When They Burn Books, We Build Sanctuaries.

A radical bookstore café for banned books, LGBTQ+/BIPOC publications, queer stories, and revolutionary art—open in Orlando, Florida’s Milk District

In a time when books are being banned, communities silenced, and trans and queer voices erased—BookBurn Café rises from the flames.

We’ve created a sanctuary in the heart of Orlando, Florida: a bookstore café, bar, and event space where banned books are featured as the center point, marginalized artists fill the walls, and people from our marginalized communities lead with power and love.

Our space will serve consciously sourced coffee, host live readings and performances, and curate art and literature from LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, and POC creators. With your support, BookBurn Café will continue to be a vibrant act of cultural resistance—and a safe haven for those who need it most.

PROJECT STORY

BookBurn is more than a bookstore. It’s a living archive. A café of radical warmth. A stage for the silenced.

Inspired by the 20th-century book burnings and the long history of communities and civilizations who fled with sacred texts in their arms, BookBurn flips the fire into fuel. We reclaim erasure and censorship with celebration, with storytelling, with survival, and with joy.

The space includes:

• A bookstore featuring a banned book library as well as a selection of DEI-centered literature

• A café that supports ethical farming and radical hospitality, with a focus on Filipino-dessert-inspired drinks

• A small stage for poetry readings, open mic nights, and the various performances

• A curated gallery space featuring marginalized artists, and a section of our local authors

• A full staff that focuses on trans and non-binary workers

We believe stories save lives—and we’re building a space where they can be told without fear.

WHAT WE NEED

We continue to raise funds to maintain our banned book titles, as well as our earnest hope to contribute to a local group, Zebra Coalition that does incredible and necessary work in supporting LGBTQ+ youth 

Every contribution will help to maintain this sanctuary—brick by brick, book by book.

CALL TO ACTION

This is your invitation to be a flamekeeper. A rebel reader. An ambassador of safe spaces.

Support BookBurn Cafe and Social by donating, sharing, and spreading the story. Let’s prove that when they ban our books, we write new chapters—together.

“The spark of a revolution often comes from one radical idea”

         - Jonny Cruz

For more details, please visit

www.BookBurnOfficial.com

With deepest gratitude,

Jonny