author
John Martin
Independent publishing took on a very personal shape in his hands, turning Black Sparrow Press into a home for bold, unconventional writers. He is especially remembered for backing Charles Bukowski early and helping bring a wider audience to literary voices that larger publishers often overlooked.
1 Audiobook
A Fine Day for Dying
by John Martin
About the author
John Martin was an American publisher best known for founding Black Sparrow Press in Los Angeles in 1966. Before that, he worked in the office-supply business and built a serious rare-book collection, then sold part of that collection to help finance the press. What began as a side project grew into one of the most admired independent literary presses in the United States.
He is closely linked with Charles Bukowski, whom he supported early and encouraged to write full-time. Under Martin's leadership, Black Sparrow also published writers including John Fante, Paul Bowles, Robert Creeley, Denise Levertov, Diane Wakoski, Joyce Carol Oates, John Ashbery, and Wanda Coleman. The press became known not just for its list, but for its distinctive physical style, with bold designs created by his wife, Barbara Martin.
Over roughly 35 years, Black Sparrow published around 700 titles before Martin sold the company in 2002. His reputation rests on a clear instinct for literary talent and a willingness to take risks on writers working outside the mainstream. He died in 2025, but his influence still shows in the careers he helped shape and in the lasting reputation of Black Sparrow Press.