Manic D Press was founded by Jennifer Joseph in 1984. An award-winning literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction, poetry, pop culture, music, art, narrative-oriented comix, and alternative travel books, we represent a diverse group of unique writers and artists, with emphasis on those who have been shunned by the traditional publishing establishment for lacking commercial viability, regardless of their talent or future promise. For 10 years, we were funded in part by the California Arts Council, then California got screwed by Enron and state funding for the arts disappeared.
Manic D Press books are distributed to the trade throughout the US by Consortium/Perseus, Last Gasp, SPD, and all major wholesalers. Canadian distribution: PGC, and UK / European distribution is through Turnaround.
Awards presented to Manic D Press include 2000 American Library Association Stonewall Award for Literature; 1997 Firecracker Alternative Book Award for Art; 2002 and 2000 Firecracker Alternative Book Awards for Fiction; 1998 American Institute of Graphic Arts juried traveling exhibition 50 Books, 50 Covers; Sept/Oct 2003 + March/April 2004 Booksense 76 lists; SF Bay Guardian's 2004 Best of the Bay: 'Best Quintessentially San Franciscan Publisher', Publishing Triangle's 2007 Thom Gunn Award for Poetry + 2008 Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction.
