South End Press was a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

book publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

run on a model of

participatory economics Participatory economics, often abbreviated Parecon, is an economic system based on participatory decision making as the primary economic mechanism for allocation in society. In the system, the say in decision-making is proportional to the impa ...

. It was founded in 1977 by

Michael Albert Michael Albert (born April 8, 1947) is an American economist, speaker, writer, and political critic. Since the late 1970s, he has published books, articles, and other contributions on a wide array of subjects. He has also set up his own media ...

Lydia Sargent Lydia Sargent (January 10, 1942 – September 27, 2020) was an American feminist, writer, author, playwright, and actor. Biography She was a founder and original member of the South End Press Collective, as well as Z Magazine, which she co-ed ...

Juliet Schor Juliet B. Schor (born 1955) is an economist and Sociology Professor at Boston College. She has studied trends in working time, consumerism, the relationship between work and family, women's issues and economic inequality, and concerns about clima ...

, among others, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

's South End. It published books written by

political activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, notably

Arundhati Roy Suzanna Arundhati Roy (born 24 November 1961) is an Indian author best known for her novel ''The God of Small Things'' (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. S ...

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

, bell hooks,

Winona LaDuke Winona LaDuke (born August 18, 1959) is an American economist, environmentalist, writer and industrial hemp grower, known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development. In 1996 and 2000, she ran for Vice ...

Manning Marable William Manning Marable (May 13, 1950 – April 1, 2011) was an American professor of public affairs, history and African-American Studies at Columbia University.Grimes, William"Manning Marable, Historian and Social Critic, Dies at 60" ''The Ne ...

Ward Churchill Ward LeRoy Churchill (born 1947) is an American author and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1990 until 2007.

Cherríe Moraga Cherríe Moraga (born September 25, 1952) is a Chicana writer, feminist activist, poet, essayist, and playwright. She is part of the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the Department of English. Moraga is also a founding m ...

, Andrea Smith,

Howard Zinn Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922January 27, 2010) was an American historian, playwright, philosopher, socialist thinker and World War II veteran. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a politica ...

Jeremy Brecher Jeremy Brecher is a historian, documentary filmmaker, activist, and author of books on labor and social movements. Career Labor History In 1969, Brecher and other collaborators including Paul Mattick, Jr., Stanley Aronowitz, and Peter R ...

and Scott Tucker. South End Press closed in 2014.

History

South End Press was founded in 1977 by

, John Schall, Pat Walker,

, Mary Lea, Joe Bowring, and Dave Millikin, among others. It was based in

's South End and run as an

egalitarian Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...

collective with decision-making equally shared. The publisher experienced financial difficulties in the

financial crisis of 2007–08 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...

, with sales dropping by 12.8% in 2008. In 2009, South End Press moved to a new office in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, partnering with Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York. A fundraising campaign was run in 2012 to help ease its financial situation. South End Press closed in July 2014. Howard Zinn and an anonymous author had reportedly not received royalties for several years.

Legacy

Some of South End Press's catalog has been republished including work by Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Dana Frank and Vanessa Tait (by

Haymarket Books Haymarket Books is a left-wing non-profit, independent book publisher based in Chicago. History Haymarket Books was founded in 2001 by Anthony Arnove, Ahmed Shawki and Julie Fain, all of whom had previously worked at the '' International Sociali ...

), Jeremy Brecher (by PM Press), and Eli Clare, Andrea Smith,

Frank B. Wilderson III Frank B. Wilderson III (born April 11, 1956) is an American writer, dramatist, filmmaker and critic. He is a full professor of drama and African American studies at the University of California, Irvine. He received his BA in government and philoso ...

and Dean Spade (by

Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 D ...

), and

Vandana Shiva Vandana Shiva (born 5 November 1952) is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and anti-globalisation author. Based in Delhi, Shiva has written more than 20 books. She is often referred to as "Gandh ...

(by

North Atlantic Books North Atlantic Books is a non-profit, independent publisher based in Berkeley, California, United States. Distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services, North Atlantic Books is a mission-driven social justice-oriented publisher. Founded ...

). In 2014, commenting on the demise of the publisher, '' Monthly Review'' said it was "an important and vital part of the overall left movement".

Related projects

The founders of South End Press have also been involved with two ongoing political media projects, 'Speak Out' and '

Z Magazine Z Communications is a left-wing activist-oriented media group founded in 1986 by Michael Albert and Lydia Sargent.Max Elbaum''Revolution in the Air: Sixties Radicals Turn to Lenin, Mao and Che'' London, England, UK; New York, New York, US: Verso ...

'. They have worked with a number of media and research institutions including Alternative Radio, Political Research Associates, the Committee on Women, Population and the Environment, and INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence.

Publications

* Brecher, Jeremy. ''Strike!'' *

Chomsky, Noam Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...

. '' Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians''. Foreword by

Edward W. Said Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''White ...

. * Churchill, Ward; Wall, Jim Vander. ''Agents of Repression: The FBI’s Secret Wars Against the American Indian Movement and the Black Panther Party''. * Churchill, Ward; Wall, Jim Vander. ''The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents From the FBI’s Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States''. * Clare, Eli. ''Exile & Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation''. Afterword by

Dean Spade Dean Spade (born 1977) is an American lawyer, writer, trans activist, and associate professor of law at Seattle University School of Law. In 2002, he founded the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a non-profit law collective in New York City that provide ...

. * Frank, Dana.
Bananeras: Women Transforming the Banana Unions of Latin America
'. * Georgakas, Dan; Surkin, Marvin. ''Detroit: I Do Mind Dying: A Study in Urban Revolution''. Foreword by

. * Hooks, Bell. ''Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery''. * Hooks, Bell. '' Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center''. * Marable, Manning. ''How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America: Problems in Race, Political Economy, and Society''. * Moraga, Cherríe. ''Loving in the War Years: Lo que nunca pasó por sus labios''. * Sklar, Holly. ''Trilateralism: The

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

and Elite Planning for World Management''. (1980) , , . 604 pages
Excerpts available online
* Sklar, Holly. ''Washington's War on Nicaragua''. (1988) , . 472 pages. * Sklar, Holly. ''Streets of Hope: The Fall and Rise of an Urban Neighborhood''. Co-authored with Peter Medoff. (1994) . 221 pages. * Sklar, Holly. '' Chaos Or Community?: Seeking Solutions, Not Scapegoats for Bad Economics''. (1995) . 221 pages. * Sklar, Holly. ''Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies that Work for All of Us''. Co-authored with Laryssa Mykyta and

Susan Wefald Susan Wefald (born June 30, 1947) is a former North Dakota Republican Party politician. She served as a North Dakota Public Service Commissioner from 1993 until her retirement in 2009.(7 December 2007)Susan Wefald won't seek new term ''Bismarck ...

. (2001) . 262 pages. * Tait, Vanessa.
Poor Workers' Unions: Rebuilding Labor from Below
'.

References

{{Authority control Book publishing companies based in Massachusetts Publishing companies established in 1977 Political book publishing companies Organizations established in 1977 Publishing collectives 1977 establishments in Massachusetts 2014 disestablishments in New York (state) Publishing companies disestablished in 2014 Organizations disestablished in 2014