Book publishing beyond the mainstream: Queer and trans literary counterpublics

Pascale Casanova’s The World Republic of Letters has long been employed by scholars of contemporary book culture to analyse the structure of power and relations across various literary contexts. However, there are limits to the analytical utility of this approach that emerge when we examine literary micro-ecologies that exist beyond the boundaries of the mainstream. This article offers an alternative approach – employing a literary counterpublic – and considers how the tenets of queer theory and subaltern counterpublics allow for a more nuanced articulation of the structure of relations and practices in non-normative publishing environments. By examining the universe that surrounds New York’s LittlePuss Press, I demonstrate how a shift in the definition of value or of capital, together with a rethinking of competition and interaction, can open new avenues for the study of book culture.