Kathleen Hanna’s Memoir ‘Rebel Girl’ is an Instant New York Times Bestseller
Kathleen Hanna’s Acclaimed Memoir
Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk
is an Instant New York Times Bestseller!
#5 New York Times Bestseller
+ Editors’ Choice
#4 National Indie Bestseller
#3 Los Angeles Times Bestseller
US Book Tour Continues
Tour dates + tickets below and here.
LIVE on MSNBC TV’s Morning Joe
Design Matters podcast w/ guest host Roxane Gay
Gayotic with MUNA podcast | KEXP “A Deeper Listen”
NPR Fresh Air | The New York Times | The Los Angeles Times
Vulture | Rolling Stone | PEOPLE | USA TODAY | TIME | SPIN
Vanity Fair | W Mag | VOGUE | ELLE | Interview Mag | NYLON
Town & Country | PARADE | The Associated Press | Pitchfork | THEM
Perfectly Imperfect | HYPEBEAST | NY Mag: The Grub Street Diet
“From the 1993 single “Rebel Girl” to this book of the same name, women’s sovereignty over their bodies has been Kathleen Hanna’s North Star and cri de coeur. Given recent court decisions sending America back to the Dark Ages, her story, along with Bikini Kill’s upcoming tour, couldn’t feel more necessary.”
Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk book cover
Book cover by Ecco
Trailblazing feminist icon, musician, author, outspoken women’s rights activist, and original rebel girl, Kathleen Hanna’s memoir Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk is an instant New York Times Bestseller debuting at #5 and featured as Editors’ Choice. The book also debuted as a #4 National Indie Bestseller and #3 Los Angeles Times Bestseller.
Earning widespread praise across the globe and appearing on MSNBC TV’s Morning Joe, the critically acclaimed book was released last Tuesday, May 14, with Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins. Hanna is currently in the midst of a U.S. book tour. She has been joined by an eclectic lineup of brilliant minds “in conversation”, including Molly Ringwald, Amy Poehler, Hanif Abdurraqib, Brontez Purnell and more. Fans unable to attend the tour in-person can join the live stream tonight, May 22 with Lindy West! A portion of all ticket sales will be donated to Peace Sisters, a non-profit organization for which Hanna is an Ambassador. Tickets are on sale now.
Hanna’s band Bikini Kill embodied the punk scene of the 90s, and today her personal yet feminist lyrics on anthems like “Rebel Girl” and “Double Dare Ya” are more powerful than ever. But where did this transformative voice come from?
In Rebel Girl, Hanna’s raw and insightful new memoir, she takes us from her tumultuous childhood to her formative college years and her first shows. As Hanna makes clear, being in a punk “girl band” in those years was not a simple or safe prospect. Male violence and antagonism threatened at every turn, and surviving as a singer who was a lightning rod for controversy took limitless amounts of determination.
But the relationships she developed during those years buoyed her, including with her bandmates Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, JD Samson, and Johanna Fateman. And her friendships with musicians like Kurt Cobain, Ian MacKaye, Kim Gordon, and Joan Jett reminded her that despite the odds, the punk world could still nurture and care for its own. Hanna opens up about falling in love with Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys and her debilitating battle with Lyme disease, and she brings us behind the scenes of her musical growth in her bands Le Tigre and The Julie Ruin.
In an uncut voice all her own, Hanna reveals the hardest times along with the most joyful—and how they continue to fuel her revolutionary art and music.
Praise for Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk
“With its episodic style of vivid, swift chapters and Hanna’s kinetic voice, Rebel Girl is a bold portrait. For the sake of late 20th century history alone, it’s a crucial book about feminist politics and art. But it’s also a tender examination of a woman who survived abuse and sexual assault.” – The Los Angeles Times
“Rebel Girl is Hanna in full: politically radical, funny, and fearless. Just as Hanna has never held back as a performer, she writes unflinchingly…” – Vanity Fair
“Captures the life of a young woman trying to navigate a sexist culture while simultaneously finding her creative voice. There is an equal sense that Rebel Girl was written as a sort of road map for a new generation to pick up their own instruments and rock the world.” – VOGUE
“Hanna’s new memoir applies [her] caustic, introspective, politically astute, and often mischievously playful voice to the ups and downs of her own life story.” – TIME
“The best parts of “Rebel Girl” detail Hanna’s difficulties navigating a world she and her peers had to make for themselves.” – The Washington Post
“Hanna delivers a searing memoir in which the pioneering punk icon recalls her journey through music and activism. She makes the case for hope and resilience in the face of hardship illustrated by the lasting positive impact of her work.” – W Magazine
“Kathleen Hanna is a living legend” – Bustle
“Hanna’s book is raw, honest, poetic, insightful, and often funny. Her political evolution is particularly gratifying”– Kirkus Reviews
“Her sharp wit, honesty, and humor are as apparent here as they are in her lyrics, and the opportunity to hear first hand about her life and work is something fans—long time or brand new—shouldn’t miss.”
U.S. Book Tour – Tickets
May 22, 2024: Seattle, WA
with Lindy West
Seattle Arts & Lectures @ Town Hall Seattle
with KEXP & Paperboat Booksellers
May 23, 2024: Portland, OR
with Fabi Reyna
Powell’s Books @ Revolution Hall
May 28, 2024: Boston, MA
with Imani Perry
Brookline Booksmith @ The Wilbur Theatre
May 29, 2024: Philadelphia, PA
with Hari Kondabalou
Uncle Bobbie’s @ WHYY Studio
Photo Credit: Jason Frank Rothenberg
Author Bio
Kathleen Hanna is a punk singer, artist, writer and the front-woman of the influential bands Bikini Kill and Le Tigre. She is a staple in feminist publications, from college curriculums to bestselling books, and a leading voice in the feminist movement. Kathleen has been named one of the best live performers of our time, earning acclaim from Rolling Stone, The New York Times, NPR, Interview Magazine, Vogue and the Los Angeles Times, to name just a few. She is the founder of the t-shirt company Tees4Togo which donates a portion of its profits to Peace Sisters, a non-profit that supports girls’ education in Togo, West Africa.
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