Feminist, GWS, and LGBTQ+ Publishers

The Office of the GWS Librarian maintains the following list of women’s, feminist, and LGBTQ+-focused publishers. We center feminist, anti-oppression, trans-inclusionary publishers. We welcome international publishers. The list is updated as we learn about new (or folded) publishers. Please contact the GWSL at karla.strand@wisc.edu if you have a suggestion.

Women’s and Feminist Publishers (see also LGBTQ+ publishers below):

• Alice James Books places emphasis on the publication of women poets.
• Aqueduct Press dedicates itself to publishing challenging, feminist science fiction.
• Ash Tree Publishing offers herbal medicine books for women’s health.
• Aunt Lute Books is a not-for-profit, multicultural women’s press.
• Bedazzled Ink is dedicated to literary fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books that celebrate the unique and under-represented voices of women and books about women that appeal to all readers.
• BLF Press is an independent Black feminist press dedicated to amplifying the work of women of color.
• Caitlin Press was established in 1977 by Carolyn Zonailo as a feminist literary press. The press now publishes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry that reflects the diverse cultures/histories of British Columbia. Home of Dagger Editions (see below) which is dedicated solely to publishing voices of queer women.
• Calyx in Oregon publishes literature and essays.
• Chicory Blue Press is a small, feminist, literary press, now focusing on the strong voices of women over seventy.
• Clover Valley Press, founded in 2007, publishes quality manuscripts written by women. Genres may include fiction, poetry, or nonfiction.
• Conari Press an imprint of Red Wheel/Weiser, publishes books on women’s issues as well as spirituality, personal growth, parenting, and social issues.
• Demeter Press is the first book publisher focused specifically on the topic of mothering/ motherhood. An independent feminist press, they are committed to publishing peer-reviewed scholarly work, fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction by and about mothers, mothering and family issues.
• Dirt Road Books publishes some of the best women’s and LGBTQ literature across all genres.
• Dottir Press takes a feminist approach to publishing and artistic production, working to fill the absences in both our history and present culture through storytelling in all forms and for all ages.
• Emily Books make weird books by women.
• Feminist Press of CUNY
• Green Dragon Press publishes women’s history and equity issues materials.
• Honno publishes women writers in Wales.
• Inanna Publications and Education Inc. is one of only a very few independent feminist presses in Canada committed to publishing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction by and about women, and complementing this with relevant non-fiction, that brings new, innovative, and diverse perspectives with the potential to change and enhance women’s lives everywhere.
• Kali For Women (India) divided into two publishing ventures in 2003: Women Unlimited and Zubaan. (Vedams Books International, a book dealer in India, has an extensive women’s studies catalog on the web which lists books published in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.)
• Kelsey Street Press, Berkeley, CA, is a literary publisher whose books often include drawings and photographs.
• Kore Press publishes and promotes works by a diversity of women, including those traditionally underrepresented in the cultural mainstream.
• Linen Press is a small, independent publisher run by women, for women. They are now the only indie women’s press in the UK.
• Mayapple Press publishes Great Lakes regional poetry and poetry by women.
• Modjaji Books is an award-winning independent feminist press that publishes the work of southern African women writers.
• Paris Press is a literary publisher.
• Red Letter Press is a “volunteer-run, not-for-profit feminist and socialist book publisher.”
• Redstockings is the place to turn to for original pamphlets, broadsides, journals, and audiotapes from and about the Women’s Liberation Movement, 1968-1972.
• Seal Press is devoted to publishing titles that inform, reveal, engage, delight, and support women of all ages and backgrounds.
• Second Story Press of Toronto, Canada, publishes fiction and non-fiction for adults and children.
• As a feminist press, Shade Mountain is committed to publishing literature by women, especially women of color, disabled women, women from working-class backgrounds, and LGBTQ women.
• Sisters in Crime (SinC) “is an international organization of writers, readers, booksellers, librarians, agents, editors, reviewers and teachers interested in promoting the work of women mystery writers.” The site includes a bibliography, arranged by author and books-in-print catalogs, which currently works for children and young adult and works in German.
• Spinsters Ink focuses on fiction and nonfiction that “speak to the issues central to women’s lives.”
• Stree Books, Kolkata, India, “publishes on the fundamental issues facing women in India today work and the workplace; class relations and political subjection; marriage and the family; and the impact of religion, culture, and ideology on society.” Many publications are translated from Indian languages into English.
• Sumach Press – See Three O’Clock Press
• Switchback Books is a feminist poetry press in Chicago.
• Three O’Clock Press was established in 2010 to conserve the traditions of Women’s Press Literary and Sumach Press, and to add a unique voice to Canadian publishing. Three O’Clock Press’s mandate is to continue the feminist approach of their imprints.
• Tollington Press publishes new writing by women (and non-binary people) with unique stories to tell.
• Uncut/Voices Press is publishing books against the practices of female genital mutilation.
• Virago is the international publisher of books by women for all readers, everywhere.
• Wish Publishing‘s interests are women’s sports, health, and fitness.
• Women Unlimited is a non-profit associate of Kali for Women (India) that publishes scholarly and academic books in the social sciences; fiction; general interest non-fiction; books for young adults; pamphlets and monographs; and activist material.
• Women’s Press, Canada, publishes Canadian feminist writers. Canadian Scholars’ Press has managed the company since 2000.
• Women’s Press Literary – See Three O’Clock Press
• Zubaan is an imprint of Kali for Women; it is an independent non-profit publishing house in India that publishes “Gender and Reproductive Health/Sexuality, Gender and Conflict,  Gender and Architecture,  Gender and Law, Gender and History/National Movement,  Gender and Economics,  The North East of India (including essays and fiction), Fiction in translation, mostly novels, Readers on the Women’s Movement/Feminism, Biographies/Autobiographies/Memoirs.”

LGBTQ+ Publishers (see also list above):

• Affinity Rainbow publishes works of lesbian literature as ebooks and print on demand. Affinity is wholly owned by authors and the content of works will reflect their collective writing vision.
• Arktoi Books offers literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction by lesbian writers.
• Arsenal Pulp Press is a book publisher in Vancouver, Canada with over 300 titles currently in print, which include gender studies, LGBT and multicultural literature, and more.
• Bella Books is a small publisher of vibrant and irresistible fiction for and about lesbians.
• BENT publishes queer fiction, non-fiction, and poetry with queer themes from queer-identified authors.
• Blind Eye Books is an independent press dedicated to publishing science-fiction and fantasy stories with gay and lesbian protagonists.
• Blue Point Books publishes books on working women. – Ceased?
• Bold Strokes Books offers a diverse collection of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer general, and genre fiction. BSB genre fiction includes all romance sub-genres as well as action, adventure, crime, mystery/intrigue, and speculative fic (sci-fi/fantasy/horror).
• Bywater Books publishes lesbian/feminist literary fiction.
• Carnation Books is an independent publisher of ebooks featuring queer characters, queer romance, and fantastic stories.
• Circlet Press publishes “Erotica for Geeks,” including LGBTQ, BDSM, and furry.
• Cleis Press publishes in the areas of sexuality, gay and lesbian studies, erotica, fiction, gender studies, and human rights.
• Dagger Editions, an imprint of Caitlin Press, is dedicated to publishing literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry by and about queer women (those who identify as queer women, including trans women or trans men, or anyone who includes this in their personal history).
• Decadent Publishing – Publishes LGBTQ and other romance novels.
• Desert Palm Press specializes in quality stories that speak to the lives of the lesbian community.
• Dreamspinner Press is an international publisher of quality gay romantic fiction since 2007.
• Elysium Press was created in 1980 to print and publish letterpress books by authors whose works were either out of print or out of fashion in the contemporary book world. There is a particular focus on works by gay authors of the last century whose work has been neglected or overlooked by the commercial trade.
• eXtasy Books published LGBTQ and other erotic and romance novels.
• Flashpoint Publications is interested in stories relating to the LGBTQIA+ community. They’re open to reviewing manuscripts in any genre, from romance to nonfiction.
• Gertrude Press has been publishing the voices of LGBTQ artists and writers since 1999.
• Go Deeper Press is a publisher of erotica, including LGBTQ and BDSM.
• Harmony Ink Press is an imprint publishing Teen and New Adult fiction featuring significant personal growth of unforgettable characters across the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
• Harrington Park Press is a specialized academic/scholarly book publisher devoted to emerging topics in LGBTQ diversity, equality, and inclusivity.
• Headmistress Press was founded in 2013 by Mary Meriam and Risa Denenberg. The singular mission of the press is to promote and market lesbian-identified poetry by publishing books of poetry by LBT poets.
• Homofactus calls itself a digital, global micro-publishing company committed to publishing books by, for, and about trans masculine folks, FTMs, and transmen with a special emphasis on communities of color and disability communities.
• Indolent Books is a small poetry press founded in 2015 and operating in Brooklyn, N.Y. that publishes books that are innovative, provocative, risky, and relevant. Indolent is queer flavored but inclusive.
• Insomniac Press has developed special niche areas in which it publishes unique books. For example, its black studies books, gay and lesbian books, and personal finance books.
• Interlude Press is an award-winning boutique publisher of LGBTQ general and romantic fiction.
• JMS Books is a queer small press.
• Ladylit Publishing is an independent publisher of quality lesbian fiction.
• Launch Point Press (LPP) was established in 2014 with the goal of publishing quality novels and stories by newer lesbian authors, particularly those residing in or near the Pacific Northwest.
• Lethe Press is an independent publishing house specializing in the strange, the eerie, and the uncanny. Many of their books do have queer interest but they’ve grown into speculative fiction for all readers.
• Manic D Press was founded by Jennifer Joseph in 1984. An award-winning literary press based in San Francisco,  publishing fiction, poetry, pop culture, music, art, narrative-oriented comix, children’s, and alternative travel books, they represent a diverse group of unique writers and artists, with emphasis on those who have been shunned by the traditional publishing establishment for lacking commercial viability, regardless of their talent or future promise.
• ManLoveRomance (MLR) Press offers the highest quality gay fiction and erotic romance.
• New Victoria Publishers has lesbian feminist works.
• NineStar Press is a boutique publisher of quality LGBTQA romance, erotica, and literary fiction, located in New Mexico, USA.
• Pride Publishing is a GBLTQI fiction publishing house from Totally Entwined Group.
• Queen of Swords is an independent small press based in Minneapolis specializing in swashbuckling tales with female protagonists, people from wide-ranging cultural and racial backgrounds having adventures in outer space, LGBT and/or Q characters engaged in magic and swordplay, and historically-flavored stories that reflect diverse casts of characters doing interesting things.
• Queerteen Press is a young adult imprint of JMS Books LLC.
• RedBone Press publishes work celebrating the cultures of black lesbians and gay men, and work that further promotes understanding between black gays and lesbians and the black mainstream.
• Regal Crest publishes LGBTQI novels with plots of action, adventure, drama, fantasy, mystery, thriller, romance, and science fiction.
• Ride the Rainbow Books publishes well-written lesbian fiction.
• Riptide Publishing seeks to fill a critical niche in the LGBTQ market: top-quality books, pristinely packaged, that satisfy readers’ desires for rich, plotty, well-edited stories they’ll want to read again and again.
• Riverdale/Magnus Books is the award-winning Riverdale imprint of LGBT titles.
• Rocky Ridge Books publishes fine m/m adventures, sexy, plotty stories to keep you turning the pages.
• Rose and Star Press is a small but plucky publisher of lesbian romance and fiction of distinction.
• Sapphire Books Publishing, the gem in lesbian publishing, was founded by Christine Svendsen in 2010. They produce and publish fiction, non-fiction, and biographical lesbian literary works of art.
• Sibling Rivalry Press is focused on publishing LGBTIQ authors and artists but is inclusive of all authors, regardless of sexual orientation or identity.
• Established in 1989, STARbooks Press has become the nation’s largest publisher of books targeted exclusively toward gay and bisexual men.
• Supposed Crimes, LLC publishes queer fiction. They started with lesbian books and have expanded to encompass LGBTQ stories and ideas focused on genre fiction–Westerns, Science Fiction, Horror, Action–rather than just romance.
• Topside Press, founded in 2011, is a new independent press with the intent of publishing authentic transgender narratives.
• Transgress Press is an independent publisher of trans and queer writing.
• Triplicity Publishing
• Wicked Publishing specializes in works of lesbian literature/LGBT and mainstream fiction ebooks.
• Wilkinson House, founded in 2011, is a publisher of gay literature.
• Ylva Publishing is the home of quality books about women loving women.

Ceased:

• Alyson Books – Became e-book only in 2010, then ceased in 2011?
• Artemis Press is an “internet-based, non-subsidy, royalty-paying electronic publisher of fiction and nonfiction titles of interest to the worldwide women’s community.
• DLSIJ Press – Ceased?
• Edgework Books offered works by Kim Chernin and others – Ceased?
• Firebrand Books is a feminist and lesbian press. – Ceased? See http://www.firebrandpress.org/
• GirlChild Press – Ceased 2012? Girl Press published “strong books for strong girls.”
• Green Candy Press – Ceased
• Hysteria was an imprint of Sourcebooks covering women’s humor. – Ceased?
• Icon Empire Press was an e-publisher of gay romance books. – Ceased
• Kings Crossing Publishing – Ceased
• Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press – Ceased – 1976-2001
• Less Than Three Press is a strong rising presence in the LGBTQ romance community. – CEASED 2019
• Naiad Press, founded in 1973, was purchased by Bella Books in 2003.
• Onlywomen Press, founded in 1974 by lesbian feminist activists, offered novels, crime fiction, short story collections, cultural criticism, and poetry.
• Press Gang Press from British Columbia, Canada, covered topics from women’s history to sexual abuse and psychiatry. A history of the Press was available through the Celebrating Women’s Achievements section of the website of the National Library of Canada. – Ceased
• Purple Books Publishing – Ceased – Now Purple Distinctions Self-Publishing and Writing Seminars
• Resolute Publishing is committed to producing books rooted in African American culture and/or same-gender-loving experiences. – CEASED – 2019?
• Storm Moon Press published GLBTQ and alternative lifestyle fiction in various genres including fantasy, horror, paranormal, sci-fi, mystery, and others. – Ceased 2014
• Torquere Press published LGBTQ romances. – Ceased 2016
• Two Lives Books  – Publisher of LGBTQ children’s books is on “hiatus”
• Women’s Press, U.K., offered mysteries and other works.