Loyalty is thrilled to welcome Denali Sai Nalamalapu to celebrate the release of Holler: A Graphic Memoir of Rural Resistance, in partnership with The STAY Project. This event will be held digitally via Crowdcast and is free to attend. Click here to register for the event. You can also order the book from our website to be added to the event's registration list, and there will also be an option to snag the book during the event. Email events@loyaltybookstores.com with any questions.

An "important piece of activist art", this beautiful graphic memoir tells the story of six hopeful activists in Appalachia who had the courage to resist against a threat to their community (Margaret Killjoy).

Drawing from original interviews with the author, Holler is an illustrated look at six inspiring changemakers. Denali Nalamalapu, a climate organizer in their own right, introduces readers to the ordinary people who became resisters of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a project that spans approximately 300 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia—a teacher, a single mother, a nurse, an organizer, a photographer, and a seed keeper. 

In West Virginia, Becky Crabtree, grandmother of five, chains herself to her 1970s Ford Pinto to stop construction from destroying her farm. Farther south, in Virginia, young organizer Michael James-Deramo organizes mutual aid to support community members showing up to protest the pipeline expansion. These (and more) are the stories of everyday resistance that show what difference we can make when we stand up for what we love, and stand together in community. When the world tells these resisters to sit down and back off, they refuse to give up. 

More than anything, Holler is an invitation to readers everywhere searching for their own path to activism: sending the message that no matter how small your action is, it’s impactful. The story of the Mountain Valley Pipeline is one we can all relate to, as each and every one of our communities faces the increasing threats of the climate crisis, and the corporations that benefit from the destruction of our natural resources. Holler is a moving and deeply accessible—and beautifully visual—story about change, hope, and humanity.

Denali Sai Nalamalapu is a climate organizer from Southern Maine and Southern India. Denali lives in Southwest Virginia. They have written for Truthout, Prism, and Mergoat Magazine, and their climate activism has been covered in Shondaland, Vogue India, Self, The Independent, and elsewhere. They studied English Literature at Bates College and completed a Fulbright grant in Malaysia. You can find them at @DenaliSai on Instagram.

The STAY Project’s mission is to connect young people ages 14-30 across Appalachia to make our communities places that we can and want to STAY. Our work is for youth, by youth. We envision an economically and environmentally sustainable Central Appalachia where young people have the power to build and participate in diverse, inclusive, and healthy communities. In this tumultuous moment across our many communities, STAY is poised to incubate local organizing hubs across Central and Southern Appalachia woven together across geography, culture, issues, age, and position through our STAY Member programs including the STAY Summer Institute, the Black Appalachian Young and Rising (BAYR) Gathering, as well as local and virtual organizing efforts such as Regional Membership Calls, the BAYR Liberation Tour, and STAY for Dinner. STAY is focused on building the capacity and skills of young people to be strong leaders across Appalachia in their communities, workplaces, families, and neighborhoods.

Please note Loyalty has a zero tolerance policy for harassment or intimidation of any kind during virtual or in-person events.

Denali Sai Nalamalapu for HOLLER: A Graphic Memoir of Rural Resistance