Alyson Books, formerly known as Alyson Publications, was a book publishing house which specialized in LGBT fiction and non-fiction. Former publisher Don Weise described it as "the world's oldest and largest publisher of LGBT literature" and "the home of award-winning books in the areas of memoir, history, humor, commercial fiction, mystery, and erotica, among many others".

History

Founded in Boston in 1980 by Sasha Alyson, Alyson Publications was one of the oldest and largest presses with a focus on gay and lesbian, and eventually LGBTQ, literature. The press engaged in a wide variety of genres. Michael Nava compared Alyson Publications's scope to that of its contemporary, Naiad Press.' However, Naiad focused predominantly on lesbian literature, while Nava cited Alyson Publications as the main publisher of gay men's literature at the time.

In 1986 Alyson published one of the first anthologies of Black gay men's writing: In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology, edited by Joseph Beam. They published some of the first queer children's books, beginning with Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite and Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman. Both books received intense media attention and controversy. They were listed on the American Library Association's list of the top ten most-banned books in the U.S. for years.

In 1992, Alyson broadcast his plan to sell the company so that he could spend more time on AIDS activism. In 1994, he passed off management to Alistair Williamson. Liberation Publications already published the LGBTQ magazines The Advocate and Out, and they added a new imprint to Alyson Publications: Advocate Books.

In 2006, Alyson Publications collaborated with The Advocate to create a guide to colleges centering on their support and resourcing for LGBTQ students and studies. The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students recruited 5,000 students and 500 faculty and staff to conduct interviews on over 100 U.S. higher education institutions. The first such guide, The Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Students’ Guide to Colleges, Universities, and Graduate Schools, was published in 1994 by New York University Press. Alyson Publications's guide differed in the means of obtaining data for its ratings, by heavily recruiting interview subjects online. and in November, as Alyson Books, named Don Weise its publisher. He has written of his commitment to Alyson's traditional areas of specialisation, but has stated that he is keen also to embrace "more serious nonfiction—particularly in the areas of current affairs, politics, self-help, and autobiography—as well as literary fiction and works by today's most respected LGBT authors." Don Weise left Alyson at that time.

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Some books published by Alyson

  • "Gay Old Girls" (ISBN 1555834760) by Zsa Zsa Gershick (Joshua Irving Gershick)
  • amnesty () by Louise A. Blum
  • "Secret Service: Untold Stories of Lesbians in the Military" (ISBN 0739454234) by Zsa Zsa Gershick (Joshua Irving Gershick)
  • Death Trick (), by Richard Stevenson
  • 101 Gay Sex Secrets Revealed (), by Jonathan Bass
  • How to Get Laid: The Gay Man's Essential Guide to Hot Sex (), by Jonathan Bass
  • Finding H.F. (), a young adult novel by Julia Watts
  • Young, Gay and Proud (), edited by Sasha Alyson and Lynne Yamaguchi Fletcher
  • The Dykes to Watch Out For comic strip by Alison Bechdel
  • Lesbian Lists: A Look at Lesbian Culture, History, and Personalities () by Dell Richards (1990)
  • The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader (), edited by Pat Califia and Robin Sweeney
  • Melting Point (), short stories by Pat Califia
  • Doing it for Daddy (), short stories by Pat Califia
  • Macho Sluts (), erotic fiction by Pat Califia
  • Doc and Fluff (), a novel by Pat Califia
  • Latter Days (), novelization by T. Fabris for the 2003 major motion picture of the same name
  • The First Gay Pope and Other Records, by Lynne Yamaguchi Fletcher
  • The Femme Mystique (), short stories edited by Lesléa Newman
  • Pillow Talk (), short stories edited by Lesléa Newman
  • Pills, Thrills, Chills and Heartache (), Los Angeles Times bestseller and 2004 Lambda Literary Awards finalist, edited by Clint Catalyst and Michelle Tea
  • The Lillian Byrd crime fiction series, by Elizabeth Sims
  • Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology (), edited by Amy Sonnie
  • The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement, by Stuart Timmons
  • Half-Life, a novel by Aaron Krach
  • Out on Fraternity Row: Personal Accounts of Being Gay in a College Fraternity, by Shane Windmeyer
  • Secret Sisters: Stories of Being Lesbian & Bisexual in a College Sorority
  • Best Lesbian Love Stories, 2003–2005, edited by Angela Brown
  • Mentsh: On Being Jewish and Queer, edited by Angela Brown
  • Love, Bourbon Street: Reflections of New Orleans, edited by Greg Herren and Paul J. Willis—winner 2006 Lambda Literary Award for Anthology
  • Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out (), edited by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Kaʻahumanu
  • The Bisexual's Guide to the Universe, by Michael Szymanski and Nicole Kristal—winner 2006 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual