queer literature

Publisher Highlight: Seven Seas Entertainment

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Bee Lehman

Seven Seas Entertainment (website) is a Los Angeles based publishing house. In 2004, Jason DeAngelis founded the House with the intention of providing English language translations of manga (i.e., Japanese comics/graphic novels). A fan of the genre and a translator thereof, they decided to fill a significant gap in the market.[1] Since then, the House has released thousands of titles translated into English as well as expanded into print editions of serialized web comics.

Over the last two decades, Seven Seas Entertainment has expanded with several imprints including:

Airship, for light novels (ライトノベル)
Danmei, for, well, danmei (Chinese fiction genre focused on love between men)
Ghost Ship, for “the booty”
Siren, for audiobooks
Steamship, for steamy tales
Waves of Color, for coloring books
Webtoons, for digital comics

Readers can find announcements about new releases and more on Seven Seas Entertainment’s Instagram page.

Select Titles at UC Berkeley

Cover to Devilman — Gō Nagai, Devilman: The Classic Collection, trans. Adrienne Beck, with Bambi Eloriaga-Amago and Roland Amago (2018).

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu and Luo Di Cheng Qiu, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation = Mo Dao Zu Shi trans. Suika et al., with Jin Fang and Marina Privalova, Danmei (2021).

Cover to The Beauty's Blade — Feng Ren Zuo Shu, Beauty’s Blade: Mei Ren Jian, trans. Yu (2025).

Cover to Mocha — Nigotaro, Mocha the Cat and His Forever Family, trans. Jenny McKeon, with Rina Mapa, vol. 1 (Seven Seas Entertainment, 2025). On order!

Cover to Dear Detective — Natsumi Ito, My Dear Detective Mitsuko’s Case Files, trans. Samuel R. Messner, with Rina Mapa, vol. 1 (Seven Seas Entertainment, 2024).

Cover to Blue Giant — Shin’ichi Ishizuka, Blue Giant, trans. Daniel Komen, with Ludwig Sacramento and Shin’ichi Ishizuka ( 2020).

Cover to Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition — Hitoshi Ashinano, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition, trans. Daniel Komen, with Dawn Davis and Ludwig Sacramento, vol. 1 (2022). On order!

Cover to Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System — Mo Xiang Tong Xiu and Xiao Tong Kong (Velinxi), Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong, trans. Faelicy (faelicy) and Lily (lily_ocho) (Seven Seas Entertainment, 2021).

Additional Material

Readers can find more material through a publisher focus in our UC Library Search. Readers can also find limited titles from the imprint Seven Seas Ghost Ship (UC Library Search). Readers should be aware that the comics collection in Doe Library is in the PN section – and that there is another comic collection in the East Asian Library!

Notes

[1] Shannon Fay, “Seven Seas Entertainment » News » The Man Behind Seven Seas: Getting to Know Jason DeAngelis,” Go Manga, 2004-2014, https://www.gomanga.com/news/features_gomanga_012.php.

[2] Wikipedia, “Seven Seas Entertainment,” December 10, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Seven_Seas_Entertainment&oldid=1326781874.

Publisher Highlight: Dopamine Books

Posted on October 27, 2025December 8, 2025 by Bee Lehman

Michelle Tea founded Dopamine Books (website) with the goal of publishing queer authors and highlighting queer writing.[1] Tea has been part of the California publishing world for more than a decade, working with City Lights Press and Feminist press to get imprints Sister Spit and Amethyst Editions (respectively) off the ground.[ 2 In 2023 in Los Angeles, Tea took those experiences and extensive exploration and founded the “vulgarian queer publisher.”[ 3]

Now, two years later, Dopamine can boast the release of short story anthologies, essays, and novels. Those titles include:

Cover for How to Fuck Like a Girl — Vera Blossom, How to Fuck Like a Girl, 2024.

Cover for New Mistakes — Clement Goldberg, New Mistakes, 2024.

Cover for Sluts — Michelle Tea (ed.), SLUTS: Anthology, 2024. (on order)

Cover to Days Running — Shawn Stewart Ruff, Days Running: A Novel, 2025.

Cover for Self-Romancing — L. Scully, Self-Romancing , 2025.

Cover for Witch: Anthology — Michelle Tea, ed., WITCH: Anthology, 2025. (on order)

Finding titles at UC Berkeley

In contrast to other small presses, Dopamine is difficult to find in the UC Library Search. Because of their close collaboration with Semiotext(e) (https://www.semiotexte.com/), their books are sometimes listed with the later publisher.
Nonetheless, you can get a general impression of what UC Berkeley has from Dopamine through the UC Library Search.

EndNotes

1 “About,” DOPAMINE, accessed July 10, 2025, https://dopaminebooks.org.

2 Sophia Stewart, “Michelle Tea Launches Dopamine Books,” PublishersWeekly.Com, August 18, 2023, https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/93015-author-michelle-tea-launches-dopamine-books.html.

3 “SLUTS: Anthology,” Bookstore, Bookshop.org, May 7, 2024, https://bookshop.org/p/books/sluts-an-anthology-michelle-tea/20356857?ean=9781635902129&next=t.

Publisher Highlight: Silver Sprocket

Posted on October 21, 2025May 1, 2025 by Bee Lehman

Simple logo for Silver Sprocket as of 2025.

Founded in 2007, Silver Sprocket (https://www.silversprocket.net/) is a comics publisher in the Bay Area scene. In a 2024 interview Avi Ehrlich represented the community as a “‘radical indie comic publisher’ representing historically excluded artists’ work.” [1]

On their About page in their website, they write that they are “a San Francisco-based publisher, retail shop, and gallery space championing socially conscious and independently produced comic books, graphic novels, and related arts.”

Here at UC Berkeley, we don’t usually buy the pins and posters, but we have been able to acquire a range of their wonderful comic and other bound graphic materials including a few of their Zines including the Abortion Pill Zine: A Community Guide to Misoprostol and Mifepristone by Isabella Rotman, Sage Coffey & Marnie Galloway (UC Library catalog record, cover image in the gallery below).

They also note that “All works will remain 100% artist owned. Our aim is always to support the artist in making the best possible version of their own vision.”

Title Highlights at UC Berkeley

Some of our recent acquisitions include:

Cover for the third volume of The Changeling — The Changeling, Volumes 1-3 by Tina Lugo

Cover for Abortion Pill Zine with green background and flourish of daisies. — Abortion Pill Zine: A Community Guide to Misoprostol and Mifepristone by Isabella Rotman, Sage Coffey & Marnie Galloway

The Confessional by Paige Hender

Book cover in red and black for The Skin You're In. — The Skin You’re In by Ashley Robin Franklin

Cover in pinks with cute illustrations for Sipping Season — Sipping Season by Mariah-Rose Marie

Cover for Loud & Smart & in Color with angry racoon. — Loud & Smart & In Color: an all-new collection of Loud & Smart comics by Alex Krokus

Cover for Hour Glass — Hourglass by Barbara Mazzi

For more from the publisher at UC Berkeley, take a look at our UC Library Search.

Also note that most comics and graphic novels end up with the subject “COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS” and in the PN section of our Library stacks. If you want to Browse our comic material, consider heading down to the D level of the Main and looking for that PN section!

Request a purchase to let us know if you’re interested in other comic titles.

Endnotes

[1] Cheyenne Bearfoot, “Silver Sprocket Comics: Inside a Punk Comic Store in San Francisco,” KQED, June 20, 2024, https://www.kqed.org/education/538146/silver-sprocket-comics.

[2] avi, “About Silver Sprocket,” Silver Sprocket, accessed May 1, 2025, https://www.silversprocket.net/about/.