Atria Books will relaunch Washington Square Press as a frontlist hardcover imprint, focused on literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, in spring 2025. The reimagined imprint, which for many years has been the home of many of Atria's trade paperback reprints, will be helmed by Atria v-p and editorial director Lindsay Sagnette. The current Atria editorial staff will acquire titles for Washington Square Press, which aims to publish four to six books per season.
The imprint's inaugural spring 2025 list includes Warona Jay's debut novel, The Grand Scheme of Things (Februrary); Alba de Céspedes's 1958 novel There's No Turning Back, translated by Ann Goldstein (February); Tiana Clark's sophomore poetry collection, Scorched Earth (March); Heather McGowan's new novel, Friends of the Museum (April); and a reissue of bell hooks's The Will to Change, with a new introduction by Ross Gay (January). Other forthcoming titles include works by Pria Anand, Tareq Baconi, Alba de Céspedes, Amber Husain,Saeed Jones, Katie Prout, and Elissa Washuta.
Founded in 1959, Washington Square Press has published such authors as Pearl S. Buck, Toni Cade-Bambara, Carlos Castaneda, Maryse Conde, Pauline Hopkins, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Alice Walker. The imprint's new iteration plans to publish novels, short story collections, literary memoir, essay collections, and poetry collections, with a focus on "exceptional writing; bold, innovative ideas; and under-published voices," per a release.
“We are excited to breathe new life into the storied Washington Square Press imprint, which will now shift its focus from backlist to become an active frontlist publisher,” said Sagnette. “The reinvigorated Washington Square Press will champion exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that are essential to the conversations of today. Having a dedicated home for these talented authors is vital as we grow in our mission as a publisher: to publish the best books for every reader.”
