Loompanics Explained

Loompanics Enterprises, Inc.,
d.b.a Loompanics Unlimited
Type:Private
Industry:Publishing, Catalog book sales
Foundation:1975
Hq Location:Port Townsend, Washington
Products:Books
Key People:Michael Hoy, President, Book editor
Lou Rollins, Proof reader
Gia Cosindas, Publicist

Loompanics Unlimited was an American book seller and publisher specializing in nonfiction on generally unconventional or controversial topics. The topics in their title list included drugs, weapons, survivalism, anarchism, sex, conspiracy theories, and so on.[1] [2] [3] Many of their titles describe some kind of illicit or extralegal actions, such as Counterfeit I.D. Made Easy[4] and Opium for the Masses, while others are purely informative, such as Uninhabited Ocean Islands, How to Buy Land Cheap and The Muckraker's Manual (recommended by Stewart Brand).[5] [6]

Company history

Loompanics was in business for nearly 30 years. Its publisher and editor was Michael "Mike" Hoy[7] who started Loompanics Unlimited in East Lansing, Michigan, in 1975.[8] In 1982 he moved the business to Port Townsend, Washington, where his friend and fellow publisher R. W. Bradford had earlier relocated.[9]

In January 2006, Loompanics announced that it was going out of business,[10] and that it was selling off its inventory. In the spring of 2006, Paladin Press announced that it acquired the rights to 40 titles previously published or sold by Loompanics, including the works of Claire Wolfe, Eddie the Wire, and other popular Loompanics authors.[11]

Market position

In addition to Loompanics' large annual catalog of all its stock, Loompanics regularly mailed its customers a thinner quarterly supplement featuring a selection of books interspersed with articles about government propaganda and conspiracies, and/or underground resistance. The addressing side of the cover included a World War II American graphic of an eagle carrying a stack of volumes and the slogan, "Our men want books!"

Loompanics did not fall into the categories of mainstream liberal, conservative, or libertarian politics. While Michael Hoy expresses a preference for free markets, he also criticizes libertarians for championing multinational corporations, which he describes in a 2005 article[12] as being entirely different entities from individuals. Hoy characterizes them as governmental entities, since their limited liability is the result of government fiat, rather than contractual dealings among individuals. Thus, in some ways, Hoy argues, corporations have more rights than individuals. He also criticized libertarians for brainwashing themselves, stating:

Hoy's articles, which systemically lambasted the policies of all major political groups, earned him the wrath of organizations across the political spectrum.[13]

Loompanics' FAQ stated that the company's name is a play on words inspired by Hoy's fondness for National Lampoon.[14]

Advertising rejections

According to Gia Cosindas, Amazon.com, eBay, and Google refused to allow Loompanics to advertise on their sites, since some of the books' content violates their editorial guidelines. Specifically, Google wrote, "At this time, Google policy does not permit the advertisement of websites that contain 'the promotion of violence [and] drugs or drug paraphernalia.'"[15]

Legacy and aftermath

On May 8, 2006, Loompanics stopped accepting retail orders.[16] Their website encouraged potential customers to contact other publishers, who have had several Loompanics titles transferred to them, or became the new publishers of established Loompanics authors.

Last Earth Distro,[17] Last Word Books & Press,[18] AK Press, Earthlight Books, Eden Press, FS Books, Laissez Faire Books, Lehman's, New Falcon Publications, Privacy Alert Online, Ronin Press, Steve Arnold's Gun Room and Uncle Fester's Books acquired most of Loompanics' back stock. Some titles have been reprinted by Paladin Press and Delta Press.[19]

Publications

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Robin . Clarke . Anarchy Reigns at Loompanics . . 27 August 1993 . 26 March 2021.
  2. News: Sonni . Efron . Manuals Fit for Mayhem--by Mail . . 5 January 1992 . 26 March 2021.
  3. News: . Publisher Profits From Horrifying And Bizarre . . 8 September 1991 . 26 March 2021.
  4. Book: Luger . Jack . Counterfeit I.D. Made Easy . 1990 . Loompanics Unlimited . 0915179903 . 137.
  5. News: Brand . Stewart . Do your own muckraking . . 24 September 1985 . 51.
  6. Web site: Frauenfelder . Mark . Loompanics . Street Tech: Gareth Branwyn & Peter Sugarman's Tech Review Site . 26 March 2021.
  7. Badenhausen . Kurt . 8 February 1999 . Crime 101 . Forbes . 26 March 2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20001216104800/https://www.forbes.com/global/1999/0208/0203028a.html . 16 December 2000.
  8. Covert Catalog . August 1997 . Simson . Garfinkel . . 5 . 8 . 2016-03-17.
  9. News: Kasia . Pierzga . Alternative publisher calls it quits . Port Townsend Leader . 25 January 2006.
  10. Web site: Riismandel . Paul . January 24, 2006 . One the US's Greatest Publishers Going Out of Business . mediageek.net . Author . 26 March 2012.
  11. http://www.paladin-press.com/faqs Paladin Press FAQ
  12. Why corporations are not people, and the unsavory consequences of pretending that they are: A challenge to 'libertarians' . Mike . Hoy . Spring 2005 . Loompanics Supplement . Port Townsend, WA . Loompanics Unlimited . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070626045114/http://www.loompanics.com/Articles/whycorporations.html . 2007-06-26.
  13. Scott . Kauzlarich . May 10, 2005 . A libertarian response to Loompanics Unlimited . The Rational Argumentator: A Journal for Western Man . 35 . 26 March 2021.
  14. Web site: 2016-02-02 . Loompanics Unlimited . Making Use: Life in Postartistic Times . Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw . 26 March 2021. Credits
  15. Covert Censorship on the Web . Gia . Cosindas . Spring 2005 . Loompanics Supplement . Port Townsend, WA . Loompanics Unlimited . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070423085518/http://www.loompanics.com/Articles/CovertCensorship.html . 2007-04-23.
  16. Web site: Wolfe . Claire . 18 January 2006 . Thinking about Loompanics going out of business . ClaireWolfe.com . Author . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060204085322/http://clairewolfe.com/wolfesblog/00001917.html . 4 February 2006.
  17. Web site: Loompanics . lastearthdistro.net . 26 March 2021 . dead . 1 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201001235254/https://www.lastearthdistro.net/products/category/188/~/~/Loompanicsbr .
  18. Web site: Loompanics . lastwordbooks.org . 26 March 2021 .
  19. Web site: Loompanics Staff . Loompanics Unlimited is closed . Loompanics Unlimited . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061021044506/http://www.loompanics.com/34.html . 2006-10-21.