AK Press

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AK Press
AK Press.jpg
Founded1987
FounderRamsey Kanaan
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationChico, California
DistributionConsortium Book Sales & Distribution (US)[1]
Turnaround Publisher Services (UK)[2]
Publication typesBooks
Nonfiction topicsRadical left and anarchist literature
Official websitewww.akpress.org
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AK Press is a worker-managed, independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical left and anarchist literature. Operated out of Chico, California, the company is collectively owned.

History[]

AK was founded in Stirling, Scotland by Ramsey Kanaan in 1987 as a small mail order outlet, named after his mother Ann Kanaan.[3] The project soon expanded, venturing into independent book publishing, and AK Press also now has a branch in Chico, California. Kanaan and several other members of AK Press left in 2007 to form a new radical publishing company, PM Press.[4] AK Press is organised as a workers' co-operative; the Press is owned by all members of the collective and works without bosses, with every member partaking in each function of the organisation.[5] It operates online through akpress.org[6] in the United States, and through akuk.com in Europe.[7] In the US, it manages a "Bookmobile" (which is not a physical automobile, but "an announcement, an opportunity") that sells books at various gatherings around the country (to protests, activist conferences, etc.).[8] In the United Kingdom, AK Press manages stalls at similar events. Works published by AK Press include reprints of radical classics as well as original works; its book topics include anarchism,[9] globalisation,[10] and animal rights,[11] and are often difficult to find through mainstream outlets.[5]

AK Press has released spoken word albums by figures such as Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Jello Biafra, Arundhati Roy and Mumia Abu-Jamal and music by artists including David Rovics and Utah Phillips.[12]

The business also sells clothing, buttons, stickers, and various "anarchist props" like an upside down map of the world and the red and black flag of anarcho-communism.

In March 2015, a deadly fire at AK Press' warehouse[13] in West Oakland, California, prompted the press to relocate to Chico.[14] It was the warehouses' second such move. Rising rents in San Francisco forced the press to move from the Mission District there.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Consortium Book Sales & Distribution | Our Publishers". Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Publishers Representatives | Publishers Distributors". Turnaround Publisher Services. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  3. ^ Kanaan, Ramsey. "Part 1: What's Wrong With the American Anarchist Movement?". Melbourne Indymedia. Archived from the original on 27 April 2005. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  4. ^ Carroll, Tobias (26 August 2008). "I've Got a Name: Music, Radical Politics, and AK Press". yourbestguess.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "About – AK Press". akpress.org. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Home page – AK Press". akpress.org. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Welcome to the AKUK Website – AKUK the European home of AK Press and Distribution". akuk.com. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions – AK Press". akpress.org. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Anarchsim – Published by AK Press – AK Press". akpress.org. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Animal Rights – Published by AK Press – AK Press". akpress.org. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  11. ^ "Animal Rights – Published by AK Press – AK Press". akpress.org. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Audio – AK Press". akpress.org. Archived from the original on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Oakland's AK Press sustains fire damage". Los Angeles Times. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  14. ^ BondGraham, Darwin. "Former AK Press Warehouse Sold to 'Tech Co-Op' Developer Who Demolished 1919 Market". East Bay Express. Retrieved 7 September 2019.

Further reading[]

  • Biel, Joe (2012). "AK Press". Beyond the Music: How Punks Are Saving the World with DIY Ethics, Skills, and Values. Portland, Oregon: Cantankerous Titles. pp. 129–133. ISBN 978-1-62106-472-5. OCLC 793573868.
  • Lefebvre, Sam (April 22, 2015). "AK Press Defies Expectations—Again". East Bay Express. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  • Rosen, Judith (April 28, 2008). "Anarchy Reigns at AK Press". Publishers Weekly. 255 (17): 14–15. ISSN 0000-0019. EBSCOhost 31951472.
  • Shaw, Megan. Interview with Craig Gilmore, Ramsey Kanaan, and Craig O'Hara of AK Press. Punk Planet March/April 2000, 59.
  • Swan, Rachel. "Beyond Anarchy at PM Press". East Bay Express. Retrieved June 24, 2017.

External links[]

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