Zaglossus

Zaglossus was an Austrian publishing house whose programme centred on literature that makes the diversity of different ways of life visible. According to its self-description, its focus — though by no means its exclusive remit — was on the lifeworlds of queer people, their history and their present. The name is the Latin designation for the genus of long-beaked echidnas, egg-laying mammals found mainly in New Guinea that long counted as a paradox of nature because their existence challenged the prevailing biological classification of animals into mammals on one side and egg-laying animals on the other. The publisher adopted the name as a statement of intent: it saw itself as a house that wanted to encourage readers to change their perspective. The press was based in Austria and published in German, serving the German-language book market. Its list combined queer studies, psychoanalysis, gender and affect theory, trans studies, and literary titles, including translated fiction and bilingual editions. Representative titles carried over to edition assemblage include "Queering Psychoanalysis" edited by Esther Hutfless and Barbara Zach, "Affekt und Geschlecht" edited by Angelika Baier, Christa Binswanger, Jana Häberlein, Eveline Nay and Andrea Zimmermann, "Trans Studies" by Persson Perry Baumgartinger, "Vom Leben der Kritik" by Ruth Sonderegger, "Alles nach Plan" by Elisabeth Etz, "Nuuk: Ohne Filter" by Niviaq Korneliussen, and the bilingual "Ein bisschen wie du / A little like you" by Lilly Axster, Christine Aebi, Henrie Dennis and Asma Fofana. Zaglossus ceased to exist at the beginning of 2022. Its programme did not disappear entirely: the edition assemblage publishing house took over a number of books from the Zaglossus list and continues to distribute them, including as e-books. The Zaglossus page now lives on within edition assemblage's A–Z of authors and titles, which is how the imprint's legacy is documented today. As a small, politically engaged queer publisher, Zaglossus belonged to the independent German-language publishing scene rather than to a large media group. Its identity was closely tied to its thematic mission — making queer lives, histories and theoretical debates visible in print — and its afterlife through edition assemblage, itself a radical leftist publishing collective from Münster that has existed since 2011, reflects the close networks of that scene.

Zaglossus was an Austrian publishing house dedicated to literature that makes the diversity of different ways of life visible. Its programme focused — though not exclusively — on the lifeworlds of queer people, their history and their present. The name Zaglossus is the Latin designation for the genus of long-beaked echidnas, egg-laying mammals found mainly in New Guinea. Because these animals lay eggs while otherwise being mammals, they long counted as a paradox of nature: their existence broke the earlier biological classification that separated mammals from egg-laying animals and thus called established ways of looking at things into question. The publisher chose the name precisely for that reason, describing itself as a house that wants to encourage readers to change their perspective as well. The press operated in the German-language book market from Austria. Its list combined academic and theoretical works with literary titles. Among the books that later passed to edition assemblage are "Queering Psychoanalysis" edited by Esther Hutfless and Barbara Zach, "Affekt und Geschlecht" edited by Angelika Baier, Christa Binswanger, Jana Häberlein, Eveline Nay and Andrea Zimmermann, "Trans Studies" by Persson Perry Baumgartinger, "Vom Leben der Kritik" by Ruth Sonderegger, "Alles nach Plan" by Elisabeth Etz, "Nuuk: Ohne Filter" by Niviaq Korneliussen, and the bilingual "Ein bisschen wie du / A little like you" by Lilly Axster, Christine Aebi, Henrie Dennis and Asma Fofana. These titles indicate a profile spanning queer theory, psychoanalysis, gender and affect studies, trans studies, and contemporary fiction, including translated and bilingual literature. Zaglossus ceased to exist at the beginning of 2022. Rather than vanishing completely, part of its catalogue was taken over by edition assemblage, which continues to distribute those books, including as e-books. The Zaglossus page is now hosted within edition assemblage's A–Z of authors and titles, preserving the imprint's identity and list. edition assemblage itself emerged from the leftist scene in Münster and has existed as a collective since 2011; it describes itself as a radical, leftist, political and journalistic network that works according to the principles of an economy of solidarity, focusing on collectivity, cooperation and solidarity-based action. The transfer of Zaglossus titles into that collective therefore reflects the overlapping networks of the German-language queer and leftist publishing scene. No founding year, founder, ownership structure or headquarters city for Zaglossus is given in the available evidence, and the press is not known to have been part of a larger media group. Its significance lies in its focused programme and in the fact that its books remained available through edition assemblage after the house was dissolved.

• Zaglossus operates as an Austrian publisher focused on queer literature and queer/gender theory.

• Zaglossus ceases to exist at the beginning of 2022.

• edition assemblage takes over a number of books from the Zaglossus programme and continues to distribute them, including as e-books.

Independent Austrian publisher of queer literature and queer/gender theory, presenting itself as a house that encourages readers to change perspective.

• Queering Psychoanalysis

• Affekt und Geschlecht

• Trans Studies

• Vom Leben der Kritik

• Alles nach Plan

• Nuuk: Ohne Filter

• Ein bisschen wie du / A little like you

1. 1Zaglossus – edition assemblage – Autor*innen A-Zedition-assemblage.de
2. 2Collective – edition assemblageedition-assemblage.de
3. 3Zaglossus – Wikidatawikidata.org