Softcover books have existed throughout publishing history, but they were never designed for mass distribution on the scale we know it today.
Lesbian pulp fiction publishing was a small subsection of paperback publishing. The publishers represented in the MSVU lesbian pulp collection run the full range from those rooted in literary traditions to sleaze peddlers. As censorship laws became more relaxed in the 1960s, lesbian pulp fiction was also distributed by sleaze publishing outfits whose books could be categorized as "sex books" with just enough of a minimal plot to escape the label of obscenity. The adult/softcore publishers used sex to sell books that could be categorized by genres such as crime and adventure, so lesbian pulp fiction was a good fit for their target audience. Along with the mainstream publishers like Fawcett Publications and Bantam Books, smaller publishing houses specializing in erotica, like Midwood-Tower books entered the market. It is estimated that over 500 books with lesbian content were published over the next 15 years. When Women's Barracks, published in 1950, and Spring Fire, published in 1952, sold millions of copies, becoming financial successes, many paperback publishers rushed to take advantage of the new market for books about lesbians. After the war, the demand for paperback novels as a form of entertainment remained high, especially since the movie and television industries had self-imposed morality codes that avoided risqué topics.
During the Second World War, paperbacks were distributed free of charge to American and Canadian troops. Without the paperback revolution in the 1930s and 1940s, lesbian pulp fiction would not have existed.
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