Prickly Paradigm Press
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Prickly Paradigm Press is an independent publisher dedicated to reviving the pamphlet. The press has published more than 60 short-form works that engage anthropology, critical theory and history to engage contemporary questions of urgent concern.[2] Notable pamphlets include David Graeber's Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology and Donna Haraway's Companion Species Manifesto.
United States| Founded | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Chicago, Illinois |
| Distribution | Chicago Distribution Center[1] |
| Publication types | Pamphlets |
| Official website | prickly-paradigm |
The press was founded as Prickly Pear Pamphlets in 1993 by anthropologists Keith Hart and Anna Grimshaw.[3] Based in Cambridge, England, they published ten pamphlets on topics in anthropology, the history of science, and ethnographic film. In 1998, Mark Harris and Matthew Engelke took over the press, expanding its operations in the world market and adding a select few titles to its list.
In 2001, University of Chicago anthropologist Marshall Sahlins took over the press, renamed it Prickly Paradigm,[4] re-publishing his own pamphlet (Waiting for Foucault), as well as a text by Richard Rorty.[5] In 2004, Justin Shaffner scanned the original Prickly Pear pamphlets into a PDF format and made them freely available for distribution on the Internet.[6]
In 2026, historian Peter Sahlins and philosopher Ramona Naddaff took over as executive publishers.[7]