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| Founded | 1987; 38 years ago (1987) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Ramsey Kanaan |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Chico, California |
| Distribution | Consortium Book Sales & Distribution (US)[1] Turnaround Publisher Services (UK)[2] |
| Publication types | Books |
| Nonfiction topics | Radical left andanarchist literature |
| Official website | www |
AK Press is aworker-managed,independent publisher andbook distributor that specializes in publishing books aboutanarchism and theradical left. Operated out ofChico, California, United States, with a branch inEdinburgh, Scotland, the company iscollectively owned.
AK was founded inStirling,Scotland, byRamsey Kanaan in 1987 as a smallmail-order distribution outlet, eventually expanding into independent publishing and moving the Scotland base of operations toEdinburgh, Scotland, and later opening a US base of operations inOakland, California. The press was named for Kanaan's mother, Ann Kanaan.[3] Kanaan and several other members of AK Press left in 2007 to formPM Press.[4][5]
After operating out of the Bay Area for decades, in March 2015, a deadly fire at a warehouse complex inWest Oakland, California, damaged AK Press's warehouse and prompted the press to relocate to their present base in Chico.[6][7]
In 2020, AK Press joined as a founding member of the Radical Publishers' Alliance, a group ofpolitically oriented book publishers and magazines around the world.[8]
AK Press is organized as a collective, akin to aworkers' co-operative. The press isowned by all members of the collective, works without bosses orhierarchy, and usescollective decision-making processes, followinganarchist principles.[9]
Works published by AK Press includeclassic anarchist texts byPeter Kropotkin,Pierre-Joseph Proudhon,Errico Malatesta,Emma Goldman,Alexander Berkman, andVoltairine de Cleyre, as well books on thehistory of anarchism and of anarchist struggles like theSpanish Revolution,Nestor Makhno and theMakhnovshchina. They also publish on topics related to ongoinganti-fascism andcontemporary anarchism, such asprison abolition, theenvironmental movement,anti-capitalism,feminism, andanti-racism.[10] Noted authors includeNoam Chomsky,Murray Bookchin,David Graeber, andHarsha Walia.[citation needed]
AK Press regularly publishes in collaboration with theInstitute for Anarchist Studies, theKate Sharpley Library, andWorld War 3 Illustrated. They also publish the Emergent Strategy Series, edited byadrienne maree brown and inspired by her book of the same name, including books byqueerBlack feministsAlexis Pauline Gumbs andAlexis de Veaux. Their Black Dawn series is noted for releasingspeculative fiction with anarchist and political themes, including books byMargaret Killjoy andadrienne maree brown, among others.[11]
In both the US and UK, the business tables atanarchist bookfairs, conferences, activist gatherings, andliterary festivals. The company also sells clothing,buttons, stickers, and various other related items.[12]
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