06/03/2026
Firebrand Books: An Ithaca–Fun Home Connection
We talked with Nancy K. Bereano, an American editor and publisher, about the Ithaca connection with Alison Bechdel, who wrote the graphic novel “Fun Home” that inspired the musical. In 1984, Nancy founded Firebrand Books in Ithaca, a pioneering le***an feminist press, and led the company until her retirement in 2000. Firebrand Books published nine collections of Alison Bechdel’s iconic comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For.”
How did you first become aware of Alison Bechdel’s work?
Nancy: “I became aware of her work when she was doing single-panel cartoons in Women News, which was a feminist le***an paper in New York City. This very funny, very smart woman was doing single-panel cartoons called “Dykes to Watch Out For”. And that was the first collected book of hers that I did. I thought she was amazing. I thought she was incredibly bright.”
How has Bechdel’s work evolved since you first encountered it?
“Her drawing gets much more sophisticated as she goes along. She has become masterful, really masterful, in terms of the technical parts of her cartooning. Fun Home is one of the manifestations of that, which came a number of years into her public cartooning life.”
Do you know anything about what that experience of having a work go from page to stage was like for her?
“..She was on really good terms with people, but it was not her baby. She understood that in translation, so to speak, between genres the original author does not have the final say on how things should be. I don’t think there were any hitches, but it was not necessarily because of her influences that they made the choices they did. And I’ll tell you that the key, the gal with the keys, it’s like a meme within the le***an community.” 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
We are collaborating with bookstores Buffalo Street Books and Odyssey Bookstore to offer you a discount on tickets to FUN HOME! When you purchase one of Alison Bechdel’s books from either of these bookstores, you will receive a promo code for 20% off tickets to Fun Home.
FUN HOME runs June 18-27!
