6 Publishing Houses Filling A Niche
Finding a book on a popular subject like Star Wars or home cooking is pretty easy, but when it comes to more esoteric topics, readers often have to do lots of digging to find adequate options. Thankfully, many literary presses exist to accommodate more niche cultural and scholarly areas. The ones included here publish a diversity of titles, covering everything from critical race studies to punk rock and regional histories. This video was made with Ezvid Wikimaker.
6 Book Publishers With Specialty Focuses
| Publisher | Specialty Areas |
|---|---|
| Daraja Press | African culture, revolutionary politics, feminism, postcolonialism |
| SJP for Hogarth | Works of fiction that reflect Sarah Jessica Parker's taste as a reader |
| Bristol Books | The rich heritage and culture of Bristol, England, both past and present |
| Melodic Virtue | Limited-run coffee table books offering immersive visual histories of underground bands from the 80s and 90s |
| University of Nevada Press | Works that advance scholarly research and contribute to the understanding and appreciation of Nevada, the Great Basin, and the American West |
| Teachers College Press | Education topics from infant/toddler to adult learning, plus related subjects like psychology, sociology and culture, history, philosophy, and women's studies |
How Books Open Our Minds
What is an Independent Press?
Also known as "indie press," independent press refers to publishers that aren't part of large corporations. They often cater to a specific genre or niche, such as fantasy, women's rights, or poetry. Independent press is sometimes confused with self-publishing, but the two are actually quite distinct. Self-publishing presses often require the authors to pay their for their services up front or buy a minimum number of copies, while indie publishers make money by selling books to readers, not by selling services to authors.
Literary Charities
If you want to spread your love of literature with those in need, then you should consider looking into these non-profit organizations that help young minds get access to books and high-quality education.
- First Book
- Books for Kids
- Room to Read
- LitWorld
- 826 National
- KIPP
- Street Poets Inc.
- Get Lit - Words Ignite
- WriteGirl
- Academy of American Poets
- Asian American Writers' Workshop
- Beyond Baroque
How to Get a Book Deal
In Depth
While major publishers provide avid readers with an endless supply of all types of books, there are some companies that focus on projects that encompass specific subjects. From spotlighting diverse fiction voices to publications that celebrate the music industry, here, in no particular order, are groups producing specialty narratives.
Starting off the list at #1 is Daraja Press, a not for profit publisher of books, ebooks, pamphlets, campaign materials, and video and audio content. It encourages the publication of radical materials from the Global South that seek to reclaim the past, contest the present, and invent the future.
Featured titles include the political thriller, Song of Gulzarina by Tariq Mehmood and October 1917 Revolution: A Century Later by Egyptian economist Samir Amin. Daraja Press co-publishes with other organizations including the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Maynooth University, and Between the Lines. The publisher, Firoze Manji, is the former Africa program director for Amnesty International.
Featured titles include the political thriller, Song of Gulzarina by Tariq Mehmood and October 1917 Revolution: A Century Later by Egyptian economist Samir Amin.
Coming in at #2 is SJP for Hogarth, which focuses on high quality works of fiction by both established writers and distinctive emerging voices from other cultures. Its roster includes Claire Adam, whose acclaimed novel, Golden Child, won the Desmond Elliott Prize and Fatima Farheen Mirza, author of the New York Times bestseller, A Place for Us.
The editorial director of SJP for Hogarth is actress Sarah Jessica Parker. She acquires and curates works of fiction that reflect her own taste as a reader, and is directly involved in the publishing process for each book. Parker is the star and executive producer of Divorce, which premiered in October of 2016 on HBO, and a vice chairman of the board of directors for the New York City Ballet.
At #3 is Bristol Books, a not for profit community interest company that commissions its own publications and produces projects on behalf of many local businesses, organizations, and individuals. Its publications range from The Colour of Football by former rugby player Steve Stacey, to an autobiography of Louise Brown, the world's first test tube baby.
Its publications range from The Colour of Football by former rugby player Steve Stacey, to an autobiography of Louise Brown, the world's first test tube baby.
Formed in 2012 with an ambition to enrich the culture of the city of Bristol, England through book publishing, the company has worked with Thatchers Cider, Wessex Water, and the M Shed museum. The team is comprised of author and social historian Clive Burlton, publisher Richard Jones, book designer Joe Burt, and publicist Martin Powell.
Entering the list at #4 is Melodic Virtue, a small independent publisher with a history of award winning work in the music industry. It produces limited run coffee table books about underground bands from the '80s and '90s. Among the artists it works with include the Pixies, Ministry, and Face to Face.
Aaron Tanner started the company in 2004 as a graphic design studio. He served as Ween's resident designer and also maintained a diverse client roster that included Explosions in the Sky, Epitaph Records, and Secretly Group. His work has won numerous national awards and been recognized by such international publications as PRINT.
His work has won numerous national awards and been recognized by such international publications as PRINT.
In the #5 slot is University of Nevada Press, which publishes works that advance scholarly research, and contribute to the understanding and appreciation of the state, the Great Basin, or American West. It produces books across such topics as art and photography, memoirs, Native American studies, public health, and mining.
Among its most acclaimed projects are Becoming Willa Cather, about the author of My Antonia, and the novels Where Light Comes and Goes and The Color of Rock, both by Sandra Cavallo Miller. University of Nevada instructors may request examination books for course adoption consideration, with complimentary desk copies also available.
Finishing up the list at #6 is Teachers College Press, which focuses on addressing the ideas that matter to educators. Its publishing program includes such subjects as psychology, history, and philosophy. Popular titles include See You When We Get There by public school teacher Gregory Michie and The Flat World and Education by Linda Darling-Hammond, professor of education emeritus at Stanford University.
Its publishing program includes such subjects as psychology, history, and philosophy.
In addition to books, it offers insights for educators around such themes as language arts and literacy, policy and politics, and teaching methods. Featured authors on the Teachers College Press roster include Pedro A. Noguera, dean of the USC Rossier School of Education, and Rachel Karchmer-Klein, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Delaware.
