an independent publishing & arts press
about PLB
who we are
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We trace the beginning of our work back to the mid-2010s—2014 to be exact—when the landscape of internationalist, independent, working class scholarship began to take root in the world's developing digital landscape, allowing, for the first time, scholars from across the globe to work together on research projects, publications projects, educational projects, and more. In 2016/2017, within a now-defunct scholar-activist organization, we published our very first journal project, Forward: Popular Theory & Practice, which only saw the publication of one (almost two) issues.
In 2017, three of Forward's editors—early career researchers, organizers, and educators—founded the research organization, the Center for Communist Studies (CCS). The CCS was founded both on a profound sense of hope in the practice of revolutionary education and out of a sense of dissatisfaction with our own experiences in graduate school and the lack of supervision and support we received in pursuing research topics focused on the Global South, revolutionary organizations, and communist horizons.
The CCS quickly grew into a large 30+ member research organization, bringing in many volunteer editors, proof-readers, and reviewers. The CCS began its publishing efforts in earnest first in digital-only publishing in 2018, and secondarily into the world of print publishing in late 2019.
In late 2019/early 2020, brought to fruition with the support of our editor's PhD program, the very first of the CCS's print publishing projects, Peace, Land, and Bread, launched to provide a space for international and internationalist working class scholarship able to straddle the divide between the academy and the street; between graduate seminars and organizing spaces; between the battlefield and the school. PLB sought to do this all in a way that centered art and design in co-equal, co-informative ways; to create a journal that was, at once, intensely rigorous and intensely academic, progressively accessible, and built as a work of art in and of itself—an artifact of revolutionary scholarship worthy of the beauty, spirit, and dignity of global working class art.
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Our aim was to make oftentimes dense and abstruse scholarship visually interesting, heavier-hitting, and more impactful with art and design; to present scholarship itself as an object of beauty, form, and aesthetic interest; to help the words move from the page and into the organizing practices of those engaged in real-world liberation struggles.
The journal took off in ways we could not have imagined.
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Quickly moving into book publishing with Christian Noakes' brilliant translation of Jose Carlos Mariategui's work, our book work soon eclipsed our journal work and we decided to give our book publishing endeavors a name: Iskra Books, after the RSDLP's theoretical newspaper, edited by Lenin himself. Developing Iskra Books to handle the growing output of book publishing and the many world-class authors, theorists, and thinkers drawn to the press, we published around 55 art-forward editions of cutting edge revolutionary scholarship from some of the best and biggest names around.
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In late 2025, we started the process of separating PLB from Iskra Books, which began moving in its own direction under the guidance of its steering committee, while the original founders continued forward through Peace, Land, and Bread. What began as a journal has since developed into an independent publishing and creative studio devoted to new books, much-needed editorial lines, translations, critical republications, visual projects, artworks, and other ephemera.
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​As of January 31, 2026, Iskra Books continues as a separate organization, distinct from the mission and direction of Peace, Land, and Bread. Even so, much of the artistic, organizational, and design labor that shaped the Iskra catalog remains visible throughout its body of work. We recognize the role that project played in a longer shared history, while Peace, Land, and Bread now moves forward on its own terms—building rapid-response, art-forward, and serious revolutionary scholarship, political education, and artistic production for the struggles of the present. In the light of the vicissitudes of the contemporary, the need for durable working-class institutions, accessible theory, strong design, and disciplined cultural work has only grown more urgent.​
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what we are
Peace, Land, and Bread is an independent nonprofit [501(c)(3)] publishing and arts studio. The press develops and circulates works of theory, history, political thought, education, and art alongside translations, documentary readers, journal issues, and visual projects.
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Our publications program is oriented toward work that is historically grounded, intellectually serious, and materially well-made—books and editions intended for study, use, and circulation.
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We are unaffiliated with any political organization, party, or movement other than the broad collective movement of the working class, poor, and oppressed peoples the world over, and we remain, as a press, fiercely independent of and to any external influence other than the working class itself.
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how we publish
The press operates outside the standard commercial model. Editorial decisions are not at all driven by market demand but by intellectual, artistic, and political necessity and editorial judgment.
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All publications are released with:
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free digital editions: PDF, ePub [in development], and in-site HTML [in development]
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free audiobooks [in development]
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affordable print formats
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strong attention to typography, layout, and design
We treat our publications as ongoing sites of inquiry. Many series and lines remain in active development, with contributions—introductions, afterwords, study guides, and essays—added over time. This extends a journal-like logic into book-length publishing.
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The press is small by design. We publish a limited number of works each year and develop them carefully.
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material and economic commitments
Peace, Land, and Bread is structured to balance access, quality, and sustainability.
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We maintain low pricing to ensure accessibility
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We produce high-quality physical editions as durable objects
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We offer meaningful royalties on published work
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We separate donation (access) from patronage (production) to sustain both sides of the project
Our work is a deliberate attempt to build a viable, long-term alternative to both commercial publishing and purely grant-dependent structures.​​
support PLB
how to contribute
Peace, Land, and Bread is built on a simple premise: revolutionary intellectual and artistic work should circulate freely, and its production should be collectively sustained. We publish books, journals, and visual work without digital paywalls, at low cost, and with a high degree of editorial and design care. That model only holds if it is actively supported.
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There are several ways to do that.
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Read and circulate the work.
Every title is released as a free digital edition. Use it. Teach from it. Bring it into study groups, classrooms, and organizing spaces. Circulation is not secondary to the project—it is the project.
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Purchase physical editions.
Print books and studio outputs fund ongoing production. If you value the work as a material object—well-designed, durable, and built to last—buying editions directly supports the continuation of the program.
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Support the press directly.
Donations sustain access: free PDFs, infrastructure, and the ability to publish without commercial pressure. Patronage sustains production: the ongoing development of books, prints, and editorial projects as a living studio practice.
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Write, review, and engage.
Critical engagement strengthens the work. Review titles, assign them, argue with them, extend them. The press is not a closed system—it depends on an active intellectual community.
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Contribute your labor.
Peace, Land, and Bread operates as a small, focused editorial program. We regularly work with collaborators across editing, translation, design, and research. If you have something to contribute, please reach out.
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acquiring titles
best ways to purchase our works
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​Direct purchase:
Where available, we encourage readers to purchase directly through our site. This ensures the greatest level of support for the press and allows us to maintain lowest-possible-cost pricing while continuing production.
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Bookstores and distributors:
Titles are available globally through major retailers and can be ordered through any bookstore using ISBNs via Ingram’s distribution network. We strongly encourage readers to request our books through local and independent sellers.
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​where to find our publications
For Readers:
Titles are available worldwide through major retailers and independent bookstores, and can be ordered through any store using ISBN distribution. Digital editions are available directly through the site.
We encourage readers to place titles into circulation—through libraries, classrooms, reading groups, and community spaces.
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For Booksellers:
All titles are distributed through Ingram and available globally by ISBN.
Because we price books close to production cost, wholesale discounts are lower than industry norms. We work directly with independent sellers, collectives, and community organizations to find workable arrangements where needed.
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For Collaborators:
We work across editorial, artistic, and organizational lines. This includes:
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educational and study collaborations
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print and distribution partnerships
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editorial and translation work
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visual and design projects
If there is alignment, we are open to building with others.
For Authors:
We accept completed manuscripts, translation projects, and contributions to ongoing editorial programs. Submission details, requirements, and timelines are outlined on the submissions page.
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final orientation
Peace, Land, and Bread is a studio press, an editorial program, and a platform for the ongoing development of ideas and forms.
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If the work is useful, circulate it.
If it matters, please consider support it.