The Brick House Cooperative

The Brick House is a cooperative of nine writers, artists, and editors who came together in late 2020 to create a platform for expression[1] [2], cultural preservation, library advocacy[3] [4] [5] [6], and indepedent journalism [7]. It is an Ohio LLC which supports libraries through advocacy, publishing, and archival projects. It often refers to itself as "the wolf-proof media cooperative" because of its intention to stay away from ads or any other commercial interference.[8][9]

Its current project is Flaming Hydra, a subscription-based newsletter of about 60 independent writers.[10]

Founding and design

In late 2020, during the covid pandemic, Maria Boustillos (editor of Popula) and a few other other editors, writers, and creators came together with eight individual publications to form The Brick House.[11]

The other core founders were Christina M. Greer, Alex Brook Lynn and Harry Siegel of FAQNYC, Myriam Gurba of Tasteful Rude, Brian Hioe of No Man is an Island, Mike Kanin and Sunny Sone of Preachy, Jason Adam Katzenstein of Awry, David Moore and Donald Shaw of Sludge (formerly The Sludge Report), Tom Scocca of Indignity (formerly Hmm Weekly), and Kola Tubosun of OlongoAfrica.

Each of the publication, with its own identity and management were to operate in independent editorial directions, depending on The Brick House only for a home where joint projects, grant applications, and other administrative ideas can be coordinated.

That year, they raised $90,000 from 1321 backers on kickstarter.[12] With that, and a number of other subscribers it got afterwards, it was able to pay each publication to do their work independently. A subscription to The Brick House gave the subscriber access to everything each of the publications published.

Over the years, the nine publications thinned down, and now comprises only of seven of the initial co-founders: Maria Boustillos, David Moore, Harry Siegel, Myriam Gurba, Brian Hioe, Tomo Scocca, and Kola Tubosun.[13]

Notable projects

In 2022, The Brick House helped raise funds to help in the re-publication of An African Abroad, a classic travel memoir by Olabisi Ajala through OlongoAfrica.[14][15][16]

In 2024, The Brick House founded FlamingHydra, which is a subscription-based newsletter with 60 independent writers, artists, and publishers.[17][18]

References

  1. ^ "No Princesses: Reflections on the Passing of Sacheen Littlefeather". Tasteful Rude. 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  2. ^ Stenberg, Mark. "How the 9-publication cooperative Brick House designed a revenue splitting system that could be a model for new media bundles". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  3. ^ Bustillos, Maria (2020-09-10). "Publishers Are Taking the Internet to Court". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  4. ^ "Billion-Dollar Book Companies Are Ripping Off Public Schools". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  5. ^ Bustillos, Maria (2022-07-18). "You Can't Buy These Books". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  6. ^ Bustillos, Maria (2021-08-03). "Sell This Book!". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  7. ^ "What Does It Mean to Stand in Solidarity With People Who May Want You Dead?". Popula. 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  8. ^ Bustillos, Maria. "Introducing the Brick House: The wolf-proof media cooperative". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  9. ^ "This Is What Happened When They Tried to Fix Journalism Using Blockchain". Bloomberg.com. 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  10. ^ "FAQ". Flaming Hydra. 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  11. ^ "Journalists are wealth creators". Popula. 2020-12-31. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  12. ^ Stenberg, Mark. "How the 9-publication cooperative Brick House designed a revenue splitting system that could be a model for new media bundles". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  13. ^ "FAQ". The Brick House Cooperative. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  14. ^ "Help OlongoAfrica bring a classic memoir back to life: a Web Monetization Action Plan". The Interledger Community 🌱. 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  15. ^ Editors, Brick House (2022-03-09). "Free, and Fun: Help OlongoAfrica Publish Its First Book ⑉ Brick House". The Brick House Cooperative. Retrieved 2025-01-16. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ Africa, Olongo (2022-03-09). "OlongoAfrica to Republish "An African Abroad"". Olongo Africa. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  17. ^ Mechling, Lauren (2024-03-02). "Journalism is in freefall. These writers aren't giving up: 'We can go out swinging'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  18. ^ "On fostering creative community". thecreativeindependent.com. Retrieved 2025-01-16.