📡 Meshtastic 101
2026-03-15 10:30 - 12:30, 2026-04-04 10:30 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Join us for an introduction to Meshtastic, an application that lets you send private text messages over the air using pocket-sized LoRa radio transceivers. We’ll show you how to flash the latest Meshtastic firmware to the device, customize the settings, and start chatting with your friends.
Here’s a link to our zine on LoRa + Meshtastic.
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

☕️ Coffee Talk
2026-03-16 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-04-06 18:00 - 20:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
A social hangout every first and third Monday for trans and non-binary people, their significant others, and allies. We have snacks and coffee.

✏️ The Writing Room
2026-03-17 17:00 - 19:30, 2026-03-24 17:00 - 19:30, 2026-03-31 17:00 - 19:30, 2026-04-07 17:00 - 19:30, 2026-04-14 17:00 - 19:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Come co-work with other writers in three 40-minute units of silent writing. Writers and projects of any type welcome. 10-minute breaks and accountability check-ins between units. BYO coffee, water, computer chargers, notepads, etc.

🐌 Slow Living Support Group
2026-03-18 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-04-15 18:00 - 20:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
For people who value connection, sustainability, and creativity — without AI.
Bring:
• writing projects
• craft projects
• books & book recommendations
• CDs
Do not bring:
• screens
Provided:
• zine-making supplies
• snacks

🤔 FAFIO Beginner Tech Meetup: Private Collaboration Tools
2026-03-19 18:30 - 20:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
FAFIO is a meetup for folks who want to learn new tech skills, but aren’t sure where to start. Let’s fuck around and figure it out. FAFIO means there is no instructor. Instead we learn by talking and sharing knowledge, reading info in zines and online, and hands-on trial and error.

👾 Pixel Buddy Video Art Workshop
2026-03-20 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-04-03 14:00 - 16:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
In this workshop you’ll use a Pi Pico microcontroller to send low-res (320×240) digital video to an HDMI display. Despite its limitations, the cool thing about this device is that it’s inexpensive enough that you can plug it in somewhere (perhaps a wall of TVs at an electronics store) and leave it behind for prank/art/propaganda purposes.
Your Pi Pico will generate video in the DVI-D format rather than the newer HDMI standard. But because HDMI is backwards compatible with DVI-D, your device should work with any HDMI monitor or TV.
Here’s what’s in the kit:

Pi Pico board w/ microUSB port
Pico DVI video sock
insulated wire (4″)
heat shrink tubing (3″)

Here’s what else you’ll need:

HDMI cable
microUSB cable with data connection
computer (macOS/Linux/Windows)
soldering iron
lead-free solder
flux paste
header pins (optional)
wire stripping tool (optional)

➡️ Instructions
Register
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

⊕ Quarterly Bonus Workshop
2026-03-21 10:30 - 12:00 | PA
Our quarterly off-site bonus workshop for Patreon supporters. Check out our Patreon page for details!
Questions? Email iffybooks@iffybooks.net
Register
Registration for this event is now closed. Sorry.
Here's a link to future workshops in this series!

🏠 Host a Website at Home
2026-03-22 10:30 - 12:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Join us for the workshop Host a Website at Home! You’ll learn to run a web server using Apache on a single-board computer, letting you host a website from your home internet connection.
We’ll have home server kits available for $51.99. Here’s what’s included:
• Orange Pi Zero 3 single-board computer
• Micro HDMI adapter cable
• 20W power supply w/ USB-C port
• 60W USB-C to USB-C power cable (6″)
• zip tie & rubber bands
Here’s what you’ll need at home:
• Monitor or TV w/ HDMI input
• micro SD card (16GB or larger)
• Ethernet cable
• HDMI cable
• USB keyboard with USB-A plug
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

🚧 Make Your First Website
2026-03-23 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-04-13 18:00 - 20:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Make a home page like it’s 1999! Join us at Iffy Books for a new workshop called Make Your First Website, led by Ragman a.k.a. Richard Green. You’ll learn the basics of HTML and create a static site on the free hosting service Neocities. No experience necessary!
Please bring a laptop if you have one. We’re suggesting a $10–$25 donation for this workshop, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!

🪐 Speculative Futures Reading Group: 'I Who Have Never Known Men' by Jacqueline Harpman
2026-03-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
The Speculative Futures Reading Group meets on the last Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m.!
Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before.
As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the fortieth prisoner—sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others’ escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.
Jacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929, and fled to Casablanca with her family during WWII. Informed by her background as a psychoanalyst and her youth in exile, I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation. Back in print for the first time since 1997, Harpman’s modern classic is an essential addition to the growing canon of feminist speculative literature.

🎙️ W̶h̶o̶l̶e̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶T̶e̶c̶h̶ ̶P̶o̶d̶c̶a̶s̶t̶ (delayed again)
2026-03-26 18:30 - 20:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Delayed again! Stay tuned while we work out the details.

Photo CC-BY Abi Porter

👾 Pixel Buddy Video Art Workshop
2026-03-27 14:00 - 16:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
In this workshop you’ll use a Pi Pico microcontroller to send low-res (320×240) digital video to an HDMI display. Despite its limitations, the cool thing about this device is that it’s inexpensive enough that you can plug it in somewhere (perhaps a wall of TVs at an electronics store) and leave it behind for prank/art/propaganda purposes.
Your Pi Pico will generate video in the DVI-D format rather than the newer HDMI standard. But because HDMI is backwards compatible with DVI-D, your device should work with any HDMI monitor or TV.
Here’s what’s in the kit:

Pi Pico board w/ microUSB port
Pico DVI video sock
insulated wire (4″)
heat shrink tubing (3″)

Here’s what else you’ll need:

HDMI cable
microUSB cable with data connection
computer (macOS/Linux/Windows)
soldering iron
lead-free solder
flux paste
header pins (optional)
wire stripping tool (optional)

➡️ Instructions
Register
Registration is now closed. Stay tuned for the next one!

📡 Tabling at South Philly Community Market + Meshtastic 101!
2026-03-28 10:00 - 14:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
We’ll be tabling at the South Philly Community Market on Saturday, March 28th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
If you’ve been curious about off-grid text messaging with Meshtastic, stop by and pick up a zine! Or buy a device and join the network! For this event we’ll be offering Xiao ESP32-S3 LoRa transceivers with Meshtastic pre-flashed, which means you can learn the basics and start sending messages in 5–10 minutes.

💻 Philly 2600 Meetup
2026-04-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
> The Philly 2600 meeting is a monthly gathering of local hackers, phreaks, nerds, geeks, activists, tinkerers, developers, infosec professionals, and other interesting people.

🏠 IndieWeb Homebrew Website Club
2026-04-05 18:00 - 20:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Homebrew Website Club is a growing world-wide network of meetups for everyone who wants to take back their web experience from social media silos, and own their online identities & content, or just want support with blogging!

⚡️ Beginner Soldering: Flashing LED Circuit
2026-04-08 12:00 - 13:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
In this workshop you’ll learn the basics of soldering by building a tiny oscillator circuit with two transistors and two LED lights. No previous experience needed!
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. Sorry.
Here's a link to future workshops in this series!

⚙️ Neo-Luddite Reading Group: "Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman
2026-04-09 18:30 - 20:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
➡️ Virtual Meetup Link
Discord: Email neoluddite@victorgom.es for an invite!
Full schedule: victorgom.es/neoluddite
If you’re joining for the first time, I’d suggest you read this before anything else for brief context: What the Luddites Really Fought Against by Richard Conniff.The only expectation is that you read the chapter(s) of the book that’s listed for that meeting. You’re still welcome to participate if you haven’t done the readings as long as you are mindful. For each chapter, I’ve also noted some optional readings for context, so I’d suggest checking those out rather than reading ahead in the book. And remember, if you ever find yourself struggling with any of the readings or concepts, reach out! Either directly to me over email or to the entire group over discord.

🛠️ Tabling at Temple Electronics Faire
2026-04-10 10:00 - 16:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
At Temple University’s Charles Library. Stay tuned for details!

🚂 Model Internet Club at Rittenhouse Square
2026-04-11 10:30 - 12:30 | Rittenhouse Square, 1800 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19146, United States
The Model Internet Club is back! Join us every second Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for an informal meetup focused on building small-scale computer networks.
No registration needed for this event! If we run out of space we can expand into our back yard area.

🧵 Anarchist Sewing Club
2026-04-12 15:00 - 17:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Interested in learning to sew, mend or make clothes? Already know how and wanna hang out with people while sewing? Come and join us! Sewing supplies and a sewing machine will be available for anyone needing them.

Image credit

🤔 FAFIO Beginner Tech Meetup
2026-04-16 18:30 - 20:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
