Out Now

My Vag: A Rhyming Coloring Book

My Vag: A Rhyming Coloring Book image

Margalit Cutler's book of whimsical poems and drawings celebrates the vulva in all its glorious forms. Fully colorable, with tear-out pages for your decorating and sharing pleasure. Long live the wondrous vag!

F*ck Happiness

F*ck Happiness image

Ariel Gore wanted to see if science could help her be happier. And the more she read, the more she realized that the psychology of happiness is full of studies by, for, and about straight cis white men. She set out to find out why her own experience as a woman and mother isn't reflected in the research, and how we can do it better. The resulting book is fascinating, lyrical, and profoundly affecting.

How to Resist Amazon & Why

How to Resist Amazon & Why image

The zine that took the bookselling world by storm is finally widely available! Danny Caine, owner of Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas chronicles his pro-local, pro-independent bookstore, anti-Amazon activism and shows you a path to fighting the power, too.

If You're Freaking Out, Read This

If You're Freaking Out, Read This image

This book began as a letter Simone wrote to her future self, with a list of ten steps to take to bring herself back from a state of panic, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. Now it's a book-length workbook that you can use and customize to suit your own needs. Bring yourself back from the brink with these expert coping skills that you can practice when you feel okay and use any time you need them. With an intro by the one and only Dr. Faith!

Unfuck Your Boundaries Workbook

Unfuck Your Boundaries Workbook image

Get ready to dive deep with this workbook companion to Dr. Faith's Unfuck Your Boundaries. Examine your personal history with boundaries and consent, figure out which relationships in your life need attention, do a "wheel of consent" exercise, and †

Unfuck Your Boundaries

Unfuck Your Boundaries image

Dr. Faith takes on the vital topics of boundaries and consent, offering her trademark combination of brain science, trauma-informed therapy, and funny, no-BS approach. How do you maintain a respectful, trusting, non-harmful relationships with anyone, be they an intimate partner or the person in line in front of you at the grocery store? What are relationship red flags you need to be aware of? How do you make sure you're respecting the boundaries of everyone around you, and make amends when you haven't? All these and many more questions answered in this necessary book.

The Life & Times of Butch Dykes

The Life & Times of Butch Dykes image

Eloisa Aquino's gorgeous illustrated homage to people who've defined gender stereotypes around the world, from a century ago to today. Find some new queer heroes and reflect on their lives and accomplishments in these colorful pages.

Friending: Creating Meaningful, Lasting Adult Friendships

Friending: Creating Meaningful, Lasting Adult Friendships image

25% of adults in the US don't have a single person they feel they can confide in. Gina Handley Schmitt gently walks you through the ins and outs of making and maintaining close friendships as an adult. Includes scripts and instructions for identifying potential friends, asking them to hang out, setting healthy boundaries, staying in touch when life pulls you in different directions, and, when need be, ending friendships.

Unf*ck Your Anger

Unf*ck Your Anger image

Dr. Faith's newest book is all about putting your frustration and rage to work rather than letting them run your life and poison your relationships. Learn to manage your anger in the moment, listen to what it has to tell you and act wisely, and hardest of all, the fine art of forgiveness.

This is San Francisco

This is San Francisco image

In the same vein as his other two evocative love letters to cities, This Is Portland and This Is Shanghai, Alexander Barrett again plays quirky tour guide in This is San Francisco. Distilling the charm of San Francisco into colorful, illustrated pages, he reveals the city's magic in this good-humored, earnest homage. This isn't a guide book that will tell you where to stay or what to eat; rather, it's an invitation from a friend to come along on a walk down one of San Francisco’s historic streets, up one of its urban staircases, or along its many shorelines. Through thoughtful and funny anecdotes, essays, and illustrations, Barrett takes you on a journey through one of America’s most famous cities and makes you wish you were right there with him.

The Practical Witch's Almanac: 2020

The Practical Witch's Almanac: 2020 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!

In The News

Call for Submissions for Neurodiversity zine series

Neurodiversity 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! 
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 #5 is May 1, 2020 the theme is relationships. The deadline for issue #6 is November 1, 2020 and the theme is Burnout. Submissions should be 500-2,000 words as a rough guideline! 
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 #5 is At the Doctor's Office, with a deadline of August 1, 2020. 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 is a good guideline.
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!

Want to meet us in person, check out our books, or see an author speak? We've got author events and convention events coming up! There's a full calendar at the bottom of the page.

2020 Author Events

Dr Faith Harper poses over a shelf of her books at Powell's City of Books

Interested in having an author at your store or event? Reach out!!

2020 Tabling Events

Where we'll be selling books, zines, and merch!

  • March 4-7: We'll be hanging with Dr. Faith and holding down a table with our books at AWP in San Antonio, Texas. 
  • March 6-9: Find our witchy selections at the NW Tarot Symposium / Psychic Fair in Clackamas, OR
  • April 17-18: We'll be showcasing our work at the Get Lit! Literary Arts Festival in Spokane, WA
  • April 20-23: We'll be getting deep into our mental health and recovery shelves at Peerpocalypse in Seaside, OR
  • April 25: Join us at the Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair at Omni Commons in Oakland, CA
  • May 2-3: Celebrate the power of the written word with us at the Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley, CA!
  • June 20-21: Come enjoy all things geeky, nerdy, cute, and smart with us at Geek Craft Expo in Portland, OR
  • June 25-28: We'll be among the most radical media-makers at the Allied Media Conference in Detroit.
  • July 15-19: Oh hell yes, roller derby is the best and we'll be living it up at RollerCon in Vegas!
  • September 10-13: Internet artists unite at XOXO in Portland, OR!

a customer browsing a table full of books

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.)? Let us know!!

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!

Microcosm is hiring!

 Full time at 2752 N Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97227. Job is front of warehouse, helping people get their books and be happy. 

We need someone who can:

• Lift at least 50 pounds

• Demonstrate an exquisite attention to detail (we aim for 99.99% error free shipments)

• Work unsupervised

• Believes 99% in what we do but is confident to identify flaws in the system, ask questions, and bring up their own ideas about how things could be better

• Listen and find solutions that work for everyone involved

• Ability to find the shortest path to the destination

• Show up prepared and work hard for their whole shift

• Locating books and Pull/Pack orders four to five days per week (40-60% of their time)

• Respond to customer service email/phone inquiries five days per week (10-30%)

• Help walk-in customers and receive deliveries two days per week (5-20%)

• Work at least eight weekend events per year, some out of town (10%, we cover travel and lodging)

• Commit to at least two years

Benefits:

• All company profits are distributed to staff in the form of raises and bonuses

• We aim for (and have been exceeding) 20% annual raises 

• Employee ownership program after five years

• Options for paid vacation and professional development training programs

• Flexible hours 2-3 days per week

• Possible to work from home 10-20% of the time

• Access to company credit card for office purchasing includes snacks to share 

• Own voices focus to empower readers to change their lives and the world around them

• Access to owners, management, and other staff for clarification, direction, priorities, continued education, and guidance

No experience needed. Entry level position. Equal opportunity employer. Preference given to former intern and diverse hire. Starts at $14/hour with 90 day trial then $15/hour. Apply by February 29th by completing this application; no resume or cover letter necessary unless you believe that additional details would be helpful.

Send completed applications to apply@microcosmpublishing.com