Nancy K. Bereano (born August 17, 1942) is an American editor and publisher. She founded

Firebrand Books Firebrand Books is a publishing house established in 1984 by Nancy K. Bereano---a lesbian/feminist activist in Ithaca, NY. Karen Oosterhouse, publisher since 2003, describes Firebrand as "the independent publisher of record for feminist and les ...

, an influential lesbian feminist press, in 1984 and ran it until her retirement in 2000.

Career

She worked at the

Crossing Press Ten Speed Press is a publishing house founded in Berkeley, California in 1971 by Phil Wood. Ten Speed Press was bought by Random House in February 2009 and is now part of their Crown Publishing Group division. History Wood worked with Barnes & N ...

, an independent publisher, where she edited the Feminist Series for five years, publishing such books as Audre Lorde's ''Sister Outsider'',

Marilyn Frye Marilyn Frye (born 1941) is an American philosopher and radical feminist theorist. She is known for her theories on sexism, racism, oppression, and sexuality. Her writings offer discussions of feminist topics, such as: white supremacy, male pri ...

's ''The Politics of Reality'', and a reissue of Pat Parker's ''Movement in Black''. In the fall of 1984, Bereano left Crossing Press and started Firebrand Books; by the spring of 1985 she was issuing her first list: Pat Parker's ''Jonestown and Other Madness'', ''Mohawk Trail'' by

Beth Brant Beth E. Brant, Degonwadonti, or Kaieneke'hak was a Mohawk writer, essayist, and poet of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in Ontario, Canada. She was also a lecturer, editor, and speaker. She wrote ...

, and ''Moll Cutpurse, Her True History'' by

Ellen Galford Ellen Galford is an American-born Scottish writer. She was born in the US and migrated to the United Kingdom in 1971, after a brief marriage in New York City. She came out in the mid-1970s. She has lived in Glasgow and London and now lives in Edi ...

. In 1988, Bereano published

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 ...

's ''Trash'', which won two Lammy or Lambda Literary Awards in the categories of Lesbian Fiction and Small Press. Other notable titles on Firebrand's list include the " Dykes to Watch Out For" series by

Alison Bechdel Alison Bechdel ( ; born September 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist. Originally known for the long-running comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her graphic memoir ''Fun Home'', which ...

, ''

Stone Butch Blues ''Stone Butch Blues'' is a historical fiction novel written by Leslie Feinberg about life as a butch lesbian in 1970s America. While fictional, the work also takes inspiration from Feinberg's own life, and she described it as her "call to action." ...

'' by Leslie Feinberg, and books by

Jewelle Gomez Jewelle Gomez (born September 11, 1948) is an American author, poet, critic and playwright. She lived in New York City for 22 years, working in public television, theater, as well as philanthropy, before relocating to the West Coast. Her writing� ...

Minnie Bruce Pratt Minnie Bruce Pratt (born September 12, 1946) is an American poet, educator, activist and essayist. She retired in 2015 from her position as Professor of Writing and Women's Studies at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York where she was invite ...

, and Cheryl Clarke. Firebrand won a total of four

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Book Awards and twelve Lambda Literary Awards. In 1996, Bereano won the Publisher's Service Award from the Lambda Literary Foundation. In 2000, Bereano sold Firebrand Books to LPC Company, the distributor which had been selling her list for the previous five years. Firebrand's editorial and financial records were donated to th
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. In 2007, Bereano received the Michele Karlsberg Leadership Award from the

Publishing Triangle The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards prog ...

Activism

Bereano was instrumental in helping to secure the passage of LGBT anti-discrimination legislation for the City of Ithaca and

Tompkins County Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President ...

. She is a founding member of the Tompkins County Working Group on LGBT Aging, a grassroots information and advocacy organization located in Ithaca, New York. She currently serves as a community representative on the City of Ithaca’s Workforce Diversity Committee and has been trained as a Talking Circles on Race and Racism facilitator.

Personal life

Bereano's partner is Elisabeth Nonas, a playwright and an associate professor of Media Arts, Sciences, and Studies at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bereano, Nancy K. Living people 1942 births Writers from Ithaca, New York LGBT people from New York (state) 20th-century American publishers (people) American book editors Women book publishers (people) American women editors 21st-century American women