Out Now

From Chaos to Creativity Workbook

From Chaos to Creativity Workbook image

Kick procrastination to the curb and start designing your productivity system today! This zine gives you space to start designing a productivity system and implementing it into your life. Designed to go with the forthcoming book From Chaos to Creativity.

Chainbreaker Bike Book (10th Anniversary Edition)

Chainbreaker Bike Book (10th Anniversary Edition) image

An updated and expanded edition of our hand-illustrated and accessible introduction to the world of bike repair! Through working at both Plan-B Bike Project and French Quarter Bicycles in New Orleans, our co-authors have gathered a wealth of experience to share with would-be bicycle mechanics. The first half of this book is a complete repair manual to get you started on choosing the right bike for you, riding that bike, and fixing it when it breaks down. The second half reprints all four issues of the Chainbreaker zine, whose originals were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.

Juggalo Country

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Juggalos gained the political spotlight in 2017, when thousands of fans marched on Washington, DC to protest their classification by the FBI as a violent gang. Dwarfing the pro-Trump rally at the same time and place, Juggalos proved themselves to be a growing voice of dissent for some of the most neglected parts of the United States. Rock's reporting casts a light on many contradictions and perils of Juggalodom, sensitively handling questions of gender, health, religion, and what it means to be part of something. Part festival-goer's journal, part music history, part investigative report, part social commentary, Juggalo Country takes us into the heart of a much-derided and controversial movement and shows us the redemptive power of family and community.

Unf*ck Your Intimacy Workbook

Unf*ck Your Intimacy Workbook imageDeveloped as a companion to Dr. Faith Harper's Unfuck Your Intimacy book, this workbook can be used on its own or alongside the book as you read, by yourself or with a partner. It's an extremely useful aid for understanding your history, behavior, boundaries, needs, and wants, when it comes to sexual intimacy and relationships.

Unfuck Your Intimacy

Unfuck Your Intimacy imageExplore your relationships and sexuality, with yourself and with others, with this new book by Dr. Faith, author of bestselling Unfuck Your Brain. Written particularly for people who are in intimate relationships, but also incredibly useful if you're single or dating and trying to unpack your past or plan for your future. With science and humor, Dr. Faith demystifies topics such as kink, consent, shame, and trauma recovery. Contains many exercises and questions to think, talk, or write about, on your own or with a partner. Read this book to learn vital life skills like listening to your body and your gut, setting boundaries, and communicating your needs. If you're looking to heal from past wounds, make better choices, or improve an existing relationship, this book is for you. Better sex and relationships are totally possible! You've got this.

Coping Skills

Coping Skills imageYou know those days when you just can't even? When everything is haywire and everyone, including yourself, seems to be against you, not to mention against reason? Your to-do list is a mile long, your kid is sick, traffic sucks, and you just spilled coffee all over yourself as you were about to walk out the door? How do you cope? Most of us don't have great coping skills, and turn instead to addictions, zoning out, or freaking out. Dr. Faith, author of the bestselling Unfuck Your Brain, offers a range of healthier strategies for getting through tough moments, gaining perspective, and shifting your attitude.

Street Journalist

Street Journalist imageWhatever the stories are in your community that most need to be told, the best person to tell them is you. Whether you're writing for your local newspaper, producing a podcast or video series, or simply sharing what you see and learn every day on social media, the power of journalism is in your hands, as is the responsibility to use it ethically and wisely. Longtime journalist Lisa Loving opens up the world of journalism, sharing her hard-won skills and knowledge to help expand your media literacy so that you can report on what matters most, hold powerful people accountable, and strengthen your community.

The Practical Witch's Almanac: 2019

The Practical Witch's Almanac: 2019 imageThis almanac has everything you need to reconnect with nature and tune into your witchy energy. This almanac allows you to harmonize with the flow of natures energies. You will find easy notations of events, magical days and seasonal occurrences as well as calendars, trivia, incense recipes and more!

True Trans Bike Rebel

True Trans Bike Rebel imageIt's here! The one and only collection of writing about bicycling by, for, and about transgender and nonbinary cyclists. From touring to racing to advocacy to simply escaping by bike, these stories range from hilarious to poignant to pointedly political. Read it to find yourself reflected in its pages, or to find commonality with others with a shared love of human-powered sports and transportation.

Portland Stair Walks

Portland Stair Walks imageWhy is it so satisfying to walk up and down stairs? Maybe it's the new layer of discovery with each step up—a new far-off view and a new close-up look at the plants and buildings. Maybe it's the fleeting proximity one has to passing strangers. Maybe it's the great feeling of propelling yourself upward and then floating downward. Maybe it's the best workout you can get without putting on gym clothes. Whatever the reason, stairs are an excellent way to get yourself up or down a landscape, and Portland, Oregon has a whole lot of them built into our public sidewalk and trail infrastructures.

No Apocalypse

No Apocalypse imageWar seems to have frazzled the punks. That's an unusual turn of events considering punk is the subculture that gave us the phrases"let's have a war," "let's start a war," "war on 45," "my war," "wargasm," "war all the time," and so on. "Rock n' roll is war," said the band Frodus; but you know, it really isn't. "Rock n' roll is just rock n' roll," assessed AC/DC, somewhat more accurately, and, while not necessarily noise pollution, it is, in the estimation of the Archers of Loaf, "too bad that the music doesn't matter." Rock remains rock, war remains war, and, despite everything being subjective and meaning something else entirely from what it appears to under the tenets of post-modernity and end-of-historicism, the fact remains that having a lot of dead people is a terrible, terrible thing and having a lot of people voluntarily self-inducing hearing loss is a less terrible thing. Yes? We are all in agreement here?

In The News

Call for Submissions for Neurodiversity zine series

Autism now occupies a similar place in the public consciousness at this moment as gay rights did in the 1970s: no one understands it and The Borg demand our assimilation! 
Your Neurodiverse Friend features advice and explanatory narrative about the neurodiverse experience for the less divergent so we can be seen as real, whole people. If you are neurodiverse, you should contribute to the next issues! The theme for issue #3 is Masking and the deadline is June 1, 2019. We want your personal narrative, origin story, misconceptions you've faced, how people could better interact/collaborate/interface with you, and aspirations of how you would like the movement to grow that can serve as a narrative for NTs understanding our people's experiences. 500-2,000 words.
Proud to Be Retarded offers exposition on neurotypicals' neurophobia and the frequent claim that they are supportive of #ActuallyAutistic people...as long as we act like they do. One reviewer for my book Good Trouble mentioned that she couldn't believe that I wasn't part of a radical zine community on the forefront of Autistic theory...so I decided to start one! The inspiration for the title lies in the homocore roots of punk and Don't Be Gay in the 1980s. Queer punks were told that they would be accepted as soon as they acted like straight people.  The deadline for issue #4 is September 1, 2019 the theme is anxiety. Submissions should be 500-2,000 words! Issue #5 focuses on Co-occuring conditions with a deadline of March 1, 2020. 
email submissions/questions to joe at microcosmpublishing daht com

Good Life BFF

Good Life BFF imageYour sustainable living toolkit! Subscribe to all of our most popular books, as they come out: Cookbooks, DIY project books, books about healthy relationships, bicycling, fermenting, building, mending, growing, and generally living the life you want in every way.

Microcosm In Your Town!

Here are the events we'll be participating in for 2019. Either we're tabling our books, or an author is presenting, or both! a customer browsing a table full of books If you’re planning an event and want us to be part of it (speaking, author readings, movie screenings, setting up a book and zine pop-up shop, etc.) please let us know!! Also, in the Portland area, we can set up a book fair at your workplace like the ones your school used to have.

Calling for submissions for the Scene History series!

Are you stoked about the history of your town? Do you find out interesting nuggets by talking to those who came before you or by scouting out details on Google and Wikipedia? Do you want a reason to hunt out some people you respect and fill in the gaps? Well, the Scene History series is an opportunity to do just that. Like our Simple History Series, we will publish a paperback each year of the Scene History series that tell the story of a particular city's scene. (the series does not profile individuals, albums, or bands, but really must be framed around a real scene, no fiction!) Suggested length is 15,000-30,000 words. Get as creative as you find gratifying. Learn about your favorite places and how things developed. Check out the existing Scene Histories here! To pitch, just send a general summary of the scene that you are profiling, the years profiled, and your qualifications/interest to profile it! Will it be prose or comics? Do you have access to photos and images? Why are you excited to do this? Submit or ask questions to joe at microcosmpublishing daht com

BFF Book Subscription

BFF Book Subscription image

Be our Best Friend Forever (BFF)! For 6 months you'll receive every new title we publish. The subscription is sliding scale price $10-30/month, and you can either pay in one sum upfront here or pay-as-you-go here. Thanks for your support!  Google+

Blogifesto!

Beyond Throwing Milkshakes: 5 Books and Zines to Help You Fight Back

Are you angry enough to start throwing milkshakes? Well, yeah. So are we. It makes for a fantastic statement – while making the opposition look like a fool – but it sometimes feels like it’s the only thing you can do.

It can be easy to feel like there’s nothing you can do about the world right now – but honestly, that’s what the people in charge want you to think. Take a look at these books and zines and learn how to fight back and make a difference in your community. (But I’d keep buying milkshakes – just in case.)

Cover of Becoming a Citizen Activist, which has green and white rays behind the title like sunbeams.

Becoming A Citizen Activist: Stories, Strategies and Advice for Changing Our World by Nick Licata

Do you not even know where to start? This book will give you inspiration by telling the story of previous activists who made a difference in their communities. Learn from the best of the best when it comes to learning how to protest and become an activist.

The cover of Resist! which has a plain light brown background with a white exclamation mark.

Resist! How to Be an Activist in the Age of Defiance by Michael Segalov

Want more straight-forward advice and have things broken down step-by-step? This book walks you through organizing protests, talking to politicians and playing the long game when it comes to creating change in your community. Each section also has a real-life case study so you can read about what it looks like when the advice is put into practice.

Want to get your kids involved? Try Girls Resist! By Kaelyn Rich for a young adult-friendly version!

The cover of Street Journalist, which is bright orange and has a lineart drawing of a megaphone on it.

Street Journalist: Understand and Report the News in Your Community by Lisa Loving

Just as important as organizing protests is getting accurate information out there. Corporate media is corrupt and, while they aren’t quite as bad as Trump claims, they certainly aren’t the unbiased view of the world they claim to be. Learn how to cover the news in your communities and fight back against corporate media with this easy-to-follow guide on how to become a journalist.

How to Boycott: Make Your Voice Heard, Understand History, & Change the World by Joe Biel

We talk about boycotts a lot and how they can force change, but how do you do it effectively? What does it mean to organize a boycott – and how do you follow through? Read this zine to learn about the intricacies of boycotts and their long history – and why just refusing to shop at a specific store isn’t necessarily a boycott.

The cover of Keep Marching, which is the title on a protest sign on a pink background. Along the bottom are more protest signs and hands reaching up.

Keep Marching: How Every Woman can Take Action and Change Our World by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

Are you upset about the attacks on women’s rights? Did you march in 2017 during the Women’s March and don’t know how to get that momentum going again? This book dives deep into how to take that momentum and keep the protests going.

When you’re gearing up for your protests, grab some of the zine How to Plan for Action to pass out – it helps protesters understand their rights and how to be a more respectful protester in their community. (Or brush up on How not to get Arrested at a Demonstration.)

And don’t forget to tell your elected officials exactly what you think of them trying to take away your rights with the easy-to-write postcards found in Make Your Voice Heard Postcard Book.

Need more than 40 postcards? Check out other postcard designs – teach them something with Art of Instruction or have a woman be the face of your protest with Rad American Women. Sending angry letters to politicians has never been easier!

We’ve also got you covered when it comes to protest swag – stickers, buttons and patches galore! So get out there and start fighting back – it’s the only way to turn things around.