Arsenal Pulp Press
Arsenal Pulp Press is a book publisher in
Vancouver, Canada with over 160 titles currently in print, ranging from fiction
and poetry to cultural, gender, and multicultural studies to guidebooks and
cookbooks. It began life in 1971 as Pulp Press Book Publishers, founded by a
collective of university students and associates disenchanted by what they
perceived to be the academic literary pretensions of Canadian literature at the
time. The early seventies were a fertile and exciting period in alternative arts
and literature, and life at Pulp was no exception. Run as a co-operative, Pulp
printed its first publications on a Gaestetner machine and set up a printing
press and a typesetting operation to help subsidize its publishing activities,
which included broadsheets and pamphlets as well as books.
Pulp became Arsenal Pulp Press in 1982, having survived the bankruptcy of its
national distributor by selling off its typesetting and printing operations. It
was still primarily a literary press, but there was an increasing interest in
literary non-fiction, in the areas of cultural, gender and multicultural
studies.
In 1988, Arsenal established a series "Little Red Books," tiny books of
quotations and anecdotes on provocative issues and personalities. The wide range
of subject matter runs the gamut of popular culture, from gardening slugs and
Don Cherry to old age and film noir. There are 22 books currently in the series,
which continue to sell well.
In
the nineties, Arsenal further shaped its publishing program to reflect its
increasing interest in urban literature and cultural studies.
Arsenal began publishing books on gender studies and gay and lesbian literature
in 1993, with the publication of Queeries, the first book of gay male prose ever
published in Canada, edited by Dennis Denisoff. In 1995, Queer View Mirror, an
international anthology of gay and lesbian short short fiction, edited by James
C. Johnstone and Karen X. Tulchinsky, was published, winning international
acclaim. His-and-her short fiction anthologies on gay desire, Quickies 1 and 2
(for men) and Hot & Bothered 1, 2, and 3 (for women) have frequently appeared on
bestseller lists across the U.S. Other titles published in this genre include
Contra/Diction, a contemporary queer men's fiction anthology, Bringing It Home,
essays by women on how they came to feminism, Queer Fear, a collection of gay
horror fiction nominated for 2 Lambda Literary Awards, and In a Queer Country,
the first non-fiction anthology on contemporary gay and lesbian life in Canada.
Titles in the areas of erotica and sexuality have increased in the last few
years. The Embroidered Couch is a remarkable 17th century Ming
dynasty erotic novel by Lu Tiancheng, translated by Lenny Hu. Carnal Nation:
Brave New Sex Fiction collects fiction by some of Canada's leading new writers
that redefines our ideas of sexuality. Exhibitions: Tales of Sex in the City are
public-sex stories that will take you places you thought you'd never visit. And
The Bald-Headed Hermit & The Artichoke is an eyebrow-raising thesaurus of sexual
words and terms.
Cookbooks are a new Arsenal specialty. How
It All Vegan by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer, published in 1998, has become
Arsenal's best seller ever, now in its sixth printing (look for a sequel soon!).
The Everyday Vegan is by Dreena Burton, whose recipes reflect her life as a new
vegan mom. Fish for Thought are seafood recipes collected by the Living Oceans
Society, dedicated to promoting sustainable fishing practices. And The Real Jerk
is a delectable cookbook on Caribbean cuisine by the owners of the legendary
Toronto restaurant of the same name.
In 2001, Arsenal Pulp Press celebrated its 30th anniversary in the business of
book publishing. As such, it is well-established as a publisher of provocative
and stimulating books that challenge the status quo.
Arsenal Pulp Press
103 - 1014 Homer Street
Vancouver, B.C.
V6B 2W9
voice: 604-687-4233
fax: 604-687-4283
toll-free: 888-600-PULP
The medical/scholarly books by A.D. Peterkin are published by:
University of Toronto Press
Latest titles by A.D. Peterkin: Staying Human During Residency Training (3rd edition) and Caring For Lesbian and Gay people : A Clinical Guide