Jennifer Joseph founded Manic D Press in 1984 in San Francisco (Bernal Heights) with the goal of publishing their own poems. Working at and writing in Caffe Trieste in North Beach, a New York literary agent told Joseph that no one was publishing poetry. In response, Joseph acquired a handbook about how to do self-publishing. Soon after, Joseph published their first book under the Manic D logo with art from Scot Charland and Julia [sic] (UC Library Search Link).
Under Joseph’s leadership, Manic D has published over 100 titles with around four books a year between 1990 and 2015. The Press has anthologies of poetry, novels, art books, non-fiction about art, and a small array of children’s books. The press has slowed down over the last decade, but they have continued to release phenomenal works.[1]
Readers can find more about Manic D Press’ publication and events through their Instagram page.
For more titles from Manic D Press in the UC System, check out our UC Library Search‘s Advanced Search with a limited of “Publisher” to “Manic D” and limit Material Type to “Book.”
Inventory Press is not primarily a literary publisher. Instead, they “publish[…] books on topics in art, architecture, design, and music, with an emphasis on subcultures, minor histories, and the sociopolitical aspects of material culture.” That frequently includes literary components.
After establishing the press in 2014 in New York, Adam Michaels (graphic designer and editor) and Shannon Harvey (design strategist) opened an “independent design and editorial studio” in Los Angeles called Inventory Form & Content (IN-FO.CO). The Press, in turn, in now situated primarily in Los Angeles.[1]
Founded by designers, the Press is interested in the form, look, and function of a book as much as the content. In consequence, their books are often word art (e.g., The Endless Line | Gesture, Painting, Technics) and about the art of letters and words (e.g., A Queer Year of Love Letters) more than they are strictly poetry or prose.[2]
To find additional titles in the UC Library system, take a look at the UC Library Search and limit an advanced search to “Publisher” to “Inventory Press” and “Material Type” to books (sample).
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.
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).
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:
Shin’ichi Ishizuka, Blue Giant, trans. Daniel Komen, with Ludwig Sacramento and Shin’ichi Ishizuka ( 2020).
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!
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:
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.
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.”
Loud & Smart & In Color: an all-new collection of Loud & Smart comics by Alex Krokus
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.
