Essays

Publisher Highlight: Transit Books

Posted on July 1, 2026 by Bee Lehman

In 2015, Adam Z. Levy and Ashley Nelson Levy founded Transit Books in the East Bay. In their decade of existence, they have released almost a hundred titles, ranging from beautiful translations of award-winning titles to adorably illustrated children’s picture books. The two came together when attending a graduate program in Columbia University. The two discovered a mutual interest in translation and, after work in translation and writing themselves, moved to California and founded the press. Under the banner of not-for-profit Transit Books, the two publishers started releasing stunning translations of fictional literature from around the world. Recently, they’ve added English fiction as well as non-fiction/essays as a series of “Undelivered Lectures.”[1]

The press has been highly successful, allowing the move from a home office to a space in the Strawberry Creek Design Center. They are now able to hold events even as they release more than a dozen books a year. Readers can follow Transit Books’ events through their social media accounts including Instagram and following their books on their webpage.

I, as someone who adores illustrations, am excited to read Jaque Jours’ children’s book The Muéganos (available in both English and Spanish) at the end of July.

Books at UC Berkeley

Cover to Alterations — Cori Winrock, Alterations, Undelivered Lectures 09 (Transit Books, 2025).

Cover to The Very Fine Clock — Muriel Spark, The Very Fine Clock, with Edward Gorey (Transit Children’s Editions, an imprint of Transit Books, 2025).

Cover to Vaim — Jon Fosse, Vaim, trans. Damion Searls (Transit Books, 2025).

Cover to The Light Room — Kate Zambreno, The Light Room (2023; Transit Books, 2025).

Cover to Pandora — Ana Paula Pacheco, Pandora, English, trans. Julia Sanches (Transit Books, 2025).

Cover to Little World — Josephine Rowe, Little World (Transit Books, 2025).

Cover to The Abyss — Jeyamōkan̲, The Abyss, trans. Suchitra Ramachandran (2023; First Transit Books, Transit Books, 2026).

Cover to Ashimpa — Catarina Sobral, Ashimpa: The Mysterious Word, with Juliana Barbassa (Transit Children’s Editions, an imprint of Transit Books, 2025).

Notes

[1] “About,” Transit Books, accessed June 29, 2026, https://www.transitbooks.org/about; Joanne Furio, “The Indie Berkeley Book Publisher with a Worldwide View,” Berkeleyside, January 2, 2025, https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/01/02/the-indie-berkeley-publisher-with-a-worldwide-view.

Publisher Highlight: Angel City Press

Posted on January 27, 2026January 28, 2026 by Bee Lehman

Founded in 1992 in Los Angeles by Scott McAuley and Paddy Calistro, Angel City Press (https://acp.lapl.org/) focuses on non-fiction with an emphasis on Southern California’s space, history, art, and music.[1] Under their leadership, the press published more than 100 volumes including Hollywood du Jour (1993, link to UC Library Search).

In 2023, the co-founders decided to retire and donated the press and its catalog to the Los Angeles Public Library.[2] Under the LAPL, the press publishes seven books a year on diverse topics, but each focused on the LA area. Between the volumes, the books offer not only an exploration of the LA area, but an amazing look into some of the LAPL’s collections, drawing on images, illustrations, and more.

Readers can find information about their new releases and book talks on Angel City Press’ Instagram page. The press also posts phenomenal historical photographs and other LA-related ephemera from LA Public Library’s special collections (About the collections). For more digitized material, check out TESSA, the digital collections of the Los Angeles Public Library.

Titles About the Literary Scene

Cover to Becoming Los Angeles — D. J. Waldie, Becoming Los Angeles: Myth, Memory, and a Sense of Place (2020).

Cover of Elements of Los Angeles — D.J. Waldie, Elements of Los Angeles: Earth, Water, Air, Fire (2025).

Cover to Writing the Golden State — Carribean Fragoza et al., Writing the Golden State: The New Literary Terrain of California (2024).

Cover to A Handful of Earth, a Handful of Sky — Lynell George, A Handful of Earth, a Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler (2020).

Cover to Thomas Mann’s Los Angeles — Nikolai Blaumer and Benno Herz, Thomas Mann’s Los Angeles: Stories from Exile 1940-1952, with Jon Stich (ill.) (2025).

Cover for KAOS Theory — Robeson Taj Frazier and Ben Caldwell, KAOS Theory: The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell (2023).

More Titles at the UCs

UC Berkeley’s Doe and Bancroft Libraries as well as UC Los Angeles collect heavily from across Angel City Press’ topical coverage. You can find most of their catalog through the UC Library Search.

Notes

[1] Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library. “Our Story.” Accessed January 28, 2026. https://acp.lapl.org/about-us/.

[2] “Our Story,” Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library, accessed January 28, 2026, https://acp.lapl.org/about-us/; Jim Ruland, “The L.A. Public Library Is Getting into Book Publishing. Why It Makes Total Sense,” Books, Los Angeles Times, January 8, 2024, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2024-01-08/the-l-a-public-library-is-getting-into-book-publishing-why-it-makes-total-sense.

Publisher Highlight: Ayin Press

Posted on November 11, 2025February 12, 2026 by Bee Lehman

Founded in 2020 in New York, the independent publisher Ayin Press (website) offers a fascinating range of literary publications including poetry, novels, and more. Through the material, the press presents “polyphony of voices from within and beyond the Jewish world.”[1]

You can find more about the press’ activities on Instagram.

Recent Titles

Cover to Protocols: An Erasure — Daniela Naomi Molnar, Protocols: An Erasure (2025).

Cover for As a Burning Flame — Noa Mishkin, As a Burning Flame: The Dream of Regina Jonas (Somewhere, 2023).

Cover for the Secret is not a Secret — Jay Michaelson, The Secret That Is Not a Secret: Ten Heretical Tales (2023).

Cover to Golden Threads — Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Golden Threads (2024).

Cover for the Necessity of Exile — Shaul Magid, The Necessity of Exile: Essays from a Distance (2023).

Cover for The Secret That Is Not a Secret — Jay Michaelson, The Secret That Is Not a Secret: Ten Heretical Tales (2023).

For More at UC Berkeley

Check out these titles and others from Ayin Press at UC Berkeley through our UC Library Search. Some of the titles above are listed as Somewhere Press on account of collaborative work.

End Notes

[1] “About,” accessed July 16, 2025, https://ayinpress.org/about/.