Women’s, Feminist, 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:

• Alice James Books places emphasis on the publication of women poets.
• Aqueduct Press dedicates itself to publishing challenging, feminist science fiction.
• Aunt Lute Books is a not-for-profit, multicultural women’s press.
• Bedazzled Ink – 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.
• Calyx publishes fine literature and art by women and nonbinary creators.
• Demeter Press is an independent feminist press committed to publishing peer-reviewed scholarly work, fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction on mothering, reproduction, sexuality and family.
• Dottir Press takes a feminist approach to publishing and artistic production.
• The Feminist Press publishes books that ignite movements and social transformation.
• Honno is an independent co-operative press run by women and committed to bringing you the best in Welsh women’s writing.
• Inanna Publications and Education Inc. is committed to publishing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction by and about women.
• Kelsey Street Press – experimental feminist poetics since 1974
• Kore Press is an intersectional-feminist, literary arts organization dedicated to keeping the margins in the center through publishing, education, and innovative community engagement.
• Linen Press is a small, independent publisher run by women, for women – the only indie women’s press in the UK.
• Mayapple Press celebrates literature that is both challenging and accessible, including women’s writing.
• Minerva Rising Press publishes thought-provoking and insightful stories and essays written by a diverse collective of women writers.
• Modjaji Books is an independent feminist press that publishes southern African women writers.
• Red Letter Press – radical books, feminist writings, socialist theory, race liberation, queer activism
• 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 one of the most enduring feminist publishing houses to emerge from the women’s press movement of the 1970s.
• Second Story Press is dedicated to publishing feminist-inspired books for adults and young readers.
• Shade Mountain is committed to publishing literature by women, especially women of color, disabled women, women from working-class backgrounds, and LGBTQ women.
• Stree and Samya – Stree publishes on gender studies, focusing on the status of women in India, in English and in Bengali. Samya focuses on culture and dissent, which gives priority to the study of caste in a changing society.
• Switchback Books challenges gender inequity in literary publishing by producing and promoting books of poetry by women and non-binary authors.
• Tollington Press publishes new writing by women (and non-binary people) with unique stories to tell.
• Trace Press publishes books that illuminate contemporary and historical experiences of conflict, war, displacement, exile, migration, the environment, labour and resistance.
• Uncut/Voices Press is the first publisher with exclusive focus on female genital mutilation in memoirs, academic studies, and creative writing.
• Virago is a feminist publisher of outstanding books for all readers.
• Wish Publishing started in Dec 1999 as the first women’s sports publisher.
• Women Unlimited is a non-profit associate of Kali for Women, India’s first and oldest feminist press.
• Women’s Press is committed to conserving a space in higher education devoted to gender, sexuality, and women’s studies.
• Zubaan is an independent feminist publishing house based in New Delhi.

LGBTQ+ Publishers:

• Affinity Rainbow publishes works of lesbian literature as eBooks and print on demand.
• Amble Press publishes fiction and narrative nonfiction by LGBTQ+ writers with a primary, though not exclusive, focus on queer writers of color.
• Arktoi Books, an imprint of Red Hen Press, publishes high-quality literary fiction and poetry by lesbian writers.
• Arsenal Pulp Press has over 400 titles currently in print, which include literary fiction, nonfiction and poetry; books on social issues; gender studies; LGBTQ2S+ and BIPOC literature; and more.
• Bella Books embraces and celebrates the worldwide community of lesbian, sapphic, queer, non-binary fiction readers and authors of all ages, cultures and colors.
• Blind Eye Books is dedicated to publishing the best science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and romance featuring LGBTQ protagonists.
• Bold Strokes Books is an LGBTQ+ publisher that strives to ensure that our list of authors represents the cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints of our world.
• Bywater Books publishes well-written commercial literature primarily targeted women or nonbinary persons identifying as lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, Two Spirit, sapphic, homo/bi/pan-romantic, asexual, and/or queer—this includes trans women.
• Carnation Books publishes unique, high-quality, mold-breaking fiction which emphasizes queer romance and erotica.
• Circlet Press publishes erotica for geeks/erotic science fiction.
• Cleis Press is the largest independent sexuality publishing company in the U.S. with a focus on LGBTQ, BDSM, romance, and erotic writing for all sexual preferences.
• Dagger Editions publishes 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).
• Desert Palm Press publishes stories that accurately and respectfully reflect the diverse lives of the Lesbian and LGBTQ+ community.
• Dreamspinner Press is an international publisher of quality gay romantic fiction since 2007.
• Elysium Press focuses on works by gay authors of the last century whose work has been neglected or overlooked by the commercial trade.
• eXtasy Books publishes a variety of genres under several lines: romance, mainstream, young adult, and LGBTQ+.
• Flashpoint Publications is an open and inclusive LGBTQIA+ publisher, pushing for quality and diversity across the industry.
• Headmistress Press specializes in poetry and art by lesbians, and our mission is to increase lesbian visibility in the arts.
• Indolent Books publishes work by writers who are queer, trans, nonbinary or gender nonconforming, intersex, women, people of color, people living with HIV, and others who are underrepresented or marginalized.
• Interlude Press is an award-winning boutique publisher of LGBTQ general and romantic fiction.
• JMS Books is a queer small press publishing LGBTQ+ romance.
• Launch Point Press is dedicated to publishing high-quality fiction books that center on the experiences of lesbian characters.
• 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 specializes 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.
• Queerteen Press is an imprint of JMS Books LLC publishing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender fiction suitable for a young adult audience.
• 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.
• Riptide Publishing is a boutique publisher of some of the finest LGBTQ fiction available today.
• Riverdale Avenue Books is a hybrid publisher with three LGBTQ imprints: Magnus (non-fiction), Magnus Lit (fiction), and 120 Days (pulp fiction).
• Rocky Ridge Books publishes fine m/m adventures, sexy, plotty stories to keep you turning the pages.
• Sapphire Books Publishing produces and publishes fiction, non-fiction, and biographical lesbian literary works of art.
• Supposed Crimes, LLC, started with lesbian books and has expanded to encompass LGBTQ stories and ideas focused on genre fiction.
• Transgress Press is an independent publisher of trans and queer writing.
• Triplicity Publishing is a small-press style lesbian fiction publisher.
• Wicked Publishing publishes works of lesbian literature/LGBT and mainstream fiction.
• Ylva Publishing is the home of quality books about women loving women.

Ceased:

• Alyson Books – became eBook only in 2010, then closed ~2011
• Artemis Press – LGBTQ, women’s and feminist, closed ~2019
• BENT – queer fiction, non-fiction, and poetry with queer themes from queer-identified authors
• Blue Point Books – books on working women – closed 2017
• Chicory Blue Press – small, feminist, literary press, focusing on the strong voices of women over seventy – closed 2022
• Clover Valley Press – quality manuscripts written by women; include fiction, poetry, or nonfiction – 2007-2023
• Dirt Road Books – some of the best women’s and LGBTQ literature across all genres – ceased ~2020
• DLSIJ Press – Ceased 2010 if not earlier
• Edgework Books offered works by Kim Chernin and others – Ceased year unknown
• Emily Books – weird books by women – as of 2020, their original titles available elsewhere
• Firebrand Books – feminist and lesbian press. – Ceased by 2015
• Gertrude Press – published literary magazine through 2021 to support emerging and established queer writers and artists
• GirlChild Press – published strong books for strong girls – ceased 2012
• Go Deeper Press – publisher of erotica, including LGBTQ and BDSM – closed as of 2023
• Green Dragon Press – women’s history and equity issues materials – closed as of 2023
• Harmony Ink Press – imprint of DreamSpinner Press publishing Teen and New Adult fiction featuring characters across the LGBTQ+ spectrum
• Harrington Park Press – previously the LGBTQ imprint of The Haworth Press, devoted to emerging topics in LGBTQ diversity, equality, and inclusivity
• Homofactus – digital, global micro-publishing company committed to publishing books by, for, and about trans masculine folks, FTMs, and transmen – Last published 2013
• Hysteria – imprint of Sourcebooks covering women’s humor. – Ceased as of 2023
• Icon Empire Press was an e-publisher of gay romance books. – Ceased by at least 2020, if not earlier
• Insomniac Press – closed 2021
• 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
• ManLoveRomance (MLR) Press offers the highest quality gay fiction and erotic romance – ceased circa 2018-2020
• Naiad Press, founded in 1973, was purchased by Bella Books in 2003.
• New Victoria Publishers – lesbian feminist works, closed around ~2009
• Onlywomen Press, founded in 1974 by lesbian feminist activists, offered novels, crime fiction, short story collections, cultural criticism, and poetry.
• Paris Press – 1995-2018 – titles transferred to Wesleyan University Press
• 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 as of 2012
• Regal Crest publishes LGBTQI novels with plots of action, adventure, drama, fantasy, mystery, thriller, romance, and science fiction – bought by Flashpoint Publishing
• Resolute Publishing – books rooted in African American culture and/or same-gender-loving experiences – ceased as of 2019
• Ride the Rainbow Books publishes well-written lesbian fiction – last published 2011
• Rose and Star Press is a small but plucky publisher of lesbian romance and fiction of distinction – last published 2015
• STARbooks Press – publisher of books targeted exclusively toward gay and bisexual men – 1989-2021
• Storm Moon Press published GLBTQ and alternative lifestyle fiction in various genres including fantasy, horror, paranormal, sci-fi, mystery, and others. – Ceased 2014
• Three O’Clock Press – established in 2010 to conserve the traditions of Women’s Press Literary and Sumach Press, and to add a unique voice to Canadian publishing – closed as of 2023
• Topside Press – independent press with the intent of publishing authentic transgender narratives – 2011-2017
• Torquere Press published LGBTQ romances. – Ceased 2016
• Two Lives Books  – Publisher of LGBTQ children’s books – no new titles, still print on demand as of 2023
• Wilkinson House, founded in 2011, is a publisher of gay literature – appears closed 2023
• Women’s Press, U.K., offered mysteries and other works.
• Womyn’s Braille Press, Minneapolis – 1981-1986 – produced feminist literature on tape or in Braille