Booksmith is excited to host Deborah Stoll for the release of her book Drop In: The Gender Rebels Who Changed the Face of Skateboarding on July 16th! Join us for a reading and panel discussion and Q&A with Deborah and featured skaters from the book, refreshments and snacks from Delfina Restaurant, and the chance to grab your own signed copy of Drop In!

About the book

The bad*ss story of the female, queer, bi, and nonbinary skaters who charted a path to the Olympics and changed the face of skateboarding.

Who gets to tell the story of skateboarding? Drop In is the first book to recognize and historicize the female, queer, bi, and nonbinary humans who blazed the path that led to today’s more equitable skate culture. It wasn’t easy getting here.

Like the rest of the world, skateboarding has long been patriarchal. In the 70s, it personified the punk rock, lock-up-your-daughters, middle-finger-to-the-man ethos. In the 80s, it was Miami Vice soundtracks and parachute pants, neon graphics and fingerless gloves. In the 90s it was New York City—graffiti, hip-hop, and skating in the street. Rarely did you see a woman’s name in a skate video—either on a deck or behind the lens.

The four skateboarders at the heart of Drop In defied expectations of gender, talent, physical ability, and mental capacity to fight the status quo: Alana as the first openly nonbinary athlete in Olympic history; Vanessa as a record breaking runaway; Marbie as an accidental boundary-breaking trans icon; and Victoria as the skate rookie turned social media sensation. Drop In spotlights their paths from rebellious outsiders to recognized pioneers on the historic stage of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where skateboarding made its debut. Their experiences reveal a side of skateboarding that’s never been recorded, amplifying voices that have, for too long, gone unheard.

About the author

Deborah Stoll is a journalist, lyricist, writer and animator. Her work has appeared in The Economist, Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Punch Drink, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Her short stories have been featured in Slake, Swivel, and Fresh Yarn. Her band, Hot As Sun, has opened for Phantogram, Gotye, and Foster the People, been heard on TV shows like Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, Glee, and CSI: Miami, and in the movie For a Good Time, Call and the upcoming, Space Cadet. Her first book, Unvarnished, was co-written with Eric Alperin. Drop In is her first book as a solo author. This is her website: Bubbemaisse.com.

Please note:

• Masks are not required, but can be provided upon request.
• Check-in begins at 6:45. Unclaimed seats are given up beginning at 7:10.
• There will be a 30 minute post-show signing as time allows. Books will be for sale on the night of the event, but you can also purchase additional copies straight from our website.
• Questions? Accessibility requests? Write to us at [email protected].