Former publisher Don Weise described it as "the world's oldest and largest publisher of LGBT literature" and "the home of award-winning books in the areas of memoir, history, humor, commercial fiction, mystery, and erotica, among many others".

[3] It was acquired by Liberation Publications in 1995[4] and sold to Regent Entertainment Media, Inc. in 2008,[5][6] and in November, as Alyson Books, named Don Weise its publisher.

[7] He has written of his commitment to Alyson's traditional areas of specialisation, but has stated that he is keen also to embrace "more serious nonfiction—particularly in the areas of current affairs, politics, self-help, and autobiography—as well as literary fiction and works by today's most respected LGBT authors.

"[1] In 2010, Publishers Weekly announced that Alyson Books would switch to digital (e-book) publishing only, with plans to convert backlist titles in this fashion.

As of 2019[update], the URL for the Alyson Books website produces a "DNS resolution error" message.