Posts By: Cynthia Marts

A Chat with Julia Alekseyeva

September 12, 2018 — by Cyn

We reached out to Soviet Daughter creator Julia Alekseyeva to chat about the amazing graphic novel’s reception, praise, creation, and purpose.
Check it out below, grab a copy of the book, or follow Julia online to learn more about her work.

**Congrats on winning the 2017 Virginia Library Association’s Diversity in Graphic Novels award! Were you surprised by the announcement?**
I was very surprised, and even more pleased! It has been a bit difficult getting standard comic committees and authorities interested in the book and story. Readers have responded very positively, but independently published books seem to have a severe handicap in the comics world. So I was pretty shocked, to say the least! I’m especially thrilled that the award came from the Virginia Library Association, and that it highlights diversity. I’m an educator myself and created the book for the purpose of education on a rarely-understood topic: daily life and politics in the USSR. I also wanted to highlight the experiences of a figure that was a minority in her own community, even if she probably wouldn’t be considered one now in the US.

**We’ve heard a few reviews of Soviet Daughter where they raved about how badass a woman Lola was, and it was inspiring to hear. How do you feel about the praise the books been getting? Purely based on my curiosity, have you heard any particularly great comments or feedback that really sticks in your mind? **
I’m thrilled about the praise the book is getting! I’m so glad it’s connecting with readers– both those who came from former Soviet states, and other people in the US and abroad. I received some great feedback from readers in Ukraine, actually, and really hope that the book ends up getting published there one day. I think many people assume that citizens of former Soviet states may not like the book because it showcases a history that comes with extremely heavy baggage and trauma. However, I have not actually had this criticism happen (which is fantastic)– former Soviets seem to connect with how ambiguously the book treats the Soviet government. It’s definitely a gray area, and in my experience, readers from places like Ukraine, Bulgaria, or Kazakhstan read the book as a testament to the complexity of Soviet nostalgia. It isn’t necessarily a nostalgia that wants to restore the past (Svetlana Boym called this ‘Restorative Nostalgia’) but one that, hopefully, reflects on the past without wanting to abandon it wholesale (‘Reflective Nostalgia’). I love getting feedback that the book ‘gets history right,’ or at least the feeling of living in a very particular moment, in a very particular place. And that’s high praise to me.

**What kind of people do you think seem to be gravitating towards Soviet Daughter? What do you think it is about your book, and Lola’s story, that has resonated so much with readers?**
I definitely feel like two types of generations gravitate towards the book: Millennials/’Digital Natives’ (those under 38) and an older generation who may be grandparents themselves (‘Silent Generation’ and older). Unsurprisingly I think the book is more appealing for people interested in learning more about leftism throughout history. It makes sense that the reader demographic lines up pretty well with the demographics of the Democratic Socialists of America! (i.e. younger generations and much older generations, with not a lot in between). I think this has less to do with the content of the book and more to do with the types of books 38-58 year olds are likely to consume. This may have to do with experiences of the Cold War and an immediate gut reaction against anything with ‘Soviet’ in the title. In my experience, Millennials and older folks take a lot less convincing than the demographic in the middle! I think the story resonates with readers because it really is a personal account, rather than any objective idea of history. I didn’t fact check any of the statements Lola made because they are her story and her truth. She was writing this memoir in secret and had no reason to lie since she knew she’d be long gone by the time we read it. It is a subjective history and a visceral experience of daily life.

**Creating a hand-painted graphic novel is a big, daunting project! How did you stay motivated in the long process?**
Oh, boy! Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve made quite a few shorter pieces since the book was published, but haven’t had the urge to do something quite like this again. I’m not sure how I was able to be so motivated! I was very organized and set all of these nearly impossible-to-meet deadlines, and actually made all of them, with significant difficulty. I think I was able to stay disciplined and motivated because I knew I would not be able to support myself financially for very long (I lived on savings for one year). More importantly, I just wanted the story out there. I thought there was something in the air that made the word ‘socialism’ appealing, for the first time in my life in the US. This was 4 years before Bernie Sanders became a household name and the most popular politician in the US! I thought if there ever was a time for the story to reach an audience, it was now (or rather, 2013-2017), and I think I was right! I also had this deep, psychological urge to pay homage to my great-grandmother. Drawing/writing is somewhat therapeutic, as it was a particularly intense way of expressing love, devotion, and respect.

**Now that you’re looking back on it from some distance, What’s your favorite part of the book? Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?**
Hmm! I’m not sure I would’ve done anything differently in terms of the final product. There was quite a bit of trial and error as I went about my drawing and editing process, and while it would have saved me a LOT of time and art supplies to have already known my strategy on Day 1, it was also a great learning experience. So, all those accidentally spilled containers of India Ink and stained wooden floors and broken nibs and coffee-spilled laptops are probably an important part of the process, and I wouldn’t have given up that craziness for anything. I do think the book would be a tad better if the format were larger; maybe, just maybe, there can be a larger reprint of the book that keeps the same dimensions? In terms of my favorite part of the book: it’s hard to say, but probably my favorite parts are the more positive scenes from the early 1930s. Lola’s life pre-WWII is so fascinating and fun. It reminds me so much of my own scene in Brooklyn, weirdly enough. I know the comparison is a rather crazy one, but there’s actually quite a lot in common in terms of the combination of radical politics/socialist organization and fun hang-outs or party scenes. Lola was interested in politics, art, film, theater, dance, music. I like to think that if she were a Millennial now, she’d live in my neighborhood and dance up a storm in Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy!

(Above) The original Kickstarter video for Soviet Daughter.

A Day in the Life, last day edition

August 20, 2018 — by Kedi Davis

This piece was written by our wonderful intern Kedi on her last day at Microcosm. We asked what she’d enjoyed about her time at Microcosm, as well as what she didn’t. Her response is quite charming and passionate, like her. Find Kedi and follow her work on twitter.

Hanging out at PRIDE

My internship with Microcosm Publishing began on June 4th earlier this summer, and my final day, August 10th, has officially caught up with me. That’s 10 weeks for those of you who weren’t counting, or, in internship measurements, 249.07 hours. And yes, I am the type of person to measure hours in hundredths of a decimal.

There are a lot of things I’d say I’ve learned over the course of my internship, though I’m not sure I could exactly say what those things are. I think this might be the easiest to express: there is a difference between liking something and thinking it’s a fit. There are certainly lovely and well-written zines and books out there in the world waiting to be published that will never fit with Microcosm. There is a humor and an energy in Microcosm that is missing in a lot of things. I’ve also learned that there are times where someone can be slow and take their time to make sure a project is finished with the utmost care, but also times where smaller details must be let go in the wake of an oncoming due date.

I’ve learned that the people working at Microcosm enjoy working here, and that they each have a level of dedication that keeps them all pushing forward on their projects, whether they come to the office or not. Most days, of the fourteen people who work here, I’ve seen four or five. Sometimes there were as little as two people in the office, besides the interns. Following that, I’m certain I’ve learned almost nothing of any of them. I’m positive there’s at least three people who work here that I’ve never actually met. But even of the ones I have met, the only last names I know are Joe’s and Elly’s. That being said, I’ve learned that the people working at Microcosm are kind and patient and fun. No one has gotten frustrated with me for asking too many questions (or at least no one who showed it), no one has acted as though I am “just” an intern, and not only do they ask for my ideas and my opinions, they listen. They follow through and dig deeper to see what could work. They also work to keep me included. What I have learned of the people who worked here, I learned from the times they invited me to have lunch with them, or the from game night the company hosted. I think my favorite memory of Microcosm will be when my manager Sidnee and I left the office in the middle of the day to meet Cyn, the publicity director, at a snow cone truck on the next block.

And though that will be my favorite memory, it will not be my proudest. I am proud and honored by the trust placed in me by the team of Microcosm during my internship. That same urging which made me mark the last .07 of my hours here at Microcosm helped me make a name for myself within the office. In my midterm meeting, my manager likened me to a duck. On the surface I am often quite passive and serene, but under the water I work quite diligently, with great care for where I’m heading. She meant that I’m a bit of a slow worker, but I pore over each word, each mark of punctuation, each spacing and pattern in writing until every mark of ink on the page is exactly as it should be.

I have edited three books in these past 249.07 hours, and each opportunity was more difficult and more demanding than the last. The first, a book in Dr. Faith’s This Is Your Brain series, was a simple (simple for people like me who read about comma rules for fun—have I ever told you about the Oxford Comma?) typo search. The second was a read through of Joe Biel’s (the owner and founder of Microcosm) own book on publishing. It was my responsibility to make sure all titles, subtitles, headers and subheaders were appropriately capitalized, as well as looking for typos. The amount of time I spent researching capitalization rules to complete this task would make a math major cry, but it paid off. This research helped me to impress Joe and Elly, so that they trusted me with editing on the master document directly. I shared this with my mom (so she would be proud of me too, of course) and she was proud enough to share it with my grandmothers. The last project will stick with me even through the ending of my internship—literally, because I’m still working on it! For my last project they have trusted me with a developmental edit, and the work I have put in for the past three weeks has been frustrating, agonizingly slow, often bewildering, and completely satisfying. I enjoy the slogging through of information. I feel almost like an archeologist making a discovery with the ways I’m helping to pull a book out of the mess of ideas. (Is that too silly a comparison? Don’t tell anyone I said that.)

There are things about this internship I won’t miss. I won’t miss the hour drive between the office and my home. I won’t miss the publicity projects I am absolutely terrible at (Sorry, Cyn). I won’t miss that the very nice woman working in the NICU still hasn’t called me back so we can finally give them their free books—and after we talked three times, no less!

But I will miss eating lunch out on the patio of the office. I will miss the friendly atmosphere. I will miss texting Sidnee to let me in, only for Ben to open the door. I will miss gif conversations with my manager, and I will miss the other interns, and the frustrating, bewildering, satisfying work I have done here. I think I’ll even miss the mailing.

Regards,

Kedi

Are you interested in volunteering or interning for credit at Microcosm? Let us know with this form and be a part of the punk rock publishing revolution!

Witchcraft 101

August 10, 2018 — by Lydia Rogue

Reading Recs :: 5 Books to Introduce You to Witchcraft

There are so many titles on witchcraft out there – it can be hard to know where to get started. When you walk in and are faced with what seems like an entire bookstore of potential titles, where does one even begin – especially when you don’t know a Wiccan from a Druid, and you’re not sure what a Tarot deck is other than you probably shouldn’t play poker with one.

Instead of staring blankly at the shelf, try these books on for size…

*A Little Bit of Wicca: An Introduction to Wi**tchcraft*

By Cassandra Eason

The “A Little Bit” series has quite a few titles in it, each tackling a different topic. A Little Bit of Wicca: An Introduction to Witchcraft is a prime example of this.

The slim hardback is the perfect size to take with you on the go – and its bite-sized nature means it’s not a huge time commitment for curiosity seekers. It’s a great title to get started with because it’s so basic.

The Wicca Bible: The Definitive Guide to Magic and the Craft

by Ann-Marie Gallagher

While there isn’t a Bible for Wicca and paganism the way there is for Christianity, the book The Wicca Bible: The Definitive Guide to Magic and the Craft provides an overview of Wicca – detailing the history of the craft and modern practices, giving newcomers information on how to start their own worship.

This book is great if you know you want to delve a little deeper from the start – with 400 pages, it covers plenty of ground, while still maintaining a compact size for easy transport.

The Modern Witchcraft Guide to the Wheel of the Year

by Judy Ann Nock

Christmas isn’t just a repackaged Yule, no matter how much we like to joke about it, and Samhain isn’t just another word for Halloween. Once you start delving into the craft, it’s easy to find references to the wheel of the year and the holidays, but many books only provide a basic overview of them.

For a new practitioner, it can be confusing when there’s not more information on what the holidays mean and only a basic look at how to celebrate them. The Modern Witchcraft Guide to the Wheel of the Year: From Samhain to Yule, Your Guide to the Wiccan Holidays is great for new practitioners who want to learn more about the core holidays.

The book also includes easy to follow rituals and a bit about the history of each. Anyone interested in the craft can pick it up and have their holiday plans prepped and ready to go.

The Little Book of Witchcraft

by Andrew McMeel Publishing

When you think of paganism, most often you think of Wicca. It’s one of the fastest-growing religions in the US and is probably the largest single pagan religion. However, that’s not all there is to witchcraft.

The Little Book of Witchcraft is a compact, non-denominational guide to the basics of witchcraft. This book is a fantastic choice for new practitioners who don’t want to be tied down to a specific pagan group or for curiosity seekers who want to learn a little more about what falls into the big category of “witchcraft”.

Wiccapedia: A Modern-Day White Witch’s Guide

by Leanna Greenaway and Shawn Robbins

Bad puns aside, Wikipedia has become a backbone of encyclopedic knowledge, providing an overview of a variety of subjects in an easy to access format.

Wiccapedia: A Modern-Day White Witch’s Guide does the exact same thing for Wicca. Good for beginners and experienced practitioners alike, this little guide provides a surprisingly comprehensive overview of Wiccan practices and spirituality – with some how-to advice for people just getting started.

Whether you’re interested in practicing, or if you’re just trying to broaden your horizons, these books are a great choice for anyone interested in learning more about witchcraft and the spirituality surrounding magic.

What do you think? Are you ready to get mystical? Have a better suggestion? Share your favorite wicca/witchy/occult titles with us on twitter or instagram.

This post was written by past intern and contributor, Lydia Rogue. Follow Lydia and all their awesome work on Twitter and Patreon.

Guest Post : The Case for Calling In

July 27, 2018 — by Lydia Rogue

Past intern and 2x guest editor Lydia Rogue is a freelance writer and editor who made quite a few improvements around here in our office and editorial standards. In their last post as a volunteer with us, Lydia explored why inclusive language is so important in open calls for submissions, for a better, more diverse publishing world.

If you take a look at Microcosm’s submission guidelines, there’s a sentence inviting people who aren’t well represented in the publishing world to send in their manuscript.

People of color and transgender or gender nonconforming people are particularly encouraged to submit, as is anyone whose experiences are not well represented in the publishing world.

In the same vein, when I put out a call for submissions for True Trans Bike Rebel, and now that I’m looking for pieces for The Great Trans-Universal Bike Ride, I’ve made it clear I’m looking exclusively for submissions from trans and nonbinary people.

Just a few days ago I was digging through submission guidelines for a variety of lit magazines, as well as trawling job boards for listings. Both in my job hunt and in the perusal of submission guidelines, I was surprised to find more and more magazines have been saying that they’re especially interested in submissions from women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, disabled people and other minority voices.

Not just “Equal Opportunity Employer” statements, as required by law, but actually stating that they’re looking for minorities.

Let me point out that this has not always been the case, and I am glad to see it.

Admittedly, it’s hard not to be wary of these calls, especially when it comes to jobs. It often feels like they’re trying to get diversity points without actually following through. This thought is fueled by the countless stories I’ve heard of hiring managers tossing applications (regardless of legality) because someone listed their pronouns as anything other than he or she, or because their name doesn’t match their gender marker. And often I do wonder, when I send an email with “Lydia Rogue they/them” to hiring managers or editors, if that isn’t part of the reason I never heard back. It’s nerve-wracking.

So why do we do it at all, then?

Why not just let the implication of inclusivity stand?

Why call people in?

It’s easy to pretend that the default of equality is enough, especially if you’re coming from a place of privilege. If the laws dictate you can’t discriminate, and people are wary when you explicitly state you’re inclusive, why do it at all?

The answer is that regardless of what the laws say, the reality is we often aren’t welcome in these spaces.

The default attitude is not welcoming – the default is we’re shut out of many industries. We’re told no one wants to read our stories. Sometimes it’s just implied, other times we’re outright told no one wants to hear them. If we’re welcomed at all, we’re shuffled off into a corner, pigeonholed into a genre that defines us by our minority (or the minority of our characters).

But we’re more than that.

Microcosm Publishing has always focused on relating the experiences of what it’s like to be a marginalized person, and has worked to make the publishing world more representative of how diverse the real world is. We are constantly asking the question “How can we remove barriers to success for marginalized people in our industry?” and open calls for submission are a big part of that.

When putting out a call for submissions like this you’re opening the door to others. Regardless of whether someone explicitly states “I am that minority” when sending a manuscript or a story or a job application, you may find yourself with more minorities sending in applications regardless, because while we may be wary of making our minority explicit, it’s still nice to be invited in.

When all the submissions for True Trans Bike Rebel came in, Elly and I were amazed at what we saw. By telling people “You have a story and we want to hear it,” they submitted stories that represented the diverse range of experiences trans and nonbinary people experience.

By calling people in, we made them feel at home, like they had a place here.

We didn’t have to list every possible combination of minorities and story types, people drew conclusions and submitted their stories to us. It doesn’t take much to enact change, you just have to be willing to do it.

By holding the door open and saying ‘You’re welcome here’ we saw positive change in the types of stories submitted to us.

Try it out sometime and see the changes you too can enact in your community.

Pre-order True Trans Bike Rebels at Microcosm.pub and check out Lydia & Elly’s next team-up, Bikes Not Rockets, on kickstarter now. Follow Lydia Rogue and all their awesome work on Twitter.

Five Vegan Cookbooks You Need to Own

July 25, 2018 — by Drew

Here’s a little secret no one wants to admit: Vegan cooking is hard.

It’s difficult to create miraculously delicious meals day after day when you’ve lost two major food groups. Plus, it’s made worse when everyone assumes that since you’re vegan you’re some sort of holier-than-thou guru, eating like three cashew nuts a day.

But fuck that.

Making fulfilling, sustainable vegan meals is actually pretty easy. And it doesn’t require shaved fennel seeds, goji berries, or other ridiculous ingredients.

Here are five books for some good, down to earth vegan food. Because good cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. And neither should vegan cooking.

Eat well my friends….

1. Comfort Eating With Nick Cave: Vegan Recipes To Get Deep Inside of You
By Joshua Ploeg and Automne Zingg

“We all suffer.” A statement that, I’m sure, Nick Cave would agree with.

While we usually associate guilty pleasures with the type of food kept under the dayglo display at McDonalds, there are plenty of better options out there. In Comfort Eating with Nick Cave, the emotionally somber musician inspires some amazing vegan comfort recipes. Try the surprisingly simple Cinnamon rolls for instance, using coconut oil and almond milk.

With these new recipes under your belt, you’re one step closer to embracing your inner Nick Cave: Listening to Tender Play by yourself in the dark as you eat your new delicious treats.

2. Hot Damn & Hell Yeah: Recipes for Hungry Banditos, 10th Anniversary Edition
By Ryan Splint

So you wanna kick it up a notch.

Maybe you’re a fan of Emeril’s catchphrase, or you just really like Westworld. Either way, you can’t go wrong with Tex-Mex/ Southern cooking. Travel down to south of the border with Ryan Splint’s cookbook, which covers everything from Vegan Chili, Drop Biscuits, and Vegetable Pot Pie. Included are some wonderfully drawn macabre illustrations, and other original takes on good ole’ southern food.

Go find some tequila and start cookin’: You’re a bandito now.

3. Mama Tried: Traditional Italian Cooking for the Screwed, Crude, Vegan, and Tattooed
By Cecilia Granata

Let’s be honest. Your grandma probably wasn’t vegan. But let’s say she was. And wrote a cookbook. And was also Italian. You’d end up with Cecilia Granata’s Mama Tried, a wonderful cookbook filled with old world recipes made with vegan ingredients.
Just because you’re vegan doesn’t mean you can’t make Tiramisu, Flan Al Cioccolato, Panna Cotta.
With most recipes only a handful of ingredients, and simple instructions, there’s little prep and cook time. Sounds too good to be true? It probably is.

Go get a copy before we sell out.

4. Chocolatology: Chocolate’s Fantastical Lore, Bittersweet History, & Delicious (Vegan) Recipes
By Cat Callaway, Greg Clarke, Darin Wick and Angel York

As many people will tell you, the hardest part about going vegan is the sweets. But you know what is vegan? Chocolate. No, not that crap they put in Nutella, but real unadulterated chocolate.
You’re not the first person to fall in love with chocolate, and Chocolatology covers the history and lore behind the notorious sweet. On your history lesson journey you’ll also learn about its health benefits, sourcing sustainable cacao, and some (vegan) recipes to boot.

Sounds like the perfect after-school special to me.

5. Fire & Ice: Warm, Cool & Spicy Vegan Recipes from Hot & Soul
By Joshua Ploeg.

Who knew someone could be so talented? Joshua Ploeg, an accomplished punk musician in his own right (Behead The Prophet, No Lord Shall Live) also happens to moonlight as a gourmet vegan cook in his free time. Ice and Fire is a wonderful pocket-sized assortment of fusion and eclectic recipes made with easy-to-find ingredients.
Covering everything from garlic linguine and pineapple gazpacho, to Peanut-Bread Tempeh, you certainly won’t find yourself bored with dinner options. (Did we mention there’s plenty of boozy cocktail recipes in here as well!?)

This is for the friend who tells you vegan cooking “can’t be interesting.”

Go prove him wrong.

This post was written by summer intern Drew Matlovsky. Thanks Drew!

This Is… Alexander Barrett

July 18, 2018 — by Cynthia Marts

We’ve loved working with traveler/writer Alexander Barrett since the beginning. From our beloved Portland to Shanghai and soon San Francisco, Alex’s eye for the unique little details in the cities he features continues to be spot on and enjoyable. Years ago, 2015 to be exact, we interviewed Alex for the release of This is Shanghai, and this week we decided to catch up with him and revisit those questions for a update.

1. Where are you *right now* and what is the most important thing to know about what’s going on around you there?

Right now, I’m in my apartment in San Francisco, looking out over the city. I’ve lived here just long enough to think that the new Salesforce tower is ruining the skyline. Oof that thing. Today was “Sunday Streets” on Valencia in the Mission. They close the street to traffic and line it with musicians, dancers, and tables dedicated to local non-profits. I just watched a bunch of hippies play Jefferson Airplane covers to a small group of dancing children. “When the truth is found to be lies and all the joy within you dies…” It was the first time I really listened to those lyrics. The kids really responded to them.

2. I know it’s crass to ask, but when you aren’t making charming illustrated books about places you’re getting to know, what exactly do you do for a living?

I have a job. I’ve had the job for three years. I still don’t know exactly what it is. But I go there and I do stuff. When it started, I was a copywriter working on branding for YouTube. Then I convinced some higher ups to let me buy a Risograph Printer. Now I mostly print fun stuff and show other people how to print fun stuff.

3. What’s your favorite book that you’ve read this year?

I read Tamara Shopsin’s Arbitrary and Stupid Goal a few months ago. I really like the format of her books. It’s not unlike the way I’ve structured mine. Very staccato. But her chapters bounce all over the place through time, topic, and location. Such a wonderful experience.

4. What’s next for you? And finally, the question on everyone’s mind: Where will you live next?

I’ve lived in San Francisco for three years, which is the longest I’ve lived anywhere in a long time. I think I’ll stick around for a while. I won’t be in this city forever, but they have nice baked goods here. For the time being, I’m going to be in this apartment and explore the way I make things.

Looking back, the process of making these three books feels so similar. But looking at the final products, I think I’ve gotten better at it. I think This is San Francisco is the best and most complete project I’ve ever made. That feels good.

—

Learn more about Alexander and follow his work at www.alexanderbarrett.com and check out all three of his city books.

If you’re in Portland this month, snag a free copy of the 1st edition This is Portlands at “little free libraries” all over town! More on the blog.

We are Breaking Up with The Big Boys

July 11, 2018 — by Joe Biel

We’ve been holding on to a bit of news lately, and we’re excited to finally share it with you all! Here’s founder Joe Biel with the details…

Joe & Ruby deliver books by bicycle.

Starting January 1, 2019, we will be managing our own distribution just like we did for over ten years. Not only will we no longer need to move thousands of books back and forth between warehouses, creators get paid more for each book sold. And we won’t be selling to Amazon. Why. you ask? Well, my grandparents were German immigrants who came here in the 1800s for labor unions and worked to achieve the 40-hour work week…which was then abolished in our lifetime. When Microcosm was just getting off the ground in 1997, I interviewed Ian Mackaye of Dischord Records. He explained that a publisher is only as independent as their distribution is. He was seemingly taking a jab at “independent” labels who handle all of their manufacturing and distribution through a major but his point sticks.

Microcosm has always tried to work with independent companies, because they feel most comfortably aligned with our mission, values, and goals…but we’ve watched over the past dozen years as each independent distributor gets gobbled up and responds to the demands of the increasingly demanding monopolies.

We’ve watched as our peer publishers either throw in the towel or sell to one of the monopolies, neither of which we are willing to do. We feel that independents need to be independent and the best way to do that is to build an outpost of our own, a shining star where we can continue to thrive instead of relying upon the whims of any global corporation.

So we are returning to our roots to create the world that we want to see within our weirdo clubhouse.

We will be parting ways with Legato/PGW/Perseus/Ingram in January and have already built new warehouses and software to make this possible. Few events in the history of Microcosm have improved our morale and brought our staff together like this has. As always, our intent is to expand our distribution at the same time. Our new sales people (now a team of four) excitedly understand our books and have more time and focus to dedicate to them. For the first time ever, our back catalog will receive as much attention as our new releases. Within a few years, we intend to begin offering these services to other publishers.

This isn’t as staggering a change as it sounds. Reviewing the numbers, we have come to realize that we know better how to distribute our books than anyone else that we’ve tried to partner with. We’ve handled roughly 75% of our distribution even across these past seven years. The simple fact is that the underground is much bigger than the mainstream.

To ensure that we are still actually serving all of the stores and readers that are interested in our books, we’re bringing on Book Traveler’s West (West Coast), Como (East Coast), and Fujii (Midwest) to actively visit and solicit our books to stores. We will continue to be distributed by Turnaround in Europe and will be working with the same distributors in Australia, Canada, and the rest of the world as well. Readers and stores can still buy books directly from our website, microcosmpublishing.com.

We are redoubling our efforts to sell direct and to independents instead of helping monopolies like Amazon continue to grow at the expense of others. Perhaps more importantly, we will not be accepting their terms that increasingly just serve to crush everything in their path. If you want to help support the indies during this crucial time, go to your local shops and buy books, and encourage your friends to do the same. They will remember moments like this forever.

We hear from people almost every week that our books are saving their lives, and we feel that we have an obligation to extend that as far and wide as possible. There’s an unspoken rule in the underground that what we do is secret but when these rules don’t serve the goals, we have no choice but to break them.

Joe’s next book, A People’s Guide to Publishing, can help anyone inspired by our journey learn the lessons and wisdom that got us here today.
Check out the kickstarter project here!

Read the more industry-jargony version of this news with more details on Shelf Awareness.

Or, if you want to know more about what this’ll mean, check out Elly’s breakdown.

If you ever need help with ordering, please contact Sidnee Grubb | Customer Service (1-503-799-2698).
For press questions, interview or sample requests, contact Cyn Marts, publicity director, cyn@microcosmpublishing.com.

Welcome to Portland, have a book!

July 06, 2018 — by Cyn

This month welcomes the new edition of a staff favorite, This is Portland: The City You’ve Heard You Should Like! This colorful charmer highlights so many of our favorite details about living in the weirdest little city.

Updated for 2018 with 50% additional material, This is Portland is a first-hand look at a city that people can’t seem to stop talking about. It’s a guidebook of sorts, but not to restaurants and sightseeing. Instead, Alexander Barrett is your friendly guide to the quirky characters and atmosphere of Portland, Oregon and how fun, beautiful, and ridiculous it can be.

To celebrate this rad new edition, we’re doing something a little different — a Free Library book drop (or, scavenger hunt, if you will). Starting today (Friday July 6th and continuing through the month, Portland’s Microcosmonauts will be dropping Microcosm loot at free libraries throughout town.

From the comic catalogs that tell Microcosm’s story to our newest catalogs featuring a full Book Tour board game on the back and more, like Microcosm stickers and postcards; coupons good for any purchase at microcosm.pub; freebie books, like old advanced copies of Fix Your Clothes and Wild Fermentation; first editions of This is Portland, plus a few of the new edition!

We’ll be posting photos, hints, and behind the scenes clips on our instagram feed, so if you’re looking to hunt down some loot, take a look!

And if you’re not in Portland? Tell us a weird, charming thing about where _you_ live on instagram (with the hashtag #winpdx) for a chance to win a 1st edition copy for yourself!

New Giveaway EAT LIKE A UNICORN!

June 22, 2018 — by Cynthia Marts

If you haven’t seen Amy Subach’s colorful cookbook, Paleo For Unicorns: Eat the Patriarchy, we’re sorry to say you’re missing out. This creative guide to cooking healthy food quick and easy that tastes good and doesn’t drive your body crazy.

After a successful kickstarter campaign and so much support from everyone, Paleo for Unicorns is here and ready to go out to bookstores around the world. We love this feminist, humorous paleo cookbook, written for even the most beginnery of beginners to help you:

♥ Learn basic cooking skills!

♥ Figure out how to make a bunch of food with not too much cooking, even if you have a lot of restrictions!

♥ Dismantle the body shaming diet industrial complex!

♥ Make food that even little kids will love!

If you’re still unsure, here’s a quote from the book that I think illustrates why we made it in the first place and why we love it so much:

Paleo, as I’ve come to define it, is a way of eating that that includes meat, organ meats, vegetables (but not legumes), fruits, nuts (not peanuts because they are technically legumes), fermented foods, natural sweeteners, and sometimes dairy (raw, organic, goat, etc, if you tolerate it). It does not include grains (wheat, corn, quinoa (not really a grain actually), rice, etc), white potatoes (except sometimes it does), french fries (bummer, those are so good), processed junk foods, industrial seed oils, sugar, or alcohol. Easy paleo (and mostly paleo) recipes make up the meat and sweet potatoes of this book. The recipes are easy, because while I love cooking and have since I was making mud biscuits in the backyard (not a euphemism for pooping outside, this time), I have two small kids and I have no patience for any recipe that is finicky, requires a lot of special ingredients, or takes a lot of time.

One more thing: books about diet and health often make the reader feel less- than, like they need to change. I know that change is hard. I know it is a perpetual challenge for me to love and accept myself in the capitalist patriarchal racist imperialist society we live in, and as a cisgender white woman I have it pretty damn good. As the badass Audre Lorde has said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Please accept this book as a guideline for how you can better love and care for yourself. Let me say this: You are ALREADY worthy of love. YOU ARE A DAMN UNICORN.

Check out preview pages below, and, as usual, you have several different ways to enter via the Rafflecopter box below: following us on social media, tweeting about the giveaway, sharing the link, or signing up for our newsletter. Choose one, a few, or all of em, and may the odds be in your favor!

Check out all the book details (available in bookstores next month) at Microcosm.Pub/paleoforunicorns.
You can follow Amy and the cool stuff she does at AmySubach.com or on twitter @amysue.

Enter to win with the options below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

fine print details:
We’ll be giving away 10 free copies of Paleo for Unicorns, with a board game catalog and stickers, to 10 random winners selected via Rafflecopter. if you’re outside the US or Canada, you’re still welcome to enter, but we will request help paying for the very large shipping costs.

A Day in the Life of… Intern Edition

June 05, 2018 — by Cyn

Every few months a batch of brave young creatives joins our crew for a while to learn, explore, and help out around the office. Some volunteer for fun, experience, out of boredom, or for school credit, and every year we get more and more requests for “how can I help!” and “do you take interns?”.
So I wanted to take a minute to introduce you to what being a volunteer here is actually like, from the volunteers themselves. It’s been a while since I was one myself, so I asked a few others to talk about their average day.
Check out the juicy details below.

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