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We psychoanalysts are extremely lucky that even with diminishing book sales, we have two vibrant psychoanalytic publishers as well as several general interest and university presses that publish psychoanalytic titles. Routledge/Taylor & Francis probably remains the largest and certainly oldest international publisher of psychoanalytic journals and books. Karnac, a force for well over half a century, still stands after a brief disappearance, mergers, and acquisitions. I’ve written and edited for both houses, and like most of you, have also been a reader and fan of writers from both. The same can also be said for the wonderfully prolific Brett Kahr, who has a passionate interest in psychoanalytic theory and history and is an extremely clear and gifted writer. Regardless of who publishes him, I urge you to read any and all of his books. For purposes of this current literary come-as-you-are party, though, I will mention that I had a particularly good time with his most recent title: Publisher of the Mind: Seventy-Five Years of Karnac Books (Kahr, 2025).
If, as I do, you love psychoanalytic history, books, and publishing—or even just one or two of these areas—you, too, might find this to be a true page-turner. Kahr’s “love affair with Karnac” (p. ix) started as a young psychology student and continues to this day. He met and became friends with the founder of the bookshop and later publishing division, the famous Harry Karnac. In a tightly packed ninety pages, Kahr introduces us to some of the major figures in psychoanalysis who visit the shop and later publish with Karnac, including Masud Khan, who we learn sometimes purchased but also often stole books. (To complicate things further, the genius but very troubled Khan became Harry Karnac’s analyst.) Kahr begins the book with a brief but deep and fascinating history of psychoanalytic publishing. He goes on to share what he has learned about Karnac Books and the current state of psychoanalytic publishing as a result of mee