feminist. speaker. entrepreneur. book enthusiast.

I’m Renee M. Powers. My name is a sentence and it’s also my purpose.

As founder of Feminist Book Club, my work engages conversations around gender, race, and justice, and what it means to be a decent human woman in this diverse, ever-connected world. And when shit gets hard, when the world is infuriating, I hold the container to process it, to nudge with tools and critical thinking to hopefully make the burden feel a little more manageable.

I would be honored to speak with your class, workshop, book club, publication or organization about how to do feminism in our everyday lives and what it means to live in alignment with feminist values.

Photo: Laura Alpizar

Feminism & books can be stuffy topics. But they don’t have to be.

My two great loves are feminism and literature, both of which have a reputation of being boring, dated, or stuffy. Yo, let’s update the conversation around social justice and books. I’ll bring a fresh, modern perspective on these topics to your next event.

Need a Speaker or Host?

Speaking

Renee is a dynamic speaker, leaning on her years of teaching public speaking and theatre. She approaches topics through a feminist lens, utilizing her academic background in feminist theory. Book her for your next workshop, conference, or media piece.

Signature topics:

  • How to do feminism in our everyday lives
  • Incorporating feminist values into life and business
  • What do we do with our privilege?
  • How to launch a podcast and how to pitch a podcast

All topics can be tailored to a specific event and/or audience.

Author events

Are you an author or publicist? Let Renee help you organize your next book event in Minneapolis! As a skilled interviewer and host, she’s available to emcee the event as well as help with marketing and outreach to make your visit to the Twin Cities as fruitful and enjoyable as possible.

What to expect:

  • Renee will read the book you’re promoting and familiarize herself with previous work.
  • Renee will provide a list of questions she might ask the author so all are prepared.
  • The event will be amplified on Feminist Book Club: The Podcast and all Feminist Book Club social media.

Renee is especially good at reading a room and will adjust course in real time to create an engaging, fun event for the audience.

Ready to get started?
Let’s chat:
reneempowers@gmail.com

  • Angie Kim, Renee, and Kali Fajardo-Anstine at Wordplay
    (The Loft, Minneapolis, 2019)
  • Renee interviews August McLaughlin for the Girl Boner book launch {Boneshaker Books, Minneapolis, 2018)

About Renee

Renee M. Powers is a fan of stories, which is her polite way of saying she’s incredibly nosy. But this is ultimately what drives her interest in literature and interviews. In 2018, she founded Feminist Book Club, a monthly subscription box and community that highlights a feminist book and products from woman- and queer-owned businesses. She also hosts the corresponding podcast Feminist Book Club: The Podcast, which speaks to authors, writers, and readers about the intersection of feminism and literature. You can tune in on any major podcast platform or on the FBC website.

An academic by trade, Renee is a proud PhDropout, having spent six years at University of Illinois at Chicago studying, teaching, and researching gender, privacy, and online communication. She earned her B.A. in Women’s Studies from Saint Mary’s College (Notre Dame, IN) and her M.A. in Communication from Northern Illinois University. She also is a trained racial justice facilitator through the YWCA. Previously, Renee worked in government, holding positions with Senator Evan Bayh, Congressman Joe Donnelly, and Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson.

She lives in Minneapolis with her partner and their retired racing greyhound Rudy.

Photo: Kianna Notermann

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Email:
reneempowers@gmail.com

Instagram:
@bellerenee
@feministbookclubbox

Snail Mail:
Renee Powers
C/O ModernWell
2909 S. Wayzata Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55409