Microcosm Publishing is battling Amazon’s model, one book at a time

I first came into contact with Microcosm Publishing and its titles a few years ago in a dingy basement bookshop that no longer exists in Traverse City, Michigan. I couldn’t imagine that there would be so many books of interest to me in such a small store. The young man that was working there turned me on to several of Microcosm’s titles and this was one of the sparks that helped to start the fire to start Lost Telegram Press.

You are probably asking what was the spark? Well here is just one example of what Microcosm is doing that shows the resistance that exists and is welcomed around North America to the big-box Amazon, cookie-cutter model: it is a book called How to Resist Amazon and Why: The Fight for Local Economics, Data Privacy, Fair Labor, Independent Bookstores, and a People-Powered Future! by Danny Caine.

“When a company’s workers are literally dying on the job, when their business model relies on preying on local businesses and even their own vendors, when their CEO is the richest person in the world while their workers make low wages with impossible quotas… wouldn’t you want to resist? Danny Caine, owner of Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas has been an outspoken critic of the seemingly unstoppable Goliath of the bookselling world: Amazon. In this book, he lays out the case for shifting our personal money and civic investment away from global corporate behemoths and to small, local, independent businesses.”

Books like this are a trademark of Microcosm Publishing when I look at its titles, listen briefly to its podcasts online about the publishing industry and view its range of diverse perspectives on publishing and operations.

I have talked about France’s anti-Amazon law to protect booksellers and fixed book pricing in past blog posts. Those are goals that we have not yet seen realized in North America. I asked myself ‘how could I affect that kind of change here in Canada?’ The answer I came up with, because I am not in government, is to try to create partnerships with those that share the same ideal. I reached out to Microcosm to ask if I could write something about their fine work and they agreed. Thanks to Microcosm and keep publishing great books!

As it states on Microcosm’s site, “Microcosm constantly poses the question ‘How can we remove barriers to success for marginalized people in our industry?’ In 2022-2024, Microcosm was named a Publishers Weekly’s Fastest Growing Publisher.