Naiad Press

Naiad Press was an American publishing company founded in January 1973 by Barbara Grier, Donna McBride, Anyda Marchant, and Muriel Crawford. It was established during the second-wave feminist movement and the associated women in print movement, when women’s liberation activists were creating independent periodicals, bookstores, distribution networks, and publishing houses oriented toward women’s communities. Naiad was unusually focused: from its beginning, it devoted its list primarily or exclusively to lesbian literature at a time when mainstream publishers and many bookstores offered very limited access to openly lesbian writing. The company began in Reno, Nevada, with approximately $2,000 supplied by Anyda Marchant and Muriel Crawford, whose first Naiad publication was Marchant’s novel The Latecomer. The press later moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and then to Tallahassee, Florida, where it was based from 1979. Because few bookstores initially carried openly lesbian books, Naiad relied heavily on mail-order sales. It also benefited from access to the 3,800-member mailing list of The Ladder, the former newsletter of the Daughters of Bilitis. Revenue from one book was commonly used to finance subsequent publications, allowing the press to expand its list despite limited capital. Naiad differed from many contemporary feminist presses in both audience and organizational style. While some women’s presses operated as collectives and emphasized experimental literary culture, Naiad used paid staff, hierarchical management, and conventional marketing. Its publishing strategy was directed in significant part toward working-class, middle-class, rural, and Midwestern lesbian readers, including people who were isolated from visible lesbian communities. The list therefore included genre fiction and paperback-style novels that literary critics sometimes dismissed as commercial or lowbrow. Barbara Grier nevertheless viewed accessible genre writing as socially important because it could help isolated or closeted women recognize lesbian identity, find community, and imagine possible lives. The company published new fiction, nonfiction, reference works, poetry, reprints, translations, and mystery series. It helped restore out-of-print lesbian fiction by authors including Ann Bannon, Jane Rule, and Gale Wilhelm, and it brought poetry associated with Gertrude Stein and Renée Vivien to new readers. Early covers were designed by Tee Corinne. Naiad was particularly influential in lesbian mystery publishing during the 1980s, issuing series and novels featuring detectives such as Kate Delafield, Carol Ashton, Caitlin Reece, and Virginia Kelley. Writers who received early publication through the press included Sarah Schulman and Patrick Califia, while authors such as Katherine V. Forrest, Claire McNab, and Karin Kallmaker became important parts of its genre-fiction program. Naiad gained wider national attention in 1985 with Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence, a nonfiction book that was banned in Boston. Other nonfiction titles addressed lesbian periodicals, lesbian representation in literature, and long-term lesbian relationships. By the time it closed, Naiad was described as the oldest and largest lesbian and feminist publisher in the world. Grier and McBride received the Lambda Literary Foundation’s Pioneer Award in 2002. They retired in 2003 and sold Naiad’s remaining stock to Bella Books; many Naiad authors subsequently transferred their contracts to Bella Books. The company itself is therefore defunct, although its influence continues through reprints, authors, successor rights, and archival collections. The Naiad Press Collection was donated in 1992 to the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center of the San Francisco Public Library. The archive includes correspondence, manuscripts, subject files, scrapbooks, memorabilia, audiovisual material, and records relating to the women in print movement and Women in Print Conference. It provides evidence of the press’s business practices, editorial activity, author relationships, and role in lesbian publishing history.

Naiad Press emerged in January 1973 from the lesbian and feminist publishing networks associated with second-wave feminism. Its founders were Barbara Grier, Donna McBride, Anyda Marchant, and Muriel Crawford. Marchant, who wrote under a pen name, authored The Latecomer, the press’s first publication, while she and Crawford supplied approximately $2,000 in initial capital. The business began in Reno, Nevada, moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and established its long-term base in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1979. The press entered a market in which openly lesbian books were difficult to place in conventional bookstores. Naiad therefore depended heavily on direct mail, using a mailing list inherited from or associated with The Ladder, the former newsletter of the Daughters of Bilitis. This direct relationship with readers helped the company build a specialized audience. Its operating model was sustained by reinvesting the proceeds of earlier books into later publications, a practice that allowed the list to grow without the financial resources of larger publishing houses. Naiad’s publishing philosophy combined cultural activism with commercial accessibility. Unlike many feminist presses that adopted collective structures and volunteer-based production, Naiad maintained paid staff, hierarchical management, and conventional marketing. Its audience strategy also differed from the New York-centered literary orientation of some feminist publishers. Naiad deliberately served working- and middle-class readers, including lesbians in rural and Midwestern communities who might have had little access to bookstores, organizations, or visible lesbian social networks. The list included original fiction as well as reprints and recovered works. Naiad helped return books by Ann Bannon, Jane Rule, and Gale Wilhelm to circulation, published poetry associated with Gertrude Stein, and issued translations of poetry by Renée Vivien. Tee Corinne designed some of the early covers. The company also became an important publisher of lesbian genre fiction. During the 1980s it helped establish lesbian mystery fiction as a recognizable publishing category through detective series involving characters such as Kate Delafield, Carol Ashton, Caitlin Reece, and Virginia Kelley. Its authors included Katherine V. Forrest, Claire McNab, Karin Kallmaker, Sarah Schulman, and Patrick Califia. Naiad’s nonfiction program expanded its role beyond fiction. The company published reference works and studies of lesbian writing and relationships, including The Lesbian Periodical Index, The Lesbian in Literature, and Staying Power: Long-Term Lesbian Couples. Its 1985 publication Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence brought national attention and encountered censorship when it was banned in Boston. These publications reflected Naiad’s broader mission of making lesbian history, experience, and cultural production available to readers outside mainstream institutions. By the end of its existence, Naiad was regarded as the world’s oldest and largest lesbian and feminist publisher. Grier and McBride received the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award in 2002. They retired in 2003, selling the company’s current stock to Bella Books. Many Naiad authors moved their contracts to Bella Books, which helped preserve parts of the catalog and the relationships developed by the press. Naiad Press itself ceased operations as an independent publisher. The company’s historical record is preserved in part through the Naiad Press Collection, donated in 1992 to the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center of the San Francisco Public Library. The collection contains manuscripts, correspondence, editorial and subject files, scrapbooks, memorabilia, recordings, and materials connected to the women in print movement and Women in Print Conference. It documents both Naiad’s publishing activity and the broader infrastructure of lesbian feminist cultural production.

• 2003

  Naiad Press closes after sale to Bella Books

  [1]Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The founders retire, the company’s remaining stock is sold to Bella Books, and many author contracts move to the successor publisher.

• 2002

  Founders receive a Pioneer Award

  [1]Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Barbara Grier and Donna McBride receive the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award.

• 1992

  Naiad Press Collection is donated to the San Francisco Public Library

  [1]Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Grier and McBride donate the company’s archival collection to the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center.

• 1985

  Publication of Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence

  [1]Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Naiad publishes a nationally prominent nonfiction title that is banned in Boston.

• 1979

  The company moves to Tallahassee

  [1]Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org

  After periods in Reno and Kansas City, Naiad establishes its long-term base in Tallahassee, Florida.

• 1973

  Naiad Press is established

  [1]Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Barbara Grier, Donna McBride, Anyda Marchant, and Muriel Crawford establish Naiad Press in Reno, Nevada as a publisher devoted to lesbian literature.

• 1973

  The Latecomer becomes the first Naiad title

  [1]Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Anyda Marchant’s novel, written under the name Sarah Aldridge, is published as Naiad’s first book.

An independent, community-oriented publisher dedicated to making lesbian literature broadly available, particularly to readers underserved by mainstream publishing and concentrated urban literary institutions.

• Lesbian fiction · 1973

  The Latecomer

  Written by Anyda Marchant under the pen name Sarah Aldridge, The Latecomer was Naiad Press’s first publication. Its release provided the small new company with an initial title around which to build a dedicated lesbian publishing list.

• Lesbian nonfiction · 1985

  Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence

  This 1985 nonfiction publication brought Naiad substantial national attention. Its subject matter and openly lesbian perspective also made it a target of censorship; the book was banned in Boston.

• Genre fiction · 1980

  Lesbian mystery fiction

  Naiad played an important role in making lesbian mysteries a visible publishing category, issuing award-winning and commercially oriented series built around detectives including Kate Delafield, Carol Ashton, Caitlin Reece, and Virginia Kelley.

• Reference publishing

  The Lesbian Periodical Index

  A reference work reflecting Naiad’s effort to document and improve access to lesbian print culture and periodical history.

• Literary reference

  The Lesbian in Literature

  A reference-oriented publication focused on lesbian representation and writing, consistent with Naiad’s role in preserving and circulating lesbian literary knowledge.

• Social nonfiction

  Staying Power: Long-Term Lesbian Couples

  A nonfiction title examining long-term lesbian relationships and contributing to Naiad’s broader program of publishing work about lesbian lives beyond fiction.

• 2003

  Sell remaining stock to Bella BooksM&A

  Background

  Barbara Grier and Donna McBride retired after three decades of operating the press.

  Action taken

  Naiad’s current stock was sold to Bella Books, and many authors transferred their contracts to that publisher.

  Aftermath

  Naiad ceased operating as an independent company, while parts of its catalog and author relationships continued under Bella Books.

  Source

• 1980

  Emphasize accessible genre fiction and lesbian mysteriesStrategy

  Background

  The press sought to reach working- and middle-class readers, including lesbians in rural and Midwestern areas.

  Action taken

  Naiad expanded its commercially accessible fiction program and helped develop lesbian mystery publishing.

  Aftermath

  The strategy broadened the readership for lesbian books and helped establish mystery fiction as a significant lesbian publishing category.

  Source

• 1973

  Adopt direct-mail distributionStrategy

  Background

  Few bookstores were willing to carry openly lesbian material when Naiad began publishing.

  Action taken

  The press relied heavily on mail-order marketing and sales, supported by access to a mailing list associated with The Ladder.

  Aftermath

  Direct distribution helped Naiad reach isolated and geographically dispersed readers and build a specialized national audience.

  Source

• 1973

  Reinvest revenue into subsequent publicationsStrategy

  Background

  Naiad began with limited capital and operated on a modest budget.

  Action taken

  The company used profits from one book to help finance the next publication.

  Aftermath

  This reinvestment model enabled the catalog to expand while retaining a dedicated focus on lesbian literature.

  Source

• 2003

  Naiad Press stock is sold to Bella Books[1]Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org

  M&A · Leadership change

  Following the retirement of Barbara Grier and Donna McBride, Naiad’s remaining stock is sold to Bella Books and many authors transfer their contracts.

• 2002

  Grier and McBride receive Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award[1]Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The organization recognizes Naiad’s co-founders for their contribution to lesbian and LGBTQ literature.

• 1985

  Naiad publishes Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence[1]Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Regulation

  The press gains national attention through publication of Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence, which was subsequently banned in Boston.

• 1973

  Naiad Press is founded[1]Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Barbara Grier, Donna McBride, Anyda Marchant, and Muriel Crawford establish a press devoted to lesbian literature.

1. 1Naiad Pressen.wikipedia.org