Naiad Press (1973–2003) was an American publishing company, one of the first dedicated to

lesbian literature Lesbian literature is a subgenre of literature addressing lesbian themes. It includes poetry, plays, fiction addressing lesbian characters, and non-fiction about lesbian-interest topics. Fiction that falls into this category may be of any gen ...

. At its closing it was the oldest and largest lesbian/feminist publisher in the world.

History

Naiad Press was founded by partners Barbara Grier and Donna McBride in January 1973, along with Anyda Marchant and Muriel Crawford. It was devoted exclusively to

. The company began both in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, home of Grier and McBride and Rehoboth Beach, DE, home of Marchant and Crawford. The business began with $2000, provided by the author of the Press's first work, ''The Latecomer'' by

Sarah Aldridge Anyda Marchant (January 27, 1911 – January 11, 2006) was a lawyer (she was one of the first women to pass the Bar in Washington D.C.) and a founding partner of Naiad Press and A&M Books. She was also an author of primarily lesbian fiction, for ...

, the pen name of lawyer Anyda Marchant, and her partner Muriel Crawford. In 1973, there were few bookstores which would carry such overtly lesbian materials, so Naiad Press relied heavily on

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing ...

in order to market and sell books. Naiad benefitted from its use of the 3800-member mailing list of '' The Ladder'', a prominent and recently defunct lesbian newsletter published by the

Daughters of Bilitis The Daughters of Bilitis , also called the DOB or the Daughters, was the first lesbian civil and political rights organization in the United States. The organization, formed in San Francisco in 1955, was conceived as a social alternative to le ...

. "Naiad's commitment to the publication of lesbian material included the use of its profits from one book to produce the next". In addition to original writings, Naiad published out-of-print

lesbian fiction Lesbian literature is a subgenre of literature addressing lesbian themes. It includes poetry, plays, fiction addressing lesbian characters, and non-fiction about lesbian-interest topics. Fiction that falls into this category may be of any gen ...

, such as novels of Ann Bannon,

Jane Rule Jane Vance Rule (28 March 1931 – 27 November 2007) was a Canadian writer of lesbian-themed works. Her first novel, ''Desert of the Heart'', appeared in 1964, when gay activity was still a criminal offence. It turned Rule into a reluctant m ...

and

Gale Wilhelm Gale Wilhelm (April 26, 1908 – July 11, 1991) was an American writer most noted for two books that featured lesbian themes written in the 1930s: '' We Too Are Drifting'' and ''Torchlight to Valhalla''. Early life Wilhelm was born April 26, ...

and acquired rights and brought back into print poetry by

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

and translations of poetry by Renee Vivien. Early book covers were designed by

Tee Corinne Tee A. Corinne (November 3, 1943 – August 27, 2006) was an American photographer, author, and editor notable for the portrayal of sexuality in her artwork. According to ''Completely Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia'', "Corinne is one of ...

. Naiad was credited with playing "a crucial role in bringing lesbian mysteries into prominence in the 1980s" by publishing award-winning series featuring detectives Kate Delafield, Carol Ashton, Caitlin Reece, Virginia Kelley and others. Authors

Sarah Schulman Sarah Miriam Schulman (born July 28, 1958) is an American novelist, playwright, nonfiction writer, screenwriter, gay activist, and AIDS historian. She is a Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at College of Staten Island (CSI) and a Fellow a ...

and

Patrick Califia Patrick Califia (born 1954; formerly also known as Pat Califia and by the last name Califia-Rice) is an American writer of non-fiction essays about sexuality and of erotic fiction and poetry. Califia is a bisexual trans man. Prior to transitioni ...

were first published by Naiad Press. Its genre fiction authors included prolific and award-winning writers such as Katherine V. Forrest,

Claire McNab Claire McNab (born 1940 in Melbourne, Australia) is the pseudonym of Claire Carmichael, an Australian writer. While pursuing a career as a high school teacher in Sydney, she began her writing career with comedy plays and textbooks. She left teac ...

and

Karin Kallmaker Karin Kallmaker (born 1960) is an American author of lesbian fiction whose works also include those originally written under the name Laura Adams. Her writings span lesbian romance, lesbian erotica, and lesbian science-fiction/fantasy. Dubbed th ...

. Naiad achieved national prominence in 1985 with its publication of '' Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence'', for which it reportedly paid

Rosemary Keefe Curb Rosemary Keefe (also known as Rosemary Curb, February 3, 1940 – May 24, 2012) was an American nun, university professor, and lesbian author. She was the co-editor of a best-selling book ''Lesbian Nuns Breaking Silence'', which she wrote under h ...

and

Nancy Manahan Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

$500,000. The book was banned in Boston. The press also published other nonfiction work, such as ''The Lesbian Periodical Index'', ''

The Lesbian in Literature ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

,'' and ''Staying Power: Long-Term Lesbian Couples''. In 2002, Grier and McBride received the Pioneer Award from the

Lambda Literary Foundation The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legaci ...

. On their retirement in 2003, Grier and McBride sold their current stock to

Bella Books Bella Books is a small press publisher of lesbian literature based in Tallahassee, Florida. History Kelly Smith, along with other investors, created the corporation in Michigan in 1999 as an outgrowth of Smith's long relationship with ''A Woma ...

. Many Naiad Press authors transferred their contracts to Bella Books.

The Naiad Press Collection at Gay and Lesbian Center of the SFPL

In 1992, Grier established the Naiad Press Collection at the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center of the

San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Library Journals L ...

,The Naiad Press Collection, Collection GLC30, San Francisco Public Library completing delivery of their massive collection of memorabilia, lesbian and gay literature, including many classic lesbian pulp fiction titles in 1998. Correspondence in the collection includes exchanges with contracted authors as well as other literary luminaries and influences such as

Dorothy Allison Dorothy Allison (born April 11, 1949) is an American writer from South Carolina whose writing focuses on class struggle, sexual abuse, child abuse, feminism and lesbianism. She is a self-identified lesbian femme. Allison has won a number of a ...

Rita Mae Brown Rita Mae Brown (born November 28, 1944) is an American feminist writer, best known for her coming-of-age autobiographical novel, ''Rubyfruit Jungle''. Brown was active in a number of civil rights campaigns and criticized the marginalization of le ...

, Nancy Berreano of publishing houses Crossing and Firebrand,

Andrea Dworkin Andrea Rita Dworkin (September 26, 1946 – April 9, 2005) was an American radical feminist writer and activist best known for her analysis of pornography. Her feminist writings, beginning in 1974, span 30 years. They are found in a dozen solo ...

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," wh ...

, Sherry Thomas of Old Wives Tales feminist bookstore and

Spinsters Ink Founded in Upstate New York in 1978 by Maureen Brady and Judith McDaniel, Spinsters Ink is one of the oldest lesbian feminist publishers in the world. It is currently owned by publisher Linda Hill, who purchased the Spinsters Ink in 2005.Press R ...

, and background material on the establishment of the Women in Print Conferences which began in 1976 and are widely credited with creating the Feminist Bookstore Network. Clothing, banners, posters, T-shirts and scrapbooks comprise the memorabilia in the collection. Extensive audio recordings made of interviews and news programs over the press's history are also in the collection. The San Francisco Public Library History Center holds the considerable collection of archival photographs of lesbian and gay literary figures.

Notable authors

* Ann Bannon * Lyn Denison * Katherine V. Forrest * Camarin Grae * Barbara Grier *

Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character Tom Ripley. She wrote 22 novel ...

* Lee Lynch *

Isabel Miller Alma Routsong (November 26, 1924 – October 4, 1996) was an American novelist best known for her lesbian fiction, published under the pen name Isabel Miller. Early life Alma Routsong was born Elma Louise Routsong in Traverse City, Michigan, on ...

* Valerie Taylor *

Footnotes

External links

*
Catalog of The Naiad Press Collection, James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library

LGBT Oral History Project of North Florida interviews
Reichelt Oral History Collection, HPUA-2015-00R, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. {{authority control Defunct book publishing companies of the United States Lambda Literary Award winners Lesbian fiction LGBT book publishing companies Publishing companies established in 1973 Small press publishing companies Feminist book publishing companies

History

The Naiad Press Collection at Gay and Lesbian Center of the SFPL

Notable authors

Footnotes

Further reading

External links