Heyday Books

Heyday Books
Name	Heyday Books
Founded	1974
Founder	Malcolm Margolin
Country	United States
Headquarters	Berkeley, California
Publications	Books
Topics	California, Native American studies, natural history, regional culture

Heyday Books Heyday Books is an independent nonprofit publisher based in Berkeley, California, focused on regional history, indigenous studies, natural history, and cultural heritage. The press has collaborated with museums, universities, tribal nations, and cultural organizations to produce books, exhibitions, and community programs. Heyday’s publications and partnerships have intersected with institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, Smithsonian Institution, Bancroft Library, California Academy of Sciences, and Autry Museum of the American West.

History

Heyday Books was founded in 1974 by Malcolm Margolin and colleagues, emerging amid the cultural movements of the 1970s that included activists and institutions like Chicano Movement, American Indian Movement, National Endowment for the Arts, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and local publishers such as City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. Early projects drew on collaborations with scholars from Stanford University, curators from the Oakland Museum of California, and writers associated with Mother Jones (magazine), linking community history with grassroots organizations including Friends of the Earth and Sierra Club. Over decades, editorial work engaged with archival collections at the Bancroft Library, field research with tribal partners such as the Miwok people, and publication practices influenced by nonprofit literary presses like New Directions Publishing and University of California Press.

Mission and Focus

Heyday centers on California and the Pacific West, producing works on Native Californian lifeways, natural history, and regional culture. Projects reflect partnerships with Indigenous nations including the Yurok people, Hupa people, Ohlone people, Maidu people, and Pomo people, and with academic programs at University of California, Davis, University of California, Santa Cruz, California State University, Chico, and Stanford University. The press engages conservation and science communities such as Calflora, Point Reyes National Seashore, Channel Islands National Park, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, while also collaborating with cultural institutions like the Getty Research Institute and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Notable Publications and Authors

Heyday has published works by and about writers, scholars, and artists including authors associated with Ansel Adams, John Muir, Wendell Berry, Leslie Marmon Silko, N. Scott Momaday, and scholars connected to A. G. Ogden-style regional histories and tribal oral histories. Notable titles have featured contributions from researchers affiliated with Berkeley Law, Hayward Fault studies, and projects with editors from University of California Press, curators from the California Academy of Sciences, and historians tied to Bancroft Library collections. The press has produced volumes that intersect with the work of photographers and artists like Dorothea Lange, Chris Killip, Ansel Adams, and Richard Avedon, while publishing scholarship by academics from UC Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard University, and Oxford University who study California’s environmental and cultural past.

Community and Educational Programs

Heyday runs community initiatives and education programs that have partnered with school districts such as Berkeley Unified School District and universities including UC Berkeley Extension, as well as cultural programs with the Oakland Museum of California, Exploratorium, California Historical Society, and tribal education programs with the Yurok Tribe and Hoopa Valley Tribe. Outreach includes lecture series involving speakers from Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, and academic seminar partners at California State University, East Bay. Heyday’s public programming has intersected with festivals and events like Bay Area Book Festival, Berkeley Arts Festival, Litquake, and museum exhibitions at institutions such as the Autry Museum of the American West.

Distribution and Business Model

Operating as a nonprofit press, Heyday’s model combines book sales, grants from funders like the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, California Humanities, and project support from institutions such as National Endowment for the Humanities and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Distribution partnerships have been made with academic distributors and independent bookstores including Powell's Books, Books Inc., and university presses such as University of California Press for co-publishing and library sales to collections like the Library of Congress, Bancroft Library, and university libraries at UC Berkeley and Stanford University.

Awards and Recognition

Heyday publications and staff have received recognition from bodies such as the National Book Award-affiliated juries, California Book Awards, Notable Book lists from The New York Times Book Review, and regional honors from San Francisco Chronicle literary prizes and PEN America awards. Collaborations with museums and universities have led to exhibition awards and research grants from organizations including the Smithsonian Institution and the Getty Foundation.

Archives and Special Projects

Heyday maintains archival projects and special initiatives in partnership with repositories such as the Bancroft Library, California Historical Society, and tribal archives of the Pomo people and Ohlone people. Special projects have included annotated reprints, oral history initiatives working with the University of California, Berkeley oral history program, and exhibition catalogs produced with the Autry Museum of the American West and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Category:Publishing companies of the United States Category:Non-profit organizations based in California