Ronin Publishing Explained

Founded:1983
Founder:Sebastian Orfali and Beverly Potter[1]
Predecessor:And/Or Press
Country:United States
Headquarters:Berkeley, California
Distribution:Publishers Group West
Publications:Books
Topics:Personal development, Visionary alternatives, Expanded consciousness
Imprints:Leary Library
Lilly Library
Url:http://www.roninpub.com

Ronin Publishing, Inc. is a small press in Berkeley, California, founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1985, which publishes books as tools for personal development, visionary alternatives, and expanded consciousness. The company's tagline is "Life Skills with Attitude!" In a 1996 Publishers Weekly profile, the company describes itself as a "strong player in the hemp and psychedelia market" that has little competition from major publishers.[2]

Ronin's catalog includes the Leary Library,[3] [4] The Lilly Library, The Fringe Series,[5] The Entheo-Spirituality Series, and various books on psychedelia.

The company has been subpoenaed by the Drug Enforcement Administration to provide names and addresses for people having purchased their books on marijuana horticulture.[6] [7] [8] A number of their books are reprints of out-of-print works from the 1960s and 1970s — including a number of titles published by Ronin's predecessor, And/Or Press[9] — on the psychedelic experience and related subjects.

In 2006, Ronin republished the 1963 Discordian religious text Principia Discordia with altered text, altered images, and a new name, so Ronin could copyright the work. This action offended many fans of the original work,[10] whose authors, Greg Hill (Malaclypse the Younger) and Kerry Thornley, had died several years previously. Malaclypse the Younger, et el purposefully put their book, Principle Discordia into the public domain outside of copyright. Beverly Potter then created a derivative of the work, as she did with eleven Timothy Leary and three John C. Lilly works.

Titles published

Timothy Leary Library

(original date of publication; Ronin edition)

Other titles (selected)

Notes and References

  1. Stafford, Peter. Psychedelics (Ronin Publishing, May 1, 2009), p. 182.
  2. "The next generation." Publishers Weekly 18 Nov. 1996: 36. Literature Resource Center. Web. 29 Sep. 2012.
  3. News: Laura . Mansnerus . November 26, 1995 . Conversations/Timothy Leary;At Death's Door, the Message Is Tune In, Turn On, Drop In . . 2012-09-26.
  4. Farmanfarmaian, Roxane. "For publishers, Leary lives on." Publishers Weekly 5 May 1997: 26. Academic OneFile. Web. 29 Sep. 2012.
  5. "Beyond the Fringe." Publishers Weekly 14 Aug. 2000: 285. Academic OneFile. Web. 29 Sep. 2012.
  6. News: Marijuana Book Buyers Sought . Lodi News-Sentinel . Oct 29, 1997 . September 29, 2012.
  7. News: Feds Waiting for Marijuana Book Info . The Sunday Courier . Phoenix, United States . Nov 11, 1997 . September 29, 2012.
  8. News: DEA Subpoenas Out of Line (editorial) . https://archive.today/20130125054747/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-64642238.html . dead . 25 January 2013 . 31 October 1997 . Seattle Post-Intelligencer . 26 September 2012.
  9. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/OBITUARY-Sebastian-Orfali-2823860.php "Obituary – Sebastian Orfali,"
  10. Web site: Hogan . Ron . Free Radical Book Now Under Copyright - GalleyCat . Mediabistro.com . 2006-11-06 . 2012-09-26.
  11. News: Leary Leaves Technical Legacy. https://web.archive.org/web/20140929030224/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-25048252.html. dead. 29 September 2014. Yoshitake. Dawn. 3 June 1996. Daily News . 26 September 2012.
  12. News: Timothy Leary, Pied Piper Of Psychedelic 60's, Dies at 75 . The New York Times. 2012-09-26.

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