Haymarket Books

What Haymarket Books does

Haymarket Books is a radical, non-profit, independent book publisher founded in 2001 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The press publishes progressive, leftist, and social justice-oriented literature across hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats, with a catalog spanning political theory, history, poetry, race studies, climate activism, labor movements, and children's titles. The company serves activists, academics, students, and politically engaged readers through direct-to-consumer e-commerce at HaymarketBooks.org, wholesale to independent bookstores, third-party retailers, and a Book Club subscription offering 50% member discounts.

The publisher operates the Historical Materialism Book Series dedicated to Marxist theory and maintains an author roster including Angela Y. Davis, Naomi Klein, Howard Zinn, Rebecca Solnit, Eve L. Ewing, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, with Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States exceeding 4 million copies sold. Distribution extends to the UK and Europe via Blackwells. Revenue derives from physical and ebook sales, subscription membership fees, donations, and gift cards; there is no proprietary technology beyond a standard e-commerce platform. Strategic partnerships with Kaepernick Publishing (2023), Debt Collective, JunteGente, Jacobin/Verso, The Leap, and War on Want extend the press into co-publishing and movement-aligned distribution, supported by an active in-person and virtual author events program.

Name

Haymarket Books

Legal name

Haymarket Books

Website

https://haymarketbooks.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Haymarket Books is a Chicago-based non-profit independent publisher founded in 2001 that issues radical and progressive books across political theory, history, poetry, and social justice, serving activists, academics, and politically engaged readers via direct e-commerce, bookstores, and a Book Club subscription.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

E-book Subscription & Bundling Services (MPAJAMAB)

Keywords

• Independent book publishing
• Progressive nonfiction books
• Political theory publishing
• Social justice literature
• Radical press publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Physical Book Sales: Haymarket Books generates primary revenue through direct sales of physical books (hardcover, paperback) via their e-commerce website HaymarketBooks.org and through wholesale/distribution channels to independent bookstores and retailers.
2. Ebook Sales: The publisher sells digital ebooks in multiple formats, often bundling free ebooks with physical book purchases or offering ebook-only purchases at lower price points.
3. Book Club Subscription: The Haymarket Book Club offers members 50% off all books, providing a subscription-based revenue stream with recurring membership benefits.
4. Donations: Haymarket Books accepts donations through their website, indicating a non-profit publishing model that supplements commercial revenue with charitable contributions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Haymarket Books is a radical, non-profit, independent book publisher that produces and sells progressive, leftist, and social-justice nonfiction, poetry, and political-theory titles in physical and digital formats. The publisher also operates a subscription-based Book Club offering members 50% off all books, distributes the Historical Materialism Book Series dedicated to Marxist theory, and runs author events and book tours to drive direct-to-consumer sales.

Product overview

Haymarket Books is a radical, non-profit book publisher offering a diverse portfolio of progressive and political literature. The core offerings include physical books and ebooks across multiple genres including political theory, history, poetry, social justice, and activism. The company operates a Book Club subscription service providing 50% discounts to members, and maintains the Historical Materialism Book Series dedicated to Marxist theory. Notable publications include works by prominent authors such as Angela Y. Davis, Naomi Klein, Rebecca Solnit, Howard Zinn, and Eve L. Ewing. The company also publishes themed anthologies like The BreakBeat Poets series celebrating Black American poetry. Haymarket Books functions primarily as an e-commerce platform for direct sales of publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Historical Materialism Book Series: A major publishing initiative dedicated to making available important works of Marxist theory, publishing monographs, translated texts, and reprints of classics.

Products and services

• Haymarket Book Club Subscription membership that gives members 50% off all physical and digital books in the Haymarket catalog, providing recurring revenue and ongoing engagement with the publisher's radical and progressive literature.
• Gift Cards Digital gift cards redeemable on HaymarketBooks.org, allowing customers to give the gift of radical literature and progressive thought.
• Historical Materialism Book Series Peer-reviewed book series dedicated to Marxist theory, publishing original monographs, translated texts, and reprints of classics with international scope, distributed in partnership with Blackwells for UK and European readers.
• 1919 Poetry collection by Eve L. Ewing about the 1919 Chicago Race Riot, exploring history through speculative and Afrofuturist lenses and recognized as one of 2019's best books by NPR, Chicago Tribune, O Magazine, and others.
• Electric Arches Poetry collection by Eve L. Ewing exploring black girlhood and womanhood through poetry, visual art, and narrative prose, blending realism with the fantastical, and recognized by the American Library Association and Poetry Society of America.
• Too Much Midnight Poetry collection by Krista Franklin drawing on Pan African histories, Black Surrealism, and Afrofuturism to forge imaginative spaces for radical possibilities, featuring 45 poems and 40 artworks.
• The Battle For Paradise Book by Naomi Klein about Puerto Rico's struggle against disaster capitalism following Hurricane Maria, with all royalties (English and Spanish editions) donated to JunteGente, a Puerto Rican organization resisting disaster capitalism.
• Can't Pay, Won't Pay Book by Debt Collective presenting strategies for economic disobedience and debt abolition, with foreword by Astra Taylor, published in partnership with the debtors' movement organization.
• The BreakBeat Poets Anthology series celebrating Black American poetry in the age of hip-hop, edited by various contributors and including themed volumes such as Black Girl Magic and other social-justice themes.
• Aftershocks of Disaster Edited collection of poems, essays, and photos from survivors of Hurricane Maria examining the lasting effects of the hurricane, including state failure, social abandonment, and collective trauma.

Quantifiable outcome

• Howard Zinn's A People's History has sold more than 4 million copies
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Kaepernick PublishingflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 May 2023Joint partnership with Kaepernick Publishing to release 'Our History Has Always Been Contraband: In Defense of Black Studies' as a free ebook. This co-publishing venture combines Colin Kaepernick's Kaepernick Publishing with Haymarket Books' distribution capabilities.
• Debt CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDebt Collective is a membership organization for debtors that has published multiple titles with Haymarket Books including 'Can't Pay, Won't Pay: The Case for Economic Disobedience and Debt Abolition'. Astra Taylor, co-founder of Debt Collective, contributed the foreword.
• JunteGentecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAll royalties from 'The Battle For Paradise' (English and Spanish editions) go directly to JunteGente, a gathering of Puerto Rican organizations resisting disaster capitalism and advancing a fair and healthy recovery for Puerto Rico.
• JacobinflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint project with Jacobin magazine and Verso Books for 'The Anti-Inauguration' ebook, featuring speeches from the Anti-Inauguration event held at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington, D.C.
• The LeapminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsored 'A Global Green New Deal' conversation between Arundhati Roy and Naomi Klein with The Leap organization and War on Want.
• War on WantminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsored 'A Global Green New Deal' conversation with Haymarket Books and The Leap organization.
• Blackwells BookshopcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBlackwells bookshop offers discounts on many Historical Materialism Book Series titles for UK and European readers, providing distribution and sales outside the US market.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Verso Books: Verso is a leading radical/leftist independent book publisher with an overlapping roster of Marxist theory, political nonfiction, and social-justice authors — including joint projects with Haymarket (e.g., the Anti-Inauguation ebook with Jacobin). Directly comparable in editorial mission and customer base.
• Seven Stories Press: Independent progressive publisher specializing in activism, civil liberties, and political nonfiction. Closely comparable to Haymarket in niche positioning, author types, and direct-to-consumer distribution model.
• AK Press: Worker-run radical publisher and distributor of anarchist, anti-capitalist, and movement literature. Comparable to Haymarket in editorial scope, non-profit/activist orientation, and grassroots distribution through independent bookstores.
• The New Press: Non-profit independent publisher focused on social justice, race, criminal justice, and progressive politics. Directly comparable in mission, non-profit structure, and target readership to Haymarket Books.
• Monthly Review Press: Long-standing independent socialist publisher producing classic Marxist and political-economy scholarship. Comparable to Haymarket's Historical Materialism Book Series in editorial niche.
• Beacon Press: Non-profit progressive publisher of social-justice, anti-racist, and feminist titles. Closely comparable to Haymarket in non-profit structure, progressive editorial mission, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce focus.
• OR Books: Independent progressive publisher of politics, culture, and social-justice titles. Comparable to Haymarket in editorial positioning and lean operational model, though structured as a for-profit.

Broad incumbents

• Penguin Random House: Largest global trade publisher and broad incumbent; increasingly publishes social-justice authors that overlap with Haymarket's catalog. Competitor for marquee author contracts and retail shelf space.
• Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group: Major trade publishing imprint within Penguin Random House publishing political nonfiction, social-justice titles, and progressive authors. Represents the mainstream commercial competitor to Haymarket's niche.

Regional players

• Arsenal Pulp Press: Vancouver-based independent publisher of progressive, queer, and social-justice literature. Comparable to Haymarket in editorial niche and independent-press model, though primarily serving the Canadian market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/haymarketbooks
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCXu5dcswjbA0zpXLIBn5NmQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/haymarketbooks
• Instagraminstagram.com/haymarketbooks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/haymarket-books

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Haymarket Books