Like most of us, I love stories. As an activist, I look for stories, especially fiction, that focus on folks passionate about justice, peace, and planetary survival.
Stories that show our culture and realities.
Stories that push back against the stereotyping, dismissal, erasure, and false depictions of ourselves and our work.
My quest is to understand our experience and culture, and contribute to a narrative that authentically depicts activists, organizers, and our movements.
my own activist stories: fiction like Rainwood House Sings Series and nonfiction like those published in Activist Explorer
gently but incisively examining the field of fiction in general and particular works of fiction to illuminate how activists and social movements are represented (or not!)
Groundskeeper and ex-union activist Marlie Mendíval and her nine-year-old granddaughter, Samantha, turn mildly haunted, ramshackle Rainwood House into a collective residence, hoping renters will overlook its quirks: crumbling rooms, whispers of past racial justice struggles, musical plumbing.
Radical garden enthusiast Demetrius moves in, offering friendly conversation and comforting meals that help Marlie cope with eviction threats, her newfound notoriety as a campus workers’ movement leader, and Samantha’s school troubles.
Then Marlie discovers her amiable new housemate is on the run, accused of cop-shooting. Should she turn him in? Or risk hiding him to help him find the truth?
As their lives intertwine, the collective residents find themselves increasingly depending on each other for encouragement, solutions, and perhaps even their lives.
Activist Explorer Newsletter is the place to read my essays exploring the activist experience, plus reviews and interviews. Check out the serialized preview of my upcoming novel Rainwood House Sings.
And you’ll find updates about my writing and activism, workshops on fiction featuring activists and collective writing, time and space travel, plus conversations and writing projects you can join.
Latest Issues:
Highlights:
Juliana Barnet is a lifelong activist, popular educator, and anthropologist. Many years immersed in the ups and downs of popular (and unpopular) movements inspired her to delve into the nature of activist culture. An avid fiction reader, frustrated by so few activist characters in novels and movies, Juliana writes, and encourages others to write, stories centering the adventures of activists.
She also writes essays on activist culture, novels featuring activists, and reviews of activist portrayals in fiction. She works with writers and activists young and old on integrating creative writing into movement building.
Juliana is connected to many fine communities of activist trouble-makers, including her local anti-ICE, pro-people immigrant rights collective, and anti-imperialist solidarity with Venezuela, Palestine, and others targeted by US imperialism.
Subscribe to Activist Explorer to be the first to hear when my “movement mystery” Rainwood House Sings (revised edition) launches!
Get essays on activist culture, reviews of fiction featuring activists, updates on writing for movement building, and more…but not too often!
