The impetus for DOPAMINE, started by Michelle Tea and Beth Pickens in 2023, is to see unabashedly queer writing into print—queer writing by and for queer individuals, work that retains the often innately experimental, irreverent, humorous and dark perspectives and expressions that come with being consciously queer in cultures that still work to erase, silence, and marginalize us. We look for work whose strangeness, rawness and electricity hold crucial truth about the reality of queer/trans life today, and we seek to give these voices and stories space to unfurl with brutal honesty, touching tenderness and comedy. It can be hard to articulate precisely the type of work we are looking for, but we absolutely know it when we see it.
DOPAMINE is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We publish four books a year. One of these titles is a themed anthology, edited by Michelle Tea. Created with the dual intention of acting as a fundraiser for the press and bringing more authors into press, Tea leans on her extensive, long-time connections with writers internationally, built through decades not only of shared writing community but through her work as a queer literary organizer.
All of the best queer and trans literature is published on the edge, and DOPAMINE follows in the footsteps of daring publishers such as High Rick, Hanuman, Black Sparrow, Gallimard, Or Books, the Feminist Press, Akashic Books, and many more. DOPAMINE works closely with influential indie publisher Semiotext(e). In DOPAMINE’s early days, while meeting with Semiotext(e)’s Hedi El Kholti to learn more about the production and distribution of books, a collaboration was born. Not quite an imprint—Tea has total control over what DOPAMINE publishes, and DOPAMINE is be self-funded—this alliance allows the volunteer-run house to benefit from Semiotext(e)’s established presence in the literary world, as well as the heaps of knowledge and generous workaday support offered by El Kholti. It was an especially sweet arrangement, as Semiotext(e) is the publisher of Tea’s debut memoir, The Passionate Mistakes and Intricate Corruption of One Girl in America, and has long been an inspiration as to what a freethinking, fearless press might look like.
Michelle Tea
Founder/Director | she/her
Michelle Tea is the author of over twenty books for grown-ups, teenagers and children.
Her autofiction Valencia is a cult classic that was made into a feature length art film.
Her tarot how-to, Modern Tarot, is a best-seller, and her essay collection Against Memoir was awarded the PEN/America Diamonstein-Spielvogel award for The Art of the Essay.
She is a Guggenheim Fellow. Tea was the founding Executive Director of Bay Area arts organization RADAR Productions for thirteen years; her final act as ED was to create Drag Queen Story Hour, for which she has received honors from The California Library Association and Logo Television.
Tea is also the co-founder of the legendary Sister Spit, a performance tour which has been active since its inception in 1997.
Brooke Palmieri
Layout & Design | he/him
Brooke Palmieri is a writer and artist working at the intersection of memory, history, and transsexual alternate realities. His writing spans hundreds of years of queer and trans history; the magic, mystery and deep emotion of working in archives; and the past as a supernatural encounter. Brooke has trained as a historian at the University of Pennsylvania and Oxford, and in 2017 completed a PhD in radical 17th century printing history at University College London. In 2018, Brooke founded CAMP BOOKS to promote access to queer and trans history through rare archival materials, cheap zines, and sculptural installations.
Brooke’s first book, Bargain Witch: Essays in Self-Initiation was published by DOPAMINE; not long after writing it, he drew from his experience making zines and fansites on the internet in 2002 to come on board as DOPAMINE’s designer.
Beth Pickens
Chief Financial Officer | she/her
Beth Pickens is a Los Angeles-based consultant for artists and arts organizations. She is the author of Make Your Art No Matter What: Moving Beyond Creative Hurdles (Chronicle Books, 2021) and Your Art Will Save Your Life (Feminist Press, 2018). She is represented by Laura Lee Mattingly at Present Perfect.
Beth earned her Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri. Since 2010, she has provided career consultation, grant writing, fundraising, and financial, project, and strategic planning services for artists and arts organizations throughout the U.S. beth team-teaches an entrepreneurship course at the California Institute of the Arts School of Theater and teaches workshops at universities, companies, and art spaces throughout the U.S.
