In 1974, two now-iconic literary institutions sprang to life just months apart—acclaimed indie publisher Graywolf Press, which was founded in Port Townsend, Wash., by Scott Walker to publish hand-stitched poetry chapbooks, and the Loft Literary Center, which debuted in a room above Marly Rusoff’s bookstore in Minneapolis as a place for writers to hone their craft. And while the past half-century has seen the two nonprofits succeed to a degree their founders never dreamed possible, both are continuing to dream big.
From its modest roots, Graywolf has grown into one of the nation’s most acclaimed and daring literary publishers. Located in the Twin Cities since 1985, it now employs some 17 people and publishes 30–35 books per year, with an annual budget of $5 million. Its 700-plus-title catalog features dozens of prestigious award winners—including recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Man Booker Prize. And in a sign that Graywolf is hardly content to rest on its laurels, the publisher kicked off its 50th anniversary year by rolling out a new strategic plan that seeks to take the press in innovative new directions.
“Graywolf’s success has always been predicated on editorial risk,” said publisher Carmen Giménez, who took the helm from longtime publisher Fiona McCrae in August 2022. “So the strategic plan centers on preserving our ability to support and sustain that vision.”
Among the press’s goals is to publish more international literature, “increasing our focus on translation from languages and regions that haven’t been well represented in English-language publishing in the U.S.,” said associate publisher Katie Dublinski, who has worked at the press for 27 years. But, she stressed, the press’s recipe for success hasn’t changed.
“Graywolf continues to be author-centric,” Dublinski said. “We’re inclined to follow our authors wherever they might take us. And we see our work as publishers as being in service to their vision, as well as in service to adventurous readers. It’s a team effort here, rather than a single vision driving the list.”
Giménez also points to the one-year anniversary of Graywolf Lab, a new online platform that launched last November and seeks to take the press’s work beyond the confines of the printed book into digital, visual, and audio platforms. Each “lab” begins with a group of artists in discussion of a particular theme, which is then, over a period of weeks, expanded upon by additional artists, writers, and thinkers in a variety of formats—essays, poems, short fiction, interactive works, even a podcast. One of the guiding principles of Graywolf Lab, Giménez said, is the idea of being “in conversation.” It’s also “an experiment to make our editorial interests and strategies social and public,” she said, and a pathway “to reach new readers.”
In addition to its publishing program, Graywolf has also established a reputation for hosting top-tier literary salons over the past 50 years—and in April, the press launched an ambitious 50th anniversary series of literary salons hosted around the country. The slate concluded on October 24 at the University of Arizona Poetry Center in Tucson, when Peruvian poet Tilsa Otta and her translator, Farid Matuk, presented Otta’s new collection, The Hormone of Darkness, which Graywolf published in October—a book that exemplifies Graywolf’s new direction.
It’s a direction that is already proving successful. On November 20, Graywolf celebrated a win at the 2024 National Book Awards, where Yáng Shu¯ang-zˇ’s Taiwan Travelogue, translated from the Mandarin Chinese by Lin King, took home the NBA for best translated work. And that wasn’t all: Graywolf author Diane Seuss was a finalist in the poetry category, and longtime Graywolf author Percival Everett won fiction honors for his book James (published by Doubleday)—and thanked his longtime Graywolf editor Fiona McCrae from the podium.
Guiding lights
The Loft, meanwhile, now employs 18 people, and in 2024 hosted more than 250 author events and classes, engaging with more than 5,000 writers at all stages of their development. And like Graywolf, the Loft also celebrated its first half-century by launching several ambitious new initiatives designed to pull in new and more diverse authors and readers.
“The Loft has remained steadfastly committed to the societal and personal importance of creative expression, and community building,” said director of community engagement Chris Jones, who this year marked his 15-year anniversary at the Loft. “What has changed over the years is how we’ve built the programs, partnerships, and platforms to broaden that commitment to as wide an audience as possible.”
One of the centerpieces of the Loft’s new offerings is its Lit! series, events which feature a public keynote, plus seminars for local writers to engage with each other, as well as visiting authors, editors, and agents. Lit! made its debut in June with a 50th anniversary celebration that featured a public presentation by Roxane Gay. At its October event, Carmen Maria Machado, a Graywolf author, talked about banned books. And just days before the November election, Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama spoke about democracy and the role of language in shaping public discourse.
In another major initiative, the Loft helped to establish a poet laureate program in partnership with the City of Minneapolis, designed to “support the presence of writers in civic forums.” It’s a particularly relevant program for a city still wrestling with the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Heid Erdrich, editor of New Poets of Native Nations (a 2018 Graywolf release), was named Minneapolis’s first-ever poet laureate for 2024–2026.
“We need artists to guide us into civil discourse,” said Loft executive director Arleta Little, who ascended to her post in March 2022. “Writers help us converse about complex topics, especially as the environment becomes more disturbed and our political landscape more contentious.”
Longtime Minneapolis Star-Tribune books editor Laurie Hertzel agrees, noting that the success of Graywolf and the Loft has radiated beyond Minnesota. “I don’t think you would see the number of small presses, MFA programs, and reading series—and even, perhaps, independent bookstores—if the Loft and Graywolf Press weren’t here,” Hertzel told PW. “It’s not solely because of them, but I think it all started with them. They really did establish the Twin Cities as a literary center of the Midwest.”
