Founded in 2002 by anthropologists Marshall Sahlins and Matthew Engelke, Prickly Paradigm Press is devoted to informed, argumentative perspectives from serious thinkers — short, sharp pamphlets to shape public debate on quesitons that matter most.

Since 2002, we’ve published more than sixty pamphlets by leading scholars and thinkers, including David Graeber, Donna Haraway, and Sahlins himself. Our recent imprint, Ode Books, in partnership with the Seminary Co-Op Bookstores in Chicago, celebrates book spaces, the book indsutry, and reading.

Beginning in 2026, historian Peter Sahlins and philosopher Ramona Naddaff seek to build on the press’ legacy and to publish new work by knowledgeable thinkers for informed readers inside and outside the academy — original, critical perspectives on contemporary public debates.

We’re also engaged in a double pivot.

First, we commit to pursue the founders’ vision of a press that would revitalize the pamphlet tradition in the Digital Age. Dispatches is our first experiment: a regular newsletter built around our pamphlets that connects our backlist and forthcoming titles to current events. Like all good pamphlets, from Jonathan Swift to Thomas Paine, we believe that our work has continued relevance across news cycles and decades. Dispatches allows our authors to update their thinking, and allows invited commentators to reflect on the enduring significance of their work.

Our second pivot is towards history, but not just our own. We’ll be seeking out historical perspectives from across the disciplines in pursuit of our belief that critical thinking about the past is the best way of confronting our contemporary challenges. Beyond our interest in the historical origins and precedents of today’s crises, we believe that perspectives informed by the past offer solutions as well. In an age when history risks effacement — both through deliberate acts and as a casualty of information overload grounded in the immediate — we will seek out voices that share our commitment to a thoughtful and critical use of the past.

As our project grows and takes shape, we invite our readers and subscribers to join us — not just as consumers, but also producers. We welcome submissions to the press on our website. We’re seeking collaborators to help us find new models of publishing, production, and distribution. We’re exploring models of collaborative publishing with other imprints and platforms.

Please join as readers, subscribers, and collaborators. We can’t do it alone. Prickly Paradigm Press is entering a new phase of its evolution, and like so many in our industry, we’re still figuring things out. We welcome feedback and ideas. Visit us here and our website to learn more.