Waywiser Books is an independent literary press with a primary commitment to poetry. Waywiser Books embodies a plurality of poetics and craft. Operating according to democratic editorial principles, the press champions writing that is aware of formal inheritances while being fresh, innovative, and surprising. Waywiser aspires to be a supportive home for authors; to publish emerging talent while also promoting the work of accomplished writers and rescuing others from undeserved neglect; to reach a wide audience of readers and booksellers; to champion diversity and democratic practices on our board and in our organization; to publish striking, intelligent, and memorable books in elegant physical form; and to honor the legacy of the Waywiser Press.

Waywiser Books is the successor organization to the UK- based Waywiser Press. Philip Hoy founded the Waywiser Press in 2001, and it quickly earned praise as “one of the UK’s best publishers of poetry” (Christopher Ricks, New Statesman). Tom Sleigh called it a “press [to] admire for its integrity, intelligence, and heart.” Starting in 2005, Hoy partnered with senior American editor Joseph Harrison (1957-2024) to develop the Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize, which Richard Kenney hailed as the poetry world’s “new plum.” Since then, the Waywiser Press has run nineteen successful Hecht Prize contests resulting in the publication of exciting new voices, as well as publishing works by established writers. The press has grown with the support of a robust cohort of associate editors, authors, and friends.

At the end of 2025, Philip Hoy will retire as editor-in-chief of the Waywiser Press. Associate Editors Katherine Hollander, Dora Malech, Eric McHenry, and V. Penelope Pelizzon, who have volunteered with the Waywiser Press for many years, are in the process of establishing a nonprofit successor organization, Waywiser Books, in the United States. As a 501(c)(3) organization, Waywiser Books will be on secure footing to carry the legacy of the Waywiser Press onward to a new generation of poets and readers. Waywiser Books will continue to run the Hecht Prize, publish new collections of poetry and other work, and support the extraordinary catalog developed by the Waywiser Press over the past 22 years. A new prize in honor of Philip Hoy and Joseph Harrison, the Hoy-Harrison Prize, is being established to celebrate their tradition of collaborative literary excellence and editorial leadership.

Waywiser Books is a fiscally sponsored project of the Allied Arts Foundation.

If you'd prefer to donate by check, please make check payable to "Allied Arts Foundation" and indicate "Waywiser Books " in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to:

Allied Arts Foundation
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999 N Northlake Way, Suite 207
Seattle, WA 98103