegade Membership badge & an extension on inactivity purges (3 months for non-members, 12 months for members).
⬥ You will have a place to point authors to when explaining why you want to bind their work.
What happens if a Renegade Bookbinding Guild Member violates the code of conduct?
Firstly, a report of a violation can be submitted here.
Once a violation is reported, a mod will review the report for legitimacy, before delegating a three-person Review Board. The accused will be notified that they are under review; the mod will also acknowledge receipt of the report to the reporting party, and whether or not a review board has been appointed. The receiving mod will either serve as the coordinator for the review or delegate a different mod.
The Review Board will consist of Renegade Bookbinding Guild Members/Renegade Volunteers (pulled from a roster aka “jury duty”; but only from within current volunteers, you are not mandated to serve on the review board if you do not wish to). They will review evidence individually, before coming together to discuss whether or not a violation has occurred. If further clarifying information is required, the coordinating mod will request it from relevant parties and provide it to the review board. Review board members will not contact any party (reporter or reportee) directly regarding the report.
If a violation is determined to have occurred, the violating party will be notified of a correction period. If violator corrects the violation, the mod will notify the person who made the report that action/correction was taken. No public message will be issued.
If violator does not make the required correction, the violator will be removed from the Renegade membership list and all associated benefits. The reporting party will be notified of the action taken. Depending on the violation, they may also be removed from the Renegade Bindery.
If the review board determines that the violation was particularly egregious and extremely public, the review board may request that a public statement be made from the Renegade Bookbinding Guild social media pages to sever affiliation. This may require additional review by the Renegade Volunteer team.
What is the difference between the Code of Conduct and the Member Ethos?
Code of Conduct: A set of standards, moral and ethical, that someone is expected to adhere to in order to interact with an organization. You must adhere to the code when claiming Renegade Guild Membership.
Member Ethos: A set of ideals that are not enforced by any means, but highly encouraged, and speak to our values as a community.
CONTACT
Questions? Let us know and we’d be happy to help!
