Malcolm Margolin

About the Author

Malcolm Margolin is a pioneering author, publisher, and advocate for Native American cultures, best known for his immersive explorations of indigenous life in California. Born in Boston in 1940, he moved to the Bay Area in the 1960s, where his fascination with the Ohlone people inspired his seminal work, The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco–Monterey Bay Area, which vividly reconstructs their pre-colonial world through meticulous research and evocative prose. As the founder of Heyday Books in 1974, Margolin has championed regional literature, environmental writing, and cultural preservation for over five decades, authoring numerous books that bridge history, ecology, and storytelling. His lifelong commitment to amplifying marginalized voices has earned him accolades, including induction into the California Hall of Fame, cementing his legacy as a guardian of the state's diverse heritage.