Bella Books is a small press

Small press

Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...

 publisher of lesbian literature

Lesbian literature

This is a list of books portraying sexual relations between female characters, who may include lesbians, bisexuals and WSWs.-Classic fiction and drama:*The Bachelor Girl – Victor Margueritte –...

 that is based in Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...

. The chief executive officer is Linda Hill, who is also the chief executive officer of Spinsters Ink and BeanPole Books.

Since the publication of its first title in 2001, its primary focus has been on lesbian fiction

Lesbian fiction

Lesbian fiction is a subgenre of fiction that involves one or more primary female homosexual character and lesbian themes. Novels that fall into this category may be of any genres, such as, but not limited to, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and romance.-History:The first...

. The press publishes lesbian romance, lesbian mystery and lesbian speculative fiction novels and lesbian erotica short-story anthologies. In 2003 it bought the backstock of Naiad Press

Naiad press

Naiad Press was one of the first publishing companies dedicated to lesbian literature. At its closing it was the oldest and largest lesbian/feminist publisher in the world.-History:...

, including the majority of the backlist for Jane Rule

Jane Rule

Jane Vance Rule, CM, OBC was a Canadian writer of lesbian-themed novels and non-fiction.-Biography:Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Jane Vance Rule was the oldest daughter of Carlotta Jane and Arthur Richards Rule. She claimed she was a tomboy growing up and felt like an outsider for reaching six...

. In 2004, it bought the backstock of defunct Rising Tide Press. In 2005 it acquired distribution rights for New Victoria Press, including the works of Sarah Dreher

Sarah Dreher

Sarah Dreher is an American lesbian novelist and playwright, and best known for her award-winning lesbian mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Stoner McTavish. Dreher was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1937, and resides in Amherst, Massachusetts....

. In 2008 it acquired reprint rights to the work of Ellen Hart

Ellen Hart

Ellen Hart is the award-winning mystery author of the Jane Lawless and Sophie Greenaway series. She was born in Minneapolis, MN in August 1949. A professional chef for 14 years, Hart's mysteries include culinary elements similar to those of Diane Mott Davidson.The author says of her work, "I don't...

. A typical production year includes 24-30 trade paperback releases as well as reprints of classic titles. Total titles in print exceed 250.

More than fifty of its catalog titles have been shortlisted or have won Lambda Literary Award

Lambda Literary Award

Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...

s or Golden Crown Literary Society

Golden Crown Literary Society

The Golden Crown Literary Society is a 501 organization established in February 2004 as a literary and educational organization for the study, discussion, enjoyment, and enhancement of lesbian literature. The GCLS membership includes publishers, distributors, authors, and readers of lesbian fiction...

 Awards, and in 2004 it won the Lambda Literary Foundation

Lambda Literary Foundation

The Lambda Literary Foundation is the largest LGBT literary organization in the world. The foundation's mission is to nurture, celebrate, and preserve Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender literature through three programs that honor excellence, promote visibility and encourage development of...

's Independent LGBT Press Award itself.

Award-winning authors include:

Nancy Garden

Nancy Garden

Nancy Garden is an American author of children's and young adult literature.- Biography :She is best known for her novel, Annie on My Mind , which was critically acclaimed but attracted controversy because of its lesbian characters, Annie and Liza who fall in love...

Katherine V. Forrest

Katherine V. Forrest

Katherine V. Forrest is an American writer.Forrest is best known for her eight novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. The character was the very first lesbian police detective in the American lesbian mystery genre and is described as "Miss Marple with k.d...

Jeanne G'Fellers

Ellen Hart

Ellen Hart

Ellen Hart is the award-winning mystery author of the Jane Lawless and Sophie Greenaway series. She was born in Minneapolis, MN in August 1949. A professional chef for 14 years, Hart's mysteries include culinary elements similar to those of Diane Mott Davidson.The author says of her work, "I don't...

Marianne Garver

Gerri Hill

Karin Kallmaker

Karin Kallmaker

Karin Kallmaker is the prolific American author of lesbian fiction whose works also include those originally written under the name Laura Adams. Her writings span lesbian romance, lesbian erotica, and lesbian science-fiction/fantasy...

KG MacGregor

Robbi McCoy

Claire McNab

Claire McNab

Claire McNab is the pseudonym of Claire Carmichael. She was born in Melbourne, Australia. While pursuing a career as a high school teacher in Sydney, she began her writing career with comedy plays and textbooks. She left teaching in the mid-eighties to become a full-time writer...

Jean Stewart

Jean Stewart

Jean Hurring , is a former swimmer from New Zealand. She represented her native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, 1952 and 1956...

Jessica Thomas

Jessica Thomas

Jessica Thomas is an Australian netball player. Having grown up in her home town of Drouin, West Gippsland she was added to the Melbourne Phoenix squad in the middle of the 2005 Commonwealth Bank Trophy, as a replacement for Kara Richards who had to withdraw due to school and travel issues...

Titles first appearing in English-speaking markets are translated for distribution in France (KTM Editions and Editions Dans L'Engrenage), Germany (Verlag Krug), Spain (Egales) and the Czech Republic (LePress). Some titles are also acquired for hardcover editions by InsightOut Book Club, a division of the Quality Paperback Book Club.

External links

• O Pioneers! - 5/5/2008 - Publisher's Weekly http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6558917.html
• A Survey of Lesbian Publishing - 7/6/2006 - AfterEllen.com http://www.afterellen.com/archive/ellen/Print/2006/7/publishing.html
• Before Stonewall By Vern L. Bullough http://books.google.com/books?id=A7x_VnES2esC&pg=PA262&lpg=PA262&dq=%22bella+books%22+-amazon&source=web&ots=HE3XT_L363&sig=G9mYJoBaAapVOBpTSv-PQ1G_Lok&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=50&ct=result#PPA262,M1
• Goliath Information Services http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/product-compint-0000271803-page.html
• American Directory of Writer's Guidelines by Stephen Blake Mettee, Michelle Doland http://books.google.com/books?id=Ek960DxJ9Z0C&pg=PA686&lpg=PA686&dq=%22bella+books%22+-amazon&source=web&ots=uQlQxz8mTf&sig=xxtOyXpT2HCBmDM8RNwSedMXtok&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=18&ct=result
• Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press http://www.wifp.org/DWM/publishers.html
• Submission Guidelines for Authors http://www.bellabooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SUBS&Store_Code=bella