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 run on a model of participatory economics. It was founded in 1977 by Michael Albert, Lydia Sargent, Juliet Schor, 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 fr ...

, notably Arundhati Roy,

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 Gloria Jean Watkins (September 25, 1952December 15, 2021), better known by her pen name bell hooks, was an American author and social activist who was Distinguished Professor in Residence at Berea College. She is best known for her writings on ...

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, Ward Churchill, Cherríe Moraga, Andrea Smith, Howard Zinn,

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 Rac ...

and Scott Tucker. South End Press closed in 2014.

History

South End Press was founded in 1977 by Michael Albert, Lydia Sargent, John Schall, Pat Walker, Juliet Schor, Mary Lea, Joe Bowring, and Dave Millikin, among others. It was based in

's South End and run as an egalitarian 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 Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was officially established in 1970 through cooperation between educato ...

of the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the public university system of New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges and seven pro ...

. 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), Jeremy Brecher (by PM Press), and Eli Clare, Andrea Smith, Frank B. Wilderson III 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 ...

), 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 "Gand ...

(by North Atlantic Books). 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'. They have worked with a number of media and research institutions including Alternative Radio,

Political Research Associates Political Research Associates (PRA), formerly Midwest Research, Chicago (1981–87) is a non-profit research group located in Somerville, Massachusetts. Mission PRA studies the U.S. political right wing, as well as white supremacists, and pa ...

, the Committee on Women, Population and the Environment, and

INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence INCITE! Women, Gender Non-Conforming, and Trans people of Color Against Violence, formerly known as INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, is a United States-based national activist organization of radical feminists of color advancing a move ...

Publications

* Brecher, Jeremy. ''Strike!'' * Chomsky, Noam. '' 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, ''Whi ...

. * 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. * 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 Manning Marable. * 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. (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