Titus Books began in 2005 with the intention of bringing out books based on their content alone, not on their marketability or profitability. This included postmodern experimentation, ‘zine’ style layouts, minimalist science fiction, assertively LGBTQIA+ books, adventures in the archives, dystopian comic book themes, and much else. The idea was to create an inclusive platform that wasn’t dictated to by the market, the same basic ideal still informs Titus’ publishing nearly twenty years later.
The books regularly include works by local artists on the cover, and many of them are handmade – printed on acid-free paper with layflat spines. The press is run by longtime publisher Brett Cross with the assistance of readers and designers who contribute to the books and the choice of books published.
Titus Books have also been involved in the publishing of local lit. journals, brief (formally A Brief Description of the Whole World begun by Alan Loney in 1995) and Percutio, a bilingual French/English journal edited by Bill Direen. Brief is still active and can be found here. Titus Books have carried out the print and design for brief since 2010.
Titus Books have recently joined with Expensive Hobby, a small press distribution collective to place new titles in bookshops around New Zealand.