Since 1992, Paranoia: The Conspiracy & Paranormal Reader has presented alternative views and marginalized theories of the inner workings of the cryptocracy

Cryptocracy

Cryptocracy, from the ancient Greek κρυπτός and κραττείν , refers to a type of government where the real leaders are hidden, or merely unknown. A puppet government or figurehead, whether aware or not of their status as such, usually figures into this type of government in concept...

. Subjects include conspiracy theories, parapolitics, alternative history, and the paranormal

Paranormal

Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...

.

Paranoia was founded during the zine

Zine

A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....

 explosion of the early 1990s. The first issue had a black-and-white tabloid-style layout, with feature stories starting on the cover and continuing inside. Over the years, Paranoia evolved into a 72-page print magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 published three times a year, with a print run that reached 15,000 copies. It was sold on newsstands throughout the U.S., the U.K, and Canada, as well as to subscribers.

Paranoia received a 2001 Award of Merit in the Writer's Digest

Writer's Digest

Writer's Digest is an American magazine devoted to both beginning and established writers, offering interviews, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles....

 Zine Publishing Awards, and has been rated by Playboy

Playboy

Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...

 magazine as a "Top 10 Zine." Pagan Kennedy of The Village Voice

The Village Voice

The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...

 called it "Weirdness on a grand scale ..." containing "a dizzying web of connections." Alternative book publisher New Paradigm Books recently stated that Paranoia is "an original and provocative thrice-yearly magazine, with an occasional compelling focus on women writers."

In late 2009, Paranoia ended its nearly 20-year run as a print magazine and switched to a book format, to be published as announced. April 2010 saw the publication of PARANOIA: The Conspiracy Reader, Vol. 1, a trade paperback distributed to bookstores by Ingram and available to individuals on Amazon. The book series continues to be edited by Al Hidell and Joan d'Arc.