queer authors

Publisher Highlight: Semiotext(e)

Posted on October 6, 2026 by Bee Lehman

Sylvère Lotringer (Wikipedia link) and others at Columbia University in New York City founded Semiotext(e) in 1974 as an anarchic project. The early life of the publisher stemmed from gatherings/conferences of French semioticians. The resulting periodical issues appearing sporadically into the 1990s introduced a wild series of provocations.[1] In the 1980s, Lotringer started the Semiotext(e)’s Foreign Agents book imprint with the intention of introducing French theorists to an English-speaking audience as well as to expose incendiary ideas to that reading public. In 1990, Lotringer and co-editor and writer Chris Kraus started the Native Agents series, focused primarily on U.S. women writers.

In 2001, Lotringer and Kraus took the press to Los Angeles when they moved to the Pacific coast. Revitalizing the press, the editors started a collaboration with MIT Press for distribution, publishing Hatred of Capitalism to mark the occasion. The two also brought on Hedi El Kholti first as art director/managing editor and then as a lead co-editor. Working together, they’ve continued with the Native Agents series and become one of the major publishers for “New Narrative” literature, which emerged in the 1970s in San Francisco partly as an expression of the tensions between Gay Liberation, the Avant-Garde, and the New Left.[3]

The press, still co-edited by Krau and El Kholti, continues to publish 10+ books a year. Their book titles are available on their website and for purchase through MIT Press. Their release announcements and excerpts can be found on their Instagram page.

Recent Books at UC Berkeley

Cover to NAme — Constance Debré, Name, trans. Lauren Elkin, Semiotext(e) / Native Agents (2025), paperback.

Cover to Hello, World? — Anna Poletti, Hello, World? (2024), paperback.

Cover to Service — John Tottenham, Service (2025), paperback.

Cover to Erik Satie — Ian Penman, Erik Satie Three Piece Suite (2025), paperback.

Cover to Airless Spaces — Shulamith Firestone, Airless Spaces, new, with Chris Kraus and Susan Faludi (2025), paperback.

Cover to Memory — Dorothea Lasky, Memory (2025), paperback.

Cover to Grand Rapids — Natasha Stagg, Grand Rapids (2025), paperback.

Cover to I Only Believe in Myself — Catherine Breillat, I Only Believe in Myself: Conversation with Murielle Joudet, trans. Christine Pichini, with Murielle Joudet (2025), paperback.

Notes

[1] David L. Ulin, “Appreciation: Sylvère Lotringer Made Book Publishing Safe for Dangerous Ideas,” Books, Los Angeles Times, November 18, 2021, Access through UC Berkeley’s catalog.

[2] “Semiotext(e),” MIT Press, accessed September 2026, https://mitpress.mit.edu/publisher/semiotexte/.

[3] Rob Halpern, “Realism and Utopia: Sex, Writing, and Activism in New Narrative,” Journal of Narrative Theory 41, no. 1 (2011): 82–124, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/443765.

Publisher Highlight: punctum books

Posted on September 29, 2026October 6, 2026 by Bee Lehman

Eileen A. Fradenburg Joy and Nicola Masciandaro, two medievalists, founded punctum books in 2011 in Brooklyn, New York. The two wanted to provide a space for experiments with form and para-academic writing, as well as mash-ups of different genres of art and academic thought. In 2012, Masciandaro decided to focus on other things, leaving the press. In 2015, Vincent W. J. van Gerven Oei (an art curator and book designer, among other skills) joined as co-director and brought their own press, Uitgeverij, into the fold.[1]

Now in Santa Barbara, California, with an imprint line reading “Earth, Milky Way,” the press has an impressive list of hundreds of publications explore the idea of literature, medieval studies, Nubian studies (including Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies), as well as space, gender, and the body.

Alongside pushing the boundaries of academia and art, the press’ co-directors and Advisory Boards have also emphasized the importance of open access scholarship and art. In particular, they emphasize the right to read but also distribute and create derivative works. For them, this has meant contributing to developing Open Access (OA) models in collaboration with institutions like UCSB. They also publish all of their books as Open Access, making them fully available through their website and popular spaces like Project MUSE and JSTOR as PDFs you can read on your preferred e-reader (e.g., your phone).[2]

You can find–and access–punctum books’ entire catalog through their website and through multiple library portals. You can also get news about new publications through their Instagram page and other social media platforms.

Accessing Books at UC Berkeley

You can access punctum’s entire catalog either through their website or through our UC Berkeley Library Search (as well as on Project MUSE and JSTOR). Here are a few highlights!

Notes

[1] Vincent W. J. van Gerven Oei and Eileen A. Fradenburg Jo, “Scenes: Punctum Books: An Interview with Vincent W. J. van Gerven Oei and Eileen A. Fradenburg Joy,” American Book Review 45, no. 2 (2024): 168–73.

[2] “Vision Statement — Punctum Books,” punctum books accessed September 23, 2026, https://punctumbooks.com/vision-statement.

Publisher Highlight: Kelsey Street Press

Posted on March 24, 2026March 24, 2026 by Bee Lehman

In 1974, a small group of women founded Kelsey Street Press in the basement of group member Patricia Dienstfrey’s home on Kelsey Street in Berkeley, while another member–Rena Rosenwasser–committed to set type. At the time, Dienstfrey and other women authors were frustrated with the lack of space in the Bay Area for women’s poetry or artistic voices. In response, five members (including Dienstfrey) of the Berkeley Poets Co-op decided to found a press.[1] Their explicit goal was to provide Bay Area women writers “who felt compelled to address the historical marginalization of women writers by mainstream publishers” a space to release their work.[2] Both Rosenwasser and Dienstfrey would dedicate their time and efforts to the press for 50 years, with other members coming in and out. Today, Dienstfrey has stepped back and Rosenwasser is taking a background role while Ching-In Chen, Emgee Dufresne, and Carla Hall steer the Press.

Kelsey Street works with their authors to produce poetry, prose, experimental writing, and collaborative works tying together poetry or prose with the visual arts. Among the first of the latter, Rena Rosenwasser and Kate Delos Simulacra, which is mutual exploration in narrative poetry and drawing of Roman murals.

In their more than 50 years of work, the press has continued to think about their mission and commit to provide space for marginalized women. To promote their efforts, the House held a prize for “FIRSTS!” celebrating first-time authors. In the last few years, the House has held the “QTBIPOC Book Contest” for “QTBIPOC-identified, feminist, innovative writers/poets.” The 2023 award went to Jennifer Perrine for Beautiful Outlaw.[3]

To follow the Press and see their contests or celebrate the winner, readers can check their webpage or their Instagram page.

Recent Titles at UC Berkeley Library

Cover to Extratransmission — Andrea Abi-Karam, Extratransmission, Firsts (2019).

Cover to Instructions for Banno — Kiran Bath, Instructions for Banno (2024).

Cover for Recombinant — Ching-In Chen, Recombinant (2017).

Cover to Deposition, Dispossession — Marthe Reed, Deposition, Dispossession: Climate Change in the Sundarbans, with Angela Hume and Mg Dufresne (2021).

Cover to The Redesignation of Paradise — Denise J. Newman, The Redesignation of Paradise (2024).

Cover to New and Selected Poems — Cecilia Vicuña, New and Selected Poems (2018).

Cover for Swing at Your Own Risk — Metta Sáma, Swing at Your Own Risk (2019).

Cover to If an Elsewhere: The Burrow — Cybele Lyle and Jocelyn Saidenberg, If an Elsewhere: The Burrow (2025).

In the UC System

For more titles from Kelsey Stress Press in the UC System, check out our UC Library Search with limit to “Publisher” as “Kelsey Stress Press” in the Advanced Search (sample search).

Notes

[1] Holly McDede, “Berkeley’s Kelsey Street Press Celebrates 50 Years of Experimental, Feminist Poetry,” Berkeleyside, October 30, 2024, https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/10/30/berkeleys-kelsey-street-press-celebrates-50-years-of-experimental-feminist-poetry.

[2] “The Kelsey Street Press,” text, Poets.Org, February 3, 2005, https://poets.org/text/kelsey-street-press.

[3] “Contests,” Kelsey Street Press, accessed March 23, 2026, https://www.kelseystreetpress.org/contests.

Publisher Highlight: Krupskaya Books

Posted on December 16, 2025December 22, 2025 by Bee Lehman

Established in the Bay Area in 1998 under editors Jocelyn Saidenberg, Rodrigo Toscano, Hung Q. Tu, Krupskaya books (website) has been providing readers with experimental literature for almost three decades. The press prints both poetry and prose that “challenge traditional literary forms.”[1]

Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya, for whom this author assumes the press was named, was a Russian politician and theorist. They believed in social reform and would play significant roles in the Russian revolutions of 1917. Afterwards, she would be heavily involved in politics, particularly as regarding education.[2]

Following in Krupskaya’s call for social reform through education, Krupskaya Books focus on collaboration and responsibility, providing mixed-genre and adventurous works.

Readers can follow the press on their Instagram page for new book announcements or calls for manuscripts.

Recent Titles

Cover to Marnie — Connie Scozzaro, Marnie (2019).

Cover to CC Williams — Tyrone Williams, C. C. (2002).

Cover to the Dogs — Noah Ross, The Dogs (2024).

Cover to Companion — Rebeca Bollinger et al., Companion (2022).

Cover for Ursula or University — Stephanie Young, Ursula or University (2013).

Cover to Cinders — Maria Sledmere, Cinders (2024).

For more at UC Berkeley

Readers can find additional titles at UC Berkeley through the UC Library Search with a limit to publisher.

Notes

[1] “About | Discover Experimental Literature,” K R U P S K A Y A, accessed December 16, 2025, https://www.krupskayabooks.com/about.

[2] Andy Willimott, Living the Revolution: Urban Communes & Soviet Socialism, 1917-1932, (Oxford University Press, 2016); Wikipedia, “Nadezhda Krupskaya,” October 4, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nadezhda_Krupskaya&oldid=1315094491.