Since 2019, International Women’s Day has marked a familiar, global tradition for the Alphabettes community: the chaotic, joyful, and completely decentralized organization of a 24-hour online hangout. Spanning time zones, continents, and digital platforms, this loose schedule welcomed anyone on the internet to drop in, connect, and share a glimpse of their local and virtual lives.
Participants over the years have taken virtual type walks around Mumbai alongside Tanya, joined Romina and her friends in Mexico City for the 8M March carrying hand-lettered signs crafted during community poster-making workshops, and listened to conference stories recounted by Theresa in San Francisco. The hours were filled with multilingual conversations—such as extended chats in Spanish with Laura, Dafne, and Caro—alongside casual check-ins that featured glimpses of pets, babies, and simultaneous global preparations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
However, International Women’s Day brings a notable shift in tradition. Instead of hosting the sprawling digital gathering, members of the community are choosing to "hang in," or perhaps "hang on." While the community remains active and present, the decision has been made to step back from the marathon internet broadcast, allowing members to unplug for the day or connect through different, more localized means.
The reason behind this pivot is as monumental as it is tangible: bringing a very significant project to its final simmer. After two years of continuous planning, writing, editing, organizing, emailing, type pairing, proofreading, and managing complex spreadsheets, Alphabettes Soup: Feminist Approaches to Type is finally heading to the printer. Following an exhaustive editorial process designed to uncover every minor error across its extensive page count, the 400-page volume is nearing physical production.
Summarizing the sheer scale of the publication’s contents presents a formidable task. The book features 47 distinct articles, 8 interviews, 115 typefaces, and 252 custom headers. Rather than attempting to unpack every individual contribution in a single day, the creators are leaving the deep dive to the readers themselves.
As the book prepares for its physical run, the window remains open for enthusiasts and supporters to secure a copy through pre-orders. Producing a book of this magnitude—balancing independent publishing standards with comprehensive design work—requires substantial time, effort, and financial resources. While the project has benefited greatly from generous sponsors and donors, the production costs have ultimately left the team slightly short of their original financial goals.
Pre-ordering Alphabettes Soup: Feminist Approaches to Type serves as a direct contribution to independent, feminist design publishing, while actively supporting the vital work produced by women and gender-diverse individuals within the type community. Beyond the financial backing of independent publishing, pre-ordering ensures that supporters will receive a physical copy of the comprehensive volume to read and reference for years to come. For a community rooted in typography, design, and advocacy, closing out International Women’s Day with the realization of a monumental print project offers a fitting tribute to years of collaborative effort.
