Washington Writers' Publishing House is a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

, member-run, non-profit small press publishing

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

. The press was founded by

Grace Cavalieri Grace Cavalieri is an American poet, playwright, and radio host of the Library of Congress program '' The Poet and the Poem''. In 2019, she was appointed the tenth Poet Laureate of Maryland. Education * BS - Education: English and History, The ...

and John McNally in 1973 to publish authors who live in the

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

region. According to their guidelines, they publish only manuscripts submitted to their contests for which a significant fee is charged. In addition, the press has released two anthologies, ''The Poet Upstairs'', edited by Octave Stevenson (1979), and ''Hungry As We Are'', edited by

Ann Darr Ann Darr (March 13, 1920 – December 2, 2007) was an American poet and educator who lived in Washington, D.C. Biography Born Lois Ann Russell in Bagley, Iowa she studied at the University of Iowa where she graduated in 1941 and also comple ...

(1995). The press has received financial support through grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the

Lannan Foundation The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

, the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'' magazine, and the

Poetry Society of America The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned poets as Witter Bynner, Ro ...

Critical reviews

The poet Henry Taylor has stated that the Washington Writers' Publishing House had "built an audience of national significance. It is among the most successful recent literary experiments in the country."

References

External links

Washington Writers Publishing House Website
Book publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies established in 1973 Poetry publishers Non-profit publishers Small press publishing companies {{US-publish-company-stub