Papaya Press was founded by Sandro J. Ortega-Riek in Los Angeles in 2020 as an outlet for artist's books, handmade paper, prints, and collage.
The press specializes in books bound in salvaged carboard and is inspired by the cartonera book format that thrives in independent publishing communities in Latin America. The cartonera format, which utilizes salvaged cardboard (cartón in Spanish) as a binding material, emerged in Argentina in the early 2000s with the establishment of the publishing outfit Eloísa Cartonera. The term “cartonera” derives from the cartoneros, the cardboard sellers from whom cartonera publishers source their binding material. Cartonera books are sold cheaply, often at cost of materials, with the distribution of art, literature, and information taking precedence over profit motives. Over the last two decades, the cartonera format has spread throughout Latin America as a flexible, low-cost method for artists, writers, and activists to share their work even in times of crisis. More English-language information on the cartonera publishing movement can be found on the University of Wisconsin Libraries website here.
Papaya Press publications include Pain Is (2024), The Trans Swimmer: A Guide and Personal History (2024), Home (2024), and Cartonera Zine (2025). Ortega-Riek has exhibited at Los Angeles Zine Fest and his books can be found in collections at Baylor University, Chapman University, the Maryland Institute College of Art, Scripps College, and UC Santa Barbara.
The anthology Tell Me About the Dream: Poetry Inspired by the Work of Richard Siken is forthcoming in September 2025. More information about the project, including submission guidelines, is available here.
Copies of all in-stock publications can be viewed here. To place an order, please contact papayapress@duck.com or send an Instagram message to @papayapressla.