Portland, OR and Cleveland, OH's most colorful, authentic, independent, and empowering publishing house and distributor, Microcosm Publishing & Distribution is a vertically-integrated publishing house that equips readers to make positive changes in their lives and in the world around them. Microcosm emphasizes skill-building, showing hidden histories, and fostering creativity through challenging conventional publishing wisdom with books and zines about DIY skills, food, bicycling, gender, self-care, and social justice. Microcosm was started by Joe Biel in a bedroom closet as a distro and record label in 1996 and is now among the oldest independent book publishing houses in Portland, OR. Microcosm focuses on relating the experiences of what it is like to be a marginalized person and strives to be recognized for spirit, creativity, and value. All books are printed in the U.S., and the company doubles the industry average in number of women authors and prioritizes hiring of special needs employees. Microcosm constantly poses the question “How can we remove barriers to success for marginalized people in our industry?” In 2022-2024, Microcosm was named a Publishers Weekly's Fastest Growing Publisher.
Microcosm has lived in milk crates, in closets, in a mud room, in a windowless basement, in a church, and under a desk at a major credit card company. We've brought our brightly colored books to infoshops, zine fests, media summits, bicycle conferences, parks, street corners, house shows, dirty bars, all night coffeeshops, art museums, and every corner of the mainstream where we can clear away a little space to set up shop. We set out to save ourselves from not caring, but out there in the margins we've found communities worth always doing it better for. Now we have contracts instead of handshakes, a warehouse instead of a fanny pack full of zines. We have a staff, we have relationships in the industry that send our books to places we wouldn't have dreamed we could walk into ourselves. We're not as drunk or dirty as we used to be. But still, at heart, we've got this milk crate strapped to the back of a bike and we're riding wildly across town to hand you the book that might just be the one that saves your life.
Not sure where to get started? Check out our starter pack.
Here to learn about publishing? Nerd out with us in the People's Guide to Publishing podcast archives.
In Portland?
Microcosm Publishing hQ
2752 N Williams Ave map
Portland, OR 97227
503-799-2698
Open for pickups and deliveries only: 11am–3pm Mon thru Sat (or call 360 291 7226 for an appointment)
Meet our exclusive distribution client publishers
- Coming in 2026: Generous Press (on our website)
- Thornapple Press and imprint Canadian Science Press (find Thornapple and Canadian Science in our catalog)
- Chickasaw Press and imprints White Dog Press and Leaning Pole Press(find Chickasaw, Leaning Pole and White Dog Press titles on our website)
- Birdcage Bottom Books (on our website)
- Don Giovanni Records (on our website)
- GOBLINKO (on our website)
- Lit Star Press (on our website)
- Scorched Earth Press (on our website)
an introduction to Microcosm Publishing
another introduction to Microcosm Publishing
Who we are:
Leslie Davisson is our Sales Director. She's been bringing books to the people for over 20 years, including roles at Chronicle Books and Lonely Planet. When not sitting at a computer, she can be found baking bread, roaming the woods, reading horror, and listening to live music. Just not at the same time.
Contact Leslie about big ideas for getting our books out into the world!
503 333 4722
Kristine Anstine is our major account sales manager. Connecting people and stores with books is her lifelong passion that she pursued for the previous 25 years at Last Gasp and before that at Comic Relief. She also enjoys saddle-stapling zines, modifying signs, and traveling with her family.
Contact Kristine about books for your store!
971-277-9435
Sara Balabanlilar works in the sales department. She also works on marketing at WorkingLit, reads a bunch, and dotes on her cats.
Contact Sara for help lovingly curating your shelf.
Tyler Murphy is our customer service manager, ensuring that your books get out the door with aplomb
Contact Tyler if you have a wholesale or reseller order that needs attention.
(360) 291-7226
