Pioneers Press

WITCHY ZINES! FOOD ZINES! MOON CALENDARS! PIONEERS PRESS NOVEMBER 4TH NEWSLETTER!

Our latest newsletter is out now! If you're not already a subscriber you can see the web version here.

WE DO CUSTOM 1" BUTTON ORDERS!

Pioneers Press now offers custom buttons through Punch Drunk Custom Buttons! Past clients include DC Comics, AK Press, PM Press, and GreenIstheNewRed.com.

 

If you're a non-profit or organization working toward social justice or animal rights, let us know before ordering if you'd like to discuss discounts.

Go here for more info, or email us at orders@pioneerspress.com!

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! HERE ARE SOME QUICK TIPS FOR USING OUR SITE

We've got hundreds of awesome books, zines, and other goodies on the site, but we'll be first to admit that our site can be difficult to browse.

Someday we'll do a redesign, but in the meantime, here are some suggestions for navigating the site: 

 

• Search by Subject. On the left-hand sidebar you'll find a "Subjects" icon that links to a list of popular search terms. Be sure to visit the "Freebie" section while you're there!

• Check out the "Other" section using the link on the left-hand sidebar. Besides printed media we also carry DVDs, journals, note cards, organizers, tote bags and more. They don't have their own section yet, but there are some treasures hidden in there! 

• Our search engine is picky, so you gotta play with it a bit. For example: "DIY" not yielding any results for you? Try "Do-It-Yourself" or "D.I.Y." 

• Trying to place a wholesale order? Click on any product page and on the right-hand column switch the "order type" from retail to wholesale. It's that simple! Having trouble? Email Elizabeth@PioneersPress.com

 

2016 Lunar Phase Calendar

This beautiful moon calendar from Eberhardt Press is printed on gold linen cover stock. It glows. Seriously. Glows and shines in the light. Must be seen in person to truly get how outstandingly pretty this is!

2016 Organizer from Eberhardt Press & Just Seeds (large size)

Like the Slingshot organizer, this large-size planner will help keep your life in order from Jan 1st to Dec 31st. Fully illustrated, and in full (glorious) color, this collaboration from Just Seeds and Eberhardt Press is ridiculously beautiful. Must be seen to be believed. Jaw-dropper here. Fill this little day-planner with great things and live well in 2016!

Cooking for Winter Health Wellness: Stocks, Soups, Stews and Other Things

This book details information about specific foods and herbs that will nourish and build immunity and prevent the common cold. It highlights recipes and lifestyle advice to keep you warm and energized all winter long!

Kitchen Medicine Poster

The Kitchen Medicine poster is part of the Everyday Living Series, a collaboration between community herbalist Brittany Wood Nickerson and artist Chelsea Granger. The series is motivated by a desire to bring art and medicine into the home and into everyday life.

My Brain Was a Shark Eating Itself, Anthology (e-book) by Adam Gnade

he My Brain Was a Shark Eating Itself anthology collects the entire six-month run of Adam Gnade's farm life series as one massive 193-page e-book. This series tells the story of Gnade and friends cutting ties with city life (in this case, Portland, Oregon) and moving to a rural outpost in the rangy Midwest. These short essays and lists tell how it is to live a modern back-to-the-land existence. You might have read about the well-publicized (and romanticized) back-to-the-landers of the 1960s and '70s but this is what's happening now. This rowdy story, full of guns, coyotes, wild storms, and scary nights is engaging, conversational, and crammed with full-color photos; an intimate look at American life outside the margins of society.

The Herbal Homestead Journal: Inspiration, Guidance, & Recipes to Build Your Herbal Homestead

Filled with beautiful illustrations, this book brings you through each season of the year offering herbal wisdom, recipes and advice to help you live a life of health, connected to the natural world around you. Organized by month, each chapter offers articles related to health and nutrition, herbal materia medica and medicine making, seasonal self-care and cooking.

Big Motherfuckin' Sad Series Full Collection by Adam Gnade

This pack comes with the full collection (to date) of Adam Gnade's Big Motherfuckin' Sad series. These include The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Fighting the Big Motherfuckin' Sad book, its companion piece Ringside, and the third installment, Simple Steps to a Life Less Shitty. The pack also comes with a "Fight the Big Motherfuckin' Sad" button!Also available as an ebook bundle!

Nesting: Self-Care Tips for Autumn and Winter by Katie Johnson

A new release from What a Beautiful Face: A Neutral Milk Hotel Fanzine author Katie Johnson, Nesting: Self-Care Tips for Autumn and Winter is a collection of physical and mental health tips for surviving the colder, shorter days.

Guide to Being Alone

Like the Slingshot organizer, this large-size planner will help keep your life in order from Jan 1st to Dec 31st. Fully illustrated, and in full (glorious) color, this collaboration from Just Seeds and Eberhardt Press is ridiculously beautiful. Must be seen to be believed. Jaw-dropper here. Fill this little day-planner with great things and live well in 2016!

Welcome To Your New Life With You Being Happy by Rachel Bell

Welcome To Your New Life With You Being Happy is about love and sex, personal history and basketball. In these pages we see Chicago-based writer Rachel Bell navigate a world that is equal parts hilarious and awful, sweet and rowdy-as-fuck. Ranging from beat-your-brains-in-with-some-big-heavy-car-part-powerful to tender-as-the-tenderest-chunk-of-uh-like-something-really-tender, these poems and prose poems are damn well written and incredibly relatable. Don't slack. Get your copy today or cry sad rivers tomorrow.

How to Lose Friends and Irritate People book and flexi record by Justin Pearson

In his new book, How To Lose Friends and Irritate People, Justin Pearson reveals his misadventures with two DJ duos borrowing him as a frontman, lending some “punk” street cred to their music. Known for being part of bands like The Locust, All Leather, and Retox, as well as the owner of Three One G Records, Justin has paved the way for bizarre, abrasive and political music, while pushing the envelope of what is expected or what can be done in a band. The Bloody Beetroots and Designer Drugs approached him to sing on their albums, and what came out of those two experiences is both pathetic and hilarious. From being forced to lip sync at Australian festivals in front of thousands, to being lost in the woods somewhere in Pennsylvania at a music video shoot gone wrong, Justin questions not only the DJ’s motives, but his own as well. Embracing actual musical instrumentation instead of laptop playlists, Justin trudges through the murky waters of musical capitalism.

Justin Pearson reveals his misadventures with two DJ duos borrowing him as a frontman, lending some “punk” street cred to their music. Known for being part of bands like The Locust, All Leather, and Retox, as well as the owner of Three One G Records, Justin has paved the way for bizarre, abrasive and political music, while pushing the envelope of what is expected or what can be done in a band. The Bloody Beetroots and Designer Drugs approached him to sing on their albums, and what came out of those two experiences is both pathetic and hilarious. From being forced to lip sync at Australian festivals in front of thousands, to being lost in the woods somewhere in Pennsylvania at a music video shoot gone wrong, Justin questions not only the DJ’s motives, but his own as well. Embracing actual musical instrumentation instead of laptop playlists, Justin trudges through the murky waters of musical capitalism.

I Don't Know How to Help You

Compiled by Jessie Duke, I Don't Know How to Help You is a compilation of writing exploring the dificulties in supporting loved ones with depression, and not knowing how to ask for help when you are the one suffering. This is a resource of assistance and compassion, of true ache and optimism in the face of crushing blues.

Sacred and Mysterious: Herbal Wisdom and Healing Lore for Those Who Menstruate

Sacred and Mysterious, the sister of the Moon Calendar, includes dietary, herbal and lifestyle information to help support and care for the body throughout each phase of menstruation. It includes information on nourishing and strengthening the body as well as advice for treating symptoms of menstruation and pre-menstruation.

Hard Fifty Farm double-pack! by Jessie Duke

This issue of the zine looks at love and failure, of dreams crashed and cars wrapped around trees. Spanning the course of a few years, the stories in this issue are a beautifully-written hard read, a tangled-up, thorny walk through contemporary back-to-the-land life. We see the characters looking for a better, smarter life out in the country but having a rough go of it. Things fall apart, change comes swinging, but amongst all the devastating moments, there is hope and fighting spirit and a desire to rise. Life isn't always easy but that doesn't mean it's not worth fighting for ...

Big Diamond by Liam Ira Christian

Big Diamond is 4 year old Liam Ira Christian's photo zine! He takes the photos, does the cut 'n' gluestick layouts, and writes (well, dictates) the hilarious, weird, brilliant, amazing captions.

The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Fighting the Big Motherfuckin' Sad by Adam Gnade

NOW A POCKET-SIZED BOOK! This book is Gnade's self-described "anti-depression guide/guide to a freer, more lawless life." Gnade's pamphlet looks at the root causes of sadness, anxiety, and general malaise/boredom and offers helpful point-by-point suggestions (in list form) and short essay pep-talks on how to move beyond your demons for a better, smarter, happier life. Like a letter from a trusted friend in the trenches, The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Fighting the Big Motherfuckin' Sad will work with you through all phases of your life, thick and thin.

Someplace Else: On Wanderlust, Expatriate Life, & the Call of the Wild by Bart Schaneman

New from our sister imprint Punch Drunk Press! Where we choose to live defines us. This collection of essays and poems explores the themes of travel, of living abroad and of returning home after five years of living out of country. In Someplace Else, Bart Schaneman attempts to answer that eternal question--is this the best place for me to live my life, or is there someplace else I should be?Full of adventure, curiosity, and love of the road, Schaneman's writing will take you to far flung destinations and give you a new appreciation for the place you call home ... for now.

Every Thug Is A Lady: Adventures Without Gender by Julia Eff

Julia Eff's 68 page book Every Thug is a Lady begins with a co-opting of a Jay-Z quote: "I've got 99 problems but a gender ain't one." Julia's book deals with the concept of "neutrois," in which an individual has no gender and does not identify as either male or female. Says Julia, "Many have gender dysphoria very much like that of trans people. It is often denoted with the 'null' symbol meaning 'empty set.'" This look into the realm of non-gender is heavy illustrated, good-hearted, and dashed with a strong, youthful sense of humor. This is Julia's look at life as one free of gender (though still coming to terms with it; Julia's in the trenches, knockin' around while the bullets fly). Julia writes, "I see my gender in the way people say things--it's not a tangible object or even a thing that can be described with a giant dictionary." This spirited, adventurous, gothy little book is something special. Don't miss out.

Quitter: Good Luck Not Dying by Trace Ramsey

Pioneers Press is proud to announce our next published title, Quitter: Good Luck Not Dying, a pocket-size book collection of Trace Ramsey's excellent Quitter zine. What do you do when you realize the whole system is chock full of faulty wiring and institutionalized myths? Do you stay behind that desk (whether metaphorical or literal) and burrow into the security of "living in the first world" or do you throw yourself into the wilds? Sometimes it's not so black and white, and sometimes "cutting ties" requires a privilege and skill-set we don't have. In this anthology of Quitter issues 1-6, we see Ramsey battling fear and freedom, history and an uncertain future. There are no hard and fast answers; nothing set in stone besides the guarantee of chaos and troubled waters ahead. Over the course of 64 pages, Trace struggles through life, winning and failing, looking for a better path but not always finding it. A deeply honest narrative on struggling to break the binds that hold us down, Quitter: Good Luck Not Dying is a devastating, thrilling read; a beautifully written examination of the frustrations and pitfalls of life in the current age.

Next Stop Adventure: The Book! by Matt Gauck

HOT OFF THE PRESSES! Two hundred and eighty pages on traveling by bike across the country and all the dumpster-diving, illegal rooftop-sleeping, pool-hopping, train-hopping, squatting, big skies, funny danger, dangerous fun, etc, that goes along with it. You will fall in love with Matt Gauck and want to live this book. You’ll want to step right into it and bike the lesser-known highways, dusty country roads, and secret lanes forever. A great collection of high adventure that doubles as a DIY bike-touring how-to manual, this is On The Road for the peak oil age.

Dear Shane: A Mental Health Resource about Staying Alive by Craig Kelly

In what began as a letter to the eponymous friend, Dear Shane: A Mental Health Resource about Staying Alive offers an absorbing account of the author's suicide attempts and subsequent hospitalization, providing pragmatic hope and a much-needed resource for mental health from the margins. Author Craig Kelly navigates depression and the psychiatric system as he writes about a litany of medications, gender identity, inpatient treatment, and temporary friendships made in the hospital. Dear Shane dispenses a vision of radical mental health to edify readers so that they may better support themselves and others.

Caveworld: A Novel by Adam Gnade

Adam Gnade's second novel, Caveworld, is a howl of desperation as its characters fight to find love and meaning in a society with which they feel out of step. Richly encyclopedic and set in the twin border towns of Tijuana and San Diego, the book tells two love stories separated by a gulf of twenty years. Caveworld is made up of the various events (both subtle and seismic) that change lives in an instant. 

Under the Radar: Notes from the Wild Mushroom Trade by Olivier Matthon

Nearly year-round, the wild edible mushroom circuit is at work. Under the nose of authorities, migrant pickers in the Western U.S. supply wild edibles for some of the fanciest restaurants in the country. In Under the Radar, Olivier Matthon takes readers on a firsthand account of northern Californian seasonal work communities in the wild mushroom trade. This ethnography takes place in small-town motels, private logging property, and a marijuana growing operation. Matthon highlights the struggle and need for community among migrant pickers, crafting a thoughtful and well-researched story about clandestine mushroom trade in Under the Radar.

"A little-known facet of the town of Willits, California, is its community of wild mushroom pickers. Every year a few migrants arrive to overwinter and a few local people join in as well. This book gives a rare glimpse into the work and lives of these pickers…" —David Arora, author of Mushrooms Demystified and All That The Rain Promises and More...

"Olivier is a sport. He appeared at our 'mushroom' palace at what is always the most difficult time of the year and gently fit himself into the remaining mushroom tribe at the roughest end of the picking season. He writes with kind wonder about a world few see." —Connie Green, author of The Wild Table

The Hard Fifty Farm is featured in an exhibit at The Commons at the University of Kansas!

Presented with the support of a 2014 Starter Grant from The Commons, this exhibition is the culmination of a collaborative research project to document and empower the diversity of the new American farmer. This project, launched by KU Faculty members, D. Bryon Darby, Paul Stock, and Tim Hossler, tells the story of a new breed of farmer — the first-generation, small-scale, sustainable farmer.

Read an interview with Pioneers author Adam Gnade in The Fifth Column

See the piece at The Fifth Column site. "Adam Gnade’s work is released as a series of books and records that share characters and continue each other’s plotlines in an attempt to document a personal history of America" (read more)

Read an interview with Pioneers Press founder Jessie Duke!

Elise from the kick-ass Grasstronaut arts website interviewed Jessie about her life and work. Really great interview with lots of pictures. Go here.

One of our books was the #1 bestseller at Powell's Books! Second year in a row!

1) Do It Yourself Guide to Fighting the Big Motherfuckin’ Sad by Adam Gnade
2) Bluets by Maggie Nelson
3) Women by Chloe Caldwell
4) Fast Machine by Elizabeth Ellen
5) Excavation by Wendy C. Ortiz
6) Praying Drunk by Kyle Minor
7) Even Though I Don’t Miss You by Chelsea Martin
8) Pity the Animal by Chelsea Hodson
9) Sorrow Arrow by Emily Kendal Frey
10) Dream Journals by Melody Owen

We're on the cover of the Pitch!

We got our FIRST EVER COVER STORY! Click right here; this is the story of our life thus far.

Pioneers Press has been awarded a RocketGrant!

We are very excited to announce that Pioneers Press has been awarded a RocketGrant to fund our traveling zine gallery and shop! The RocketGrant program is a collaboration between the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City, MO and the KU Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence, KS. (!!!) Huge, huge thanks to the selection panel and to Wonder Fair Gallery in Lawrence for their encouragement. Stay tuned for more information about the Hard Fifty Farm Zine Mobile! http://rocketgrants.org/

Pioneers Press on tour! Coming to a town near you!

New Orleans Comics and Zine Fest, Nov 14th

Omaha Zine Fest, March 2016

Asheville Zine Fest, May 1st, 2016

Would you like Pioneers Press to table your event or do a reading in your town?

Would you like Pioneers Press to attend your event? Are you interested in volunteering to table for Pioneers Press in your hometown (or on the road)? We're gearing up for a season of getting our titles out to the masses and would appreciate your help! For information, please contact Elizabeth.