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. A similar term is Sapphic love, sapphic literature, encom ...

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

History

Naiad Press was founded by partners

Barbara Grier Barbara Grier (November 4, 1933 – November 10, 2011) was an American writer and publisher. She is credited for having built the lesbian book industry. After editing ''The Ladder (magazine), The Ladder'' magazine, published by the lesbian ci ...

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, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, 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, 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 an order by telephone call ...

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 initially conceived as a secret soc ...

. "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. A similar term is Sapphic love, sapphic literature, encom ...

, such as novels of

Ann Bannon Ann Weldy (born September 15, 1932), better known by her pen name Ann Bannon, is an American author who, from 1957 to 1962, wrote five lesbian pulp fiction novels known as ''The Beebo Brinker Chronicles''. The books' enduring popularity and imp ...

Jane Rule Jane Vance Rule (28 March 1931 – 27 November 2007) was a Canadian-American 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 r ...

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, 1 ...

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 Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and ...

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 holds an endowed chair in nonfiction at Northwestern University and is a fellow of the New York ...

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 transit ...

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

Katherine V. Forrest Katherine V. Forrest (born 1939) is a Canadian-born American writer, best known for her novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. Her books have won and been finalists for Lambda Literary Award twelve times, as well as other awards. S ...

Claire McNab Claire Carmichael (1940 – 2022), also known by her pen name Claire McNab, was an Australian writer born in Melbourne. While pursuing a career as a high school teacher in Sydney, she began her writing career with comedy plays and textbooks. She ...

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 ...

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 "Banned in Boston" is a phrase that was employed from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century, to describe a literary work, song, motion picture, or play which had been prohibited from distribution or exhibition in Boston, Massachuse ...

. 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 nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

,'' 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 Lesbian literature is a subgenre of literature addressing lesbian themes. It includes poetry, plays, fiction addressing lesbian characters, and non-fiction about lesbian-interest ...

. 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 in United States. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Libr ...

,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 Earlene Allison (April 11, 1949 – November 6, 2024) was an American writer whose writing focused on class struggle, sexual abuse, child abuse, feminism, and lesbianism. She was a self-identified femme lesbian. Allison won a number o ...

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 l ...

, 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 sol ...

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde ( ; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, professor, philosopher, Intersectional feminism, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "Bl ...

, Sherry Thomas of Old Wives Tales feminist bookstore and Spinsters Ink, 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

* Sarah Aldridge *

* Lyn Denison *

Camarin Grae Camarin Grae is the pen name of Marian Grace (born 1941),Sandra Pollack and Denise D. Knight, ''Contemporary Lesbian Writers of the United States: A Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook''. Greenwood Press, 1993. . an American writer of lesbian- ...

Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; 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 T ...

* 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 LGBTQ 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