A Pocket Guide to Pride Flags: An Illustrated History of Queer Community Symbols

May 15, 2026

Beyond the rainbow.

Find your own flavor of pride with this definitive guide to pride flags of all stripes—their history, meanings, legacies, and cultural significance around the world. A whole spectrum of stories has unfolded since the original rainbow flag debuted in the 1970s. For the first time, here are over 30 pride flags collected together, accompanied by details about their symbolism, creators, usage, and sometimes controversial histories. It’s all presented with graphic flair by Icelandic designer and comedian Sindri “Sparkle” Freyr.

If you’re LGBTQ, you’re likely familiar with your community flags, but you’re not the only ones! Kinksters, bears, sex workers, and drag performers—there’s a flag for you. If you’re nonbinary, intersex, agender, genderqueer, disabled, polyamorous, two-spirt, ace-aro, or demi—you’ve got a flag, too. These flags and the motives behind them show us that there really is room for everyone. With both queer visibility and heteronormative hatred on the rise around the world, this bold, stylish celebration of vexillology (the study of flags!) shows how these symbols can help us share who we are, how we define ourselves, and where we find community.

Keep reading to learn more about pride flag history in this first-of-its-kind guide, shipping now from our site or available June 2 at your local Microcosm dealer.

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Action!: An Illustrated, DIY Guide to Making Your Own Movies

May 13, 2026

The classic guide to movie-making fundamentals

Who says you need a film degree, fancy equipment, or studio backing to fulfill your filmmaking dreams? Pick up your phone or the video or film camera you found at an estate sale, and make your own movies, music videos, documentaries, vlogs, and more.

Charmingly hand-written and -illustrated, this revised and updated edition of the beloved classic fits in your pocket and provides all the essential information you need, free of jargon or elitist obstacles. You’ll learn why movies move us, how film and video cameras work, how to light and expose shots, how to create eye-catching compositions, how to record crystal-clear sound, and more.

Whether you’re a content creator, journalist, artist, director, fundraiser, or activist, movies are a more powerful storytelling tool than ever. This book will help you improve your technical expertise on any equipment and any budget so you can achieve your dreams and reach the world with your story.

Want to know how you and your friends can make movies? Read on for an excerpt of this new and updated edition of Bill Brown‘s Action! Preorder your own copy from our site, shipping May 19, or find it at your preferred Microcosm peddler after its official release, August 25 🙂

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Making Stuff and Doing Things: DIY Guides to Just About Everything

March 23, 2026

When you’re young, broke, and in search of a life of adventure, Making Stuff and Doing Things is the most useful book on the planet. It’s been called “more important than the Bible.” It’s an indispensable handbook full of basic life skills for the young punk or activist, or for anyone who’s trying to get by, get stuff done, and live life to the fullest without a lot of money.

The book started as a series of zines, with dozens of contributors setting down the most important skills they knew in concise, often hand-written pages. If you want to do it yourself or do it together, this book has it all, from making your own tooth paste to making your own art and media, feeding, clothing, cleaning, and entertaining yourself, surviving on little, living on less, and staying healthy on all your life’s adventures. You’ll never be bored again.

Keep reading for an excerpt of this latest edition of Making stuff and Doing Things, the enduring bestseller edited by Kyle Bravo—shipping now from the Microcosm site or available at an indie retailer near you!

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A People’s Guide to Publishing: Building a Successful, Sustainable, Meaningful Book Business From the Ground Up

March 09, 2026

Learn what it takes to publish books successfully

Drawing on 30 years of experience operating an independent publishing company, Microcosm founder and CEO Joe Biel has written the most accessible and comprehensive guide to running a successful publishing business. You’ll learn all the skills of the trade, including how to:

Develop your individual books to connect with readers on a practical and emotional level
Choose between offset printed, digitally printed, and ebook formats and work effectively with printers
Build an authentic niche so you can reach your audience and sell books directly
Understand if and when you’re ready to work with a distributor or large online retailer
Create a budget and predict the cost and income of each book so your company stays in the black
Decide what work you need to do yourself and what can be done by others
Plan for sustainable growth

Featuring interviews with other upstart independent publishers and funny anecdotes from publishing’s long history as well as detailed charts and visuals, this book is intended both for beginners looking for a realistic overview of the publishing or self-publishing process and for experienced publishers seeking a deeper understanding of accounting principles, ways to bring their books to new audiences, and how to advance their mission in a changing industry. All readers will come away with the confidence to move forward wisely and a strong sense of why publishing matters today more than ever.

Keep going to read an excerpt of Joe Biel’s A People’s Guide to Publishing! Available now through our site, or via your favorite independent Microcosm peddler 🙂

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Save Your Food: The Sustainable Joy of Storing, Canning, Drying, and Fermenting

March 06, 2026

Stretch your food budget farther

Whether you are overwhelmed by the bounty of your home garden or you want to get smarter about using what’s in your fridge, this friendly and informative guide will walk you through the steps to preserving and storing your own (delicious!) food. In her trademark welcoming style with charming illustrations, Raleigh Briggs offers up her knowledge on canning, brining, fermentation, drying, and storing everything from fresh vegetables to fish. With step by step instructions, recipes, and helpful tips, this guide will allow you to embrace a more sustainable, low-waste, and cost-saving relationship to food while empowering you with new skills. Eat healthy and cheap all year round!

Keep going to read an excerpt of Raleigh Briggs’s Save Your Food! Printing came through early, so it’s available NOW through our site, well in advance of the technical October 2026 pub date!

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