Flaming Hydra's Phoenix Project seeks to reshape digital ownership for libraries and readers

Flaming Hydra, an online culture and commentary publication, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for The Phoenix Project, framed around what the initiative calls the "return of the human internet." The campaign supports three interconnected efforts: a one-time print magazine celebrating early internet values, a new e-book service for libraries, and a program to archive and lend newsletter subscriptions to library systems.

Maria Bustillos, lead editor at Flaming Hydra, describes these seemingly separate initiatives as fundamentally unified by a shared mission: "protecting freedom of information" and realizing "the promise of the early internet, where you're making information available to as many people as possible, while still protecting the right of artists and authors to make a living."

The publication has addressed these concerns directly through its own reporting. When contributor Tal Levin discovered numerous AI-generated copies of his book on Amazon, it highlighted a core problem Bustillos sees in today's digital landscape. By establishing "an ecosystem that is based in people working together, who are offering their stuff in a context that is controlled and doesn't allow" unauthorized AI reproductions, Flaming Hydra positions itself as "part of the human project."

Bustillos emphasized that technological forces need not be inevitable: "AI is not this unstoppable force. If people just set up publishing pipelines and networks and organizations that are dedicated to the human internet, people who want to read stuff can go to them, and it's actually completely isolated from mechanistic interference."

The e-book ownership problem

Libraries and schools currently face severe restrictions on digital reading materials. Bustillos documented this issue in 2020, noting that schools must pay $27 per student annually just to maintain access to a single title like "The Diary of Anne Frank," rather than purchasing it outright.

The broader challenge stems from how digital publishing operates today. Rather than owning e-books, institutions and individuals merely license them from publishers, who retain the power to modify or revoke access at any moment. Bustillos articulates the core principle simply: "E-books are books. They're not some other thing. They are books, and people should be able to own them, and libraries should be able to own them, and media should be able to be owned. All digital media should be able to be owned."

She frames ownership as a matter of control: "If you are at the mercy of somebody who can shut the book off, you do not own it." While individual instances of altered or removed e-books might seem minor, the cumulative effect becomes troubling when entire collections—textbooks, reference materials, entire libraries—remain subject to external control.

The Phoenix Project's solutions

To address e-book access, The Phoenix Project enables libraries to purchase and genuinely own digital books, then distribute them to patrons through an open source platform called Lenny for Libraries.

The initiative launches with five e-books from Flaming Hydra contributors, including collections from The Awl and essay compilations by Tom Scocca and Bustillos herself. Though modest in scope, Bustillos indicates she is already in discussions with library consortiums and author organizations, positioning The Phoenix Project as a model to "change the conversation" around digital lending and archiving more broadly.

A parallel component, The Phoenix Foundry Archive, targets the growing problem of paywalled newsletter content. Much contemporary journalism, criticism, and essays now exist behind subscription walls inaccessible to libraries and archival services like the Internet Archive. The system allows newsletter creators using Ghost (with support for additional platforms planned) to offer library subscriptions similar to traditional newspaper and magazine arrangements. Phoenix automatically converts selected newsletter posts into EPUB format for library distribution.

Funding and independence

Flaming Hydra has already developed these systems with support from backers including Anand Raganathan, Brewster Kahle, and Paul Ford. By pursuing crowdfunding, Bustillos explains, the organization can maintain sustainability and independence from external pressures.

"We don't have to be at the mercy of anybody, and it also protects editorial independence," Bustillos said. "Those things go hand in hand."

The Kickstarter campaign seeks $30,000 and runs through November 27.