We spoke with Carmen Giménez, executive director and publisher of Graywolf Press, in our latest member spotlight.
What is the history behind Graywolf Press? When was it founded and what is its mission?
Graywolf Press was founded in 1974, in Port Townsend, Washington, by Scott Walker, and is now headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Graywolf’s first publications were limited-edition chapbooks of poetry, which were printed on a letterpress and handsewn by Walker and his colleagues. Today, Graywolf is considered one of the nation’s leading nonprofit publishers of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and work in translation.
Fiona McCrae was appointed director and publisher in 1994. In 2022, Fiona retired and I was appointed as the new executive director and publisher.
Our mission is to publish risk-taking, visionary writers who transform culture through literature. When writers are free to do their most ambitious work, their books serve as portals to new possibilities and enable deeper understanding between people. Readers are changed by Graywolf’s books, which are fearlessly acquired, attentively edited, and energetically promoted.
Graywolf Press unveiled a new logo and brand identity at your 2026 Literary Salon in Minneapolis this September. Can you tell us more about this redesign and what it is meant to evoke?
We developed our new brand identity in partnership with Minneapolis-based branding studio Hi, Hello. This is only the third logo in our fifty-two-year history, and in many ways, it represents a union of our past, present, and future. The new design recalls the three wolves in the original logo, as well as the scrappy DIY nature of our beginnings and our continued attention to craft. Its texture has a human touch, reflecting our deep care and involvement in every step of a book’s life.
This new wolf, however, is bolder and fiercer, giving us an outside to match who we are on the inside in 2026. Graywolf seeks out “books with teeth”—perspectives deeply embedded in the world around us, but with a vision that looks upward and outward to map new possible futures. Our books are sharp, adventurous, off-kilter, and memorable. They take you by surprise, shake things up, then claim a spot on your bookshelf for years to come.
As we look ahead, we’re excited to have a logo that speaks to our forward-thinking mission to keep literature wild. Our indie nonprofit status gives us the freedom to publish books that break the mold, invent new forms, take risks, and transform their readers. That’s what it means to us to be fiercely independent.
What are some recent or upcoming Graywolf Press titles?
We recently published new books from some of Graywolf’s most beloved authors, including Triage by Claudia Rankine, We by Layli Long Soldier, and Earth 7 by Deb Olin Unferth. Looking ahead to 2027, we’re excited to publish The Forest, a new collection of poems by Tracy K. Smith, and to continue building our excellent list of works in translation with Bloat by Raquel Abend (translated by Lizzie Davis) and Atusparia by Gabriela Wiener (translated by Julia Sanches). Plus so much more!
Which distributor is Graywolf Press working with? How can bookstores and libraries find and order your titles?
Graywolf books are distributed to the trade by Macmillan (MPS). To place an order for Graywolf books, please contact your Macmillan sales rep. If you don’t yet have a Macmillan account and would like to open one, please connect with Graywolf’s sales team ([email protected]).
Are there any indie bookstores (or libraries) that you think do a particularly good job featuring titles from indie publishers? If so, what do they do?
Graywolf is deeply grateful for the thoughtful curation, personalized staff recommendations, and welcoming in-person events that booksellers create to help readers discover lesser-known titles from indie presses. There are far more wonderful bookstores championing indie publishers than we could ever name, but one we’ve been especially appreciative of recently is Leviathan Bookstore in St. Louis, with its terrific curation and always-entertaining newsletter. Closer to home, we also love Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul, which maintains a permanent face-out display of new and bestselling titles published exclusively by indie presses.
How can interested writers submit their work to Graywolf Press?
Agents may submit fiction or nonfiction manuscripts to the appropriate editor for consideration. Graywolf partners with the Academy of American Poets, Cave Canem, and the Poetry Foundation on poetry book prizes (more information about submitting to these prizes is available on our website). Though we’re currently unable to consider unagented prose manuscripts, Graywolf editors seek out and solicit promising work from authors they encounter in the pages of magazines, at writing conferences, and in other venues.
