It was established in 1990, and publishes both original Turkish books and translations of world literature, and both fiction and non-fiction.
[1] Sel and its publisher Irfan Sancı faced obscenity charges in 2011 for publishing William S. Burroughs' The Soft Machine.
It had previously faced a number of other obscenity charges, including for publishing Guillaume Apollinaire's Adventures of the Young Don Juan, but been acquitted.
[2][3] This acquittal was overturned by the Court of Cassation in August 2013.
[4] During the 2013 protests in Turkey, Sel helped launched the Gezi Park Library.