Firebrand Books

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Firebrand Books
Founded1985[1]
FounderNancy K. Bereano
DefunctTemplate:Wikidata
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationAnn Arbor, Michigan
Publication typesBooks
Nonfiction topicsfeminist and lesbian works
OwnerTemplate:Pluralize from textKaren Oosterhouse
Official websiteN/A

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Firebrand Books is a publishing house established in 1984 by Nancy K. Bereano, a lesbian and feminist activist, in Ithaca, NY. Karen Oosterhouse, its publisher since 2003, describes Firebrand as "the independent publisher of record for feminist and lesbian fiction and nonfiction," championing "authors whose work has been marginalized: women of color, women coming out of poverty, trans women, the genderqueer, and other underrepresented voices."[1] It is among the many feminist and lesbian publishing houses that grew out of the Women's Press Movement; other presses of that period include Naiad Press, Persephone and Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press.

From 1984 to 2000, Firebrand Books published literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry on lesbian and feminist themes, placing publisher Nancy Bereano "at the forefront of lesbian and small press publishing."[2] Firebrand was the first publisher of Dorothy Allison's 1988 short story collection Trash, which subsequently won double Lambda Literary Awards in the categories of Lesbian Fiction and Small Press, and of the "Dykes to Watch Out For" series by Alison Bechdel.

The press has published poetry, fiction and non-fiction by many luminary authors, including Jewelle Gomez, Leslie Feinberg, Cheryl Clarke, Ruthann Robson, Lesléa Newman, Mab Segrest, Judith Katz, Audre Lorde, and Minnie Bruce Pratt, earning four American Library Association Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Book Awards and 12 Lambda Literary Awards, including the Publisher's Service Award for Bereano, in 1996. On Bereano's influential role as an editor and publisher, Alison Bechdel writes: "she discovered me and published my first book when I was a punk kid.... She also urged me to write a graphic novel long before the current craze, and that was the beginning of Fun Home."[3]

Bereano has emphasized the importance of small independent presses in supporting and promoting "new ways of thinking," especially for readers marginalized by large publishing houses. Citing her experiences publishing the work of Audre Lorde, Bereano writes:

The fact that [Lorde's] prose was published exclusively by small independently owned women’s presses was both a result of the major houses’ narrow perspective and the fact that Audre Lorde’s prose, particularly her myth-shattering essays, was instrumental in framing a changing reality for many women, primarily lesbian women (a readership long dismissed by the mainstream publishing world).[4]

After Bereano's retirement in 1994, Firebrand Books was sold, first to distributor LPC Group, and eventually to Karen Oosterhouse, who relocated the press from Ithaca to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2003.[5] In a 2009 interview, Oosterhouse stated that, "perhaps there will come a day when there is no longer a need for a specifically lesbian and feminist press, but for now Firebrand is that press."[1]

On October 5, 2022, the building that once housed Firebrand Books' headquarters (located on the Ithaca Commons, at 143 East State Street) was designated a local historic landmark by the Ithaca Common Council.[6][7] The Firebrand Books Building is the first Ithaca landmark related to women's and LGBTQ history, and is the first landmark in Upstate New York with a primary connection to LGBTQ history. The nomination was authored and spearheaded by Jeff Iovannone, a historian specializing in LGBTQ heritage conservation pursuing a graduate degree in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University.[8][9][10]

Headquarters and historic landmark designation

From its founding in 1984 until 2000, Firebrand Books operated out of its primary second-floor headquarters at 141–143 East State Street, situated along the pedestrian mall known as the Ithaca Commons.[11] The four-story commercial brick row building, featuring notable Italianate architectural influences, was originally constructed in 1872 for a local publishing and bookselling firm.[11]

On October 5, 2022, the Ithaca Common Council voted unanimously to designate the Firebrand Books Building as a local historic landmark.[12] The designation marked a historic milestone, establishing the site as the first municipal landmark in Ithaca directly associated with women's and LGBTQ+ history, as well as the first landmark in Upstate New York with a primary historical connection to LGBTQ+ heritage.[11][12] The landmark application process was authored and spearheaded by local LGBTQ+ heritage conservationists to preserve the spatial history of the Second-Wave Feminist and Women in Print movements that publisher Nancy Bereano championed.[11]

Notable works

See also

References

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  1. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Scenes: Firebrand Books: an interview with Karen Oosterhous". American Book Review. 30 (5): 31. 2009. doi:10.1353/abr.2009.0087.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Marsten, Brenda (2001). "Guide to the Firebrand Books Records, 1984-2000, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University. Description of Organizational History". Guide to the Firebrand Books Records, 1984–2000. Cornell University Library. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bechdel, Alison (April 13, 2008). "Ithaca: archival kisses, drunken birds, firebrand". Alison Bechdel. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bereano, Nancy K. (February 19, 2014). "Dismantling the Master's House". The Feminist Wire. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Blake, Amy (April 15, 2004). "Firebrand Books Rises from the Ashes". PrideSource. Between the Lines. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Lesbian-Feminist Press Firebrand Books' Former Home Now a Landmark". 11 October 2022.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Butler, Matt (October 6, 2022). "Home Dairy building on the Commons, birthplace of Firebrand Books, receives historic designation status". The Ithaca Voice.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Levine, Mark (6 September 2022). "Home Dairy Building Recommended For Local Landmark Status". Ithaca Times. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Iovannone, Jeffry (July 2022). "143 East State Street, Ithaca, New York, Registration Form and Continuation Sheets". City of Ithaca.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Collected Comments in re 143 East State Street Local Landmark Designation". City of Ithaca. August 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d "Firebrand Books Building - 141-143 East State St (141 The Commons)." LGBTQ Print Culture Walking Tour of Ithaca. PocketSights, October 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  12. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Iovannone, Jeff (October 5, 2022). "Firebrand Books Building Landmark Nomination". City of Ithaca. Retrieved May 19, 2026.

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