# Verso Books > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Verso_Books > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Verso_Books.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verso_Books > Source revision: 1349816086 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Verso Books** (formerly **New Left Books**) is a publishing house based in [London](/source/London) and [New York City](/source/New_York_City). Founded in 1970 by the staff of the *[New Left Review](/source/New_Left_Review)*, it has [Tariq Ali](/source/Tariq_Ali) and [Perry Anderson](/source/Perry_Anderson) on its board of directors. According to its website, it is the largest [independent](/source/Small_press), radical publishing house in the [English-speaking world](/source/English-speaking_world), publishing one hundred books a year. *[Harper's](/source/Harper's)* described it as "Anglo-America's preeminent radical press," and *[The Sunday Times](/source/The_Sunday_Times)* called it "a rigorously intelligent publisher."[1] ## Operations In 1970, Verso Books began as a paperback [imprint](/source/Imprint_(trade_name)) of New Left Books and became its sole imprint. It established itself as a publisher of [nonfiction](/source/Nonfiction) works on [international politics](/source/International_relations). Verso Books has also periodically published [fiction](/source/Fiction) over its history.[2] On 8 April 2014 Verso began bundling [DRM-free](/source/DRM-free) e-books with print purchases made through its website. Verso's managing director and US publisher, Jacob Stevens, stated that he expected the new offer on the Verso website to contribute £200,000 to the publisher's revenue in its first year helping to "shake up how publishers relate to their readership, and help to support independent publishing".[3] In 2019, Verso Books launched a dedicated fiction imprint, Verso Fiction.[4] The fiction editor, Cian McCourt, said, "We want to publish bold, intelligent writing that's politically astute, but not dogmatic or charmless."[2] In an article titled, "The best (and worst) fiction books of 2023," *[The Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)* said of the imprint, "But the gem has been Verso, our closest thing to a mainstream radical publisher. It’s building one of Britain’s most interesting fiction lists."[5] Verso Books titles are distributed in the United States by [Penguin Random House](/source/Penguin_Random_House). The publishing house is known to host many events in the United States and the UK, focusing on radical politics and history.[6] ### Sexual harassment grievance In 2021, Verso was publicly accused of poorly handling an internal [sexual harassment](/source/Sexual_harassment) grievance brought by a former publicist employed in the company's US office against its long-time publisher, Jacob Stevens. She described the incident in a [Medium](/source/Medium_(website)) piece thus: "He then said, of my hiring, 'We needed someone nice to look at in the office besides Wes.'” She claims that this remark caused severe depression and [self-harm](/source/Self-harm).[7] The board of directors responded with a [public apology](/source/Public_apology) and updates on their sexual harassment policy. However, they likewise maintain that their procedures were properly followed, as determined by an independent review.[8] ### Marston Book Services bankruptcy In September 2024, Verso launched a [crowdfunding](/source/Crowdfunding) campaign via the website [Kickstarter](/source/Kickstarter), in response to the bankruptcy of its UK distributor, Marston Book Services.[9] UK-based United Independent Distributors, of which Marston was a subsidiary, had entered [administration](/source/Administration_(law)) on 25 July 2024.[10] Verso expected that the revenue crowdfunding campaign would allow it to publish its planned Autumn 2024 catalogue and pay for expenses as it transitioned to a new distribution arrangement with Macmillan Distribution.[11] ## Publications The publisher gained early recognition for translations of books by European thinkers and [Continental philosophy](/source/Continental_philosophy), especially those from the [Frankfurt School](/source/Frankfurt_School), and its affiliation with [Marxist](/source/Marxist) and [neo-Marxist](/source/Neo-Marxist) writers. Verso Books' best-selling title is the autobiography of [Rigoberta Menchú](/source/Rigoberta_Mench%C3%BA), who was awarded the [Nobel Peace Prize](/source/Nobel_Peace_Prize) in 1992.[12] Verso has published books by [Tariq Ali](/source/Tariq_Ali), [Benedict Anderson](/source/Benedict_Anderson), [Robin Blackburn](/source/Robin_Blackburn), [Judith Butler](/source/Judith_Butler), [Noam Chomsky](/source/Noam_Chomsky), [C.L.R James](/source/C._L._R._James), [Mike Davis](/source/Mike_Davis_(scholar)), [Norman Finkelstein](/source/Norman_Finkelstein), [Fredric Jameson](/source/Fredric_Jameson), [John Roberts (philosopher)](/source/John_Roberts_(philosopher)), [Edward Said](/source/Edward_Said), [Max Shachtman](/source/Max_Shachtman), [Rebecca Solnit](/source/Rebecca_Solnit), [Nick Srnicek](/source/Nick_Srnicek), [Paul Feyerabend](/source/Paul_Feyerabend), [Ellen Meiksins Wood](/source/Ellen_Meiksins_Wood), and [Slavoj Žižek](/source/Slavoj_%C5%BDi%C5%BEek).[13] Updated translations of [Jean Baudrillard](/source/Jean_Baudrillard), [Régis Debray](/source/R%C3%A9gis_Debray), [Jürgen Habermas](/source/J%C3%BCrgen_Habermas), Rigoberta Menchú, and [Paul Virilio](/source/Paul_Virilio) have also been published through Verso. By 2020, Verso Books had published over 1,800 titles.[14] ## See also - [List of Radical Thinkers releases](/source/List_of_Radical_Thinkers_releases) - *[New Left Review](/source/New_Left_Review)* ## References 1. ["About Verso"](https://www.versobooks.com/pages/about-verso) 1. ["Verso Books launches 'bold' fiction imprint | The Bookseller"](https://www.thebookseller.com/news/verso-books-launches-politically-astute-fiction-imprint-954016). *thebookseller.com*. Retrieved 2020-04-15. 1. ["E-book/print bundling venture from Verso"](http://www.thebookseller.com/news/e-bookprint-bundling-venture-verso). thebookseller.com. 1. ["Announcing Verso Fiction"](https://www.versobooks.com/series_collections/127-verso-fiction) 1. Revely-Calder, Cal. ["The best (and worst) fiction books of 2023, from Eleanor Catton to Zadie Smith"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/best-worst-fiction-books-2023/) 1. ["Verso"](https://www.versobooks.com/events). *versobooks.com*. Retrieved 2020-04-15. 1. Janakiram, Emily (2021-01-30). ["I was the first person to file a sexual harassment grievance at Verso Books. This is what happened"](https://ejanakir1128.medium.com/i-was-the-first-person-to-file-a-sexual-harassment-grievance-at-verso-books-this-is-what-happened-c8a878fb5fef). *Medium*. Retrieved 2023-02-09. 1. ["Statement from the Verso Board"](https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4992-statement-from-the-verso-board). *Versobooks.com*. Retrieved 2023-02-09. 1. ["Coming Autumn/Winter 2024"](https://www.versobooks.com/collections/support-versos-autumn-winter-publishing). *Verso Books*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240925082128/https://www.versobooks.com/collections/support-versos-autumn-winter-publishing) 2024-09-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-09-25. 1. Clee, Nicholas & Milliot, Jim (2024-07-29). ["UID, Marston, Orca, and Eurospan File for Bankruptcy"](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/95594-uid-marston-orca-and-eurospan-file-for-bankruptcy.html). *[Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240925072325/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/95594-uid-marston-orca-and-eurospan-file-for-bankruptcy.html) 2024-09-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-09-25. 1. Brown, Lauren (2024-09-11). ["Verso moves from Marston Book Services to Macmillan Distribution"](https://www.thebookseller.com/news/verso-moves-from-marston-book-services-to-macmillan-distribution). *The Bookseller*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240925073638/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/verso-moves-from-marston-book-services-to-macmillan-distribution) 2024-09-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-09-25. 1. Verso Books, [About Verso](http://www.versobooks.com/pg/about-verso) 1. ["Verso"](https://www.versobooks.com/pg/about-verso). *versobooks.com*. Retrieved 2023-01-11. 1. Barron, Michael (3 July 2020). ["Verso, Feminist Press Turn 50"](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/83773-verso-feminist-press-turns-50.html). *[Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly)*. Retrieved 2020-09-16. ## External links - [Official website](https://www.versobooks.com/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Verso Books](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verso_Books) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verso_Books?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.