Portland Oregon Literary Directory
Independent presses and publishers based in or closely tied to the Portland literary community.
Active
- Airlie Press: “where poetry, place, and passion converge. Airlie Press is a nonprofit publisher run by writers, dedicated to cultivating and sustaining fine contemporary poetry and to promoting poets from the Pacific Northwest—and beyond.”
- Atelier26: “Atelier26 is an independent publisher that exists to demonstrate the powers and possibilities of literature through beautifully designed and expressive books that get people listening, talking, and exchanging ideas.”
- Believe In Wonder: “…a youth focused publishing entity based in Portland, OR. We publish internally developed works like The Wonderous Science, You Can Rely On Platypi, and Crow in the Hollow, but also actively search out new and amazing works to bring to the public eye.”
- Buckmxn Publishing: “Named after the nefarious Inner Southeast neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, Buckman Publishing prints the arts & literary anthology Buckman Journal, alongside books of all genres. Sending scouts deep into the bustling local literature and arts scene, Buckman finds the best, and delivers it with grit & shrewd design.”
- Bug Publishing: “…small, independent publishing company based in Portland, Oregon. Started in 2026 by a few local artists after years of making zines and other physical media. We decided to band together and create this project to showcase our works and to help other local artists bring their ideas to life.”
- CALYX Press: “…known for discovering important writers, such as Julia Alvarez, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Paula Gunn Allen, Olga Broumas, Natalie Goldberg, Barbara Kingsolver, and Sharon Olds, among the more than 4,000 writers published during our first 40 years. CALYX was the first to publish the artwork of Frida Kahlo in color in the U.S…”
- Cirque Press Books: “…founded in 2009 by Anchorage poet Mike Burwell. Cirque, published in Anchorage, Alaska, is a regional journal created to share the best writing in the region with the rest of the world. This regional literary journal invites emerging and established writers living in the North Pacific Rim—Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Hawaii, Yukon Territory, Alberta, British Columbia, and Chukotka.”
- Conium Press: “…publishes innovative writing. We lean toward unconventional plots, bizarre settings, and experimental language. Get weird with it. We think books should take risks, and we gravitate toward titles that might get overlooked elsewhere. We believe books come in all shapes and sizes, and we love compressed narratives (call it a chapbook if you want, but we just call it a book). The press is especially interested in work from women, LGBTQIA2S+ authors, writers of color, and writers with disabilities.”
- Eberhardt Press: “…established in 2005, publishes a select number of original titles and a few historical texts every year. Everything…is designed and printed at our shop in Portland, Oregon, harkening back to the days when publishers, composers and printers co-existed as part of the same operation… also provides design and printing services to a range of clients that includes zine publishers, co-ops, musicians, artists, non-profit organizations, activist groups, small businesses, and lots of other people in Portland and around North America.”
- First Matter Press: “…a non-profit press in Portland, Oregon founded in 2018 to dissolve publication barriers for first-time poets and genre-breaking writers. We amplify local voices while empowering authorial ownership.”
- Fonograf Editions: “Established in 2016…a 501(c)(3) nonprofit press and literary record label based in Portland, OR. Places like The Paris Review Daily and Poets & Writers have previously written about our creation and development and our books and records have been featured, reviewed, and called best of the year at outlets such as The New York Times, Artforum, The New York Times Book Review, Frieze, Literary Hub, Harper’s, and The London Review of Books, among others.”
- Forest Avenue Press: “Literary Fiction On a Joyride (and the Occasional Memoir)”
- Future Tense Books: “Fine Literary Magic and Madness Since 1992”
- IKE: A Publishing Project: “We publish an eclectic mix of short stories, essays, and poetry in beautifully made chapbook editions… We believe a book is a piece of art… If a story reads well, regardless of length, it should be housed in an attractive cover with great looking paper, and make the reader contemplate the physicality of it all.”
- Inflectionist Review: “a small press publishing stark and distinctive contemporary poetry that fosters dialog between the reader and writer, between words and their meanings, between ambiguity and concept.”
- Luminare Press: “We are professional publishers and book lovers. We’re passionate about books…And we love words: reading them, writing them, editing them. We love wrangling a sentence into shape, finding an elegant transition, tweaking a title to perfection, and experiencing the pleasure of opening a new book to chapter one. We like working with authors who feel the same.”
- Microcosm Publishing: “…offers readers tools for self-empowerment. Since 1996, the curated books, zines, decks, and more in our publishing, distribution, and wholesale programs emphasize skill-building, critical thinking, community, and creativity.”
- Ooligan Press: “…a student-run trade press rooted in the Pacific Northwest dedicated to cultivating the next generation of publishing professionals. We prioritize literary equity and inclusion. Ooligan strives to publish culturally relevant titles from our local, marginalized voices in order to make literature accessible and redefine who has a place within its pages.”
- Overcup Books: “…an independent book publishing company. We’re committed to publishing books that will thrive in the 21st Century. Our press specializes in non-fiction titles with a specific focus on literary nonfiction, art, travel, design, and epicurean titles.”
- Perfect Day Publishing: “A small press in Portland, Oregon since 2011.”
- Pile Press: “…an alternative publishing collective with a focus on local and limited edition print publications. We publish a bi-annual literary + arts journal featuring the works of women + non-binary creatives, as well as CHUNK, an Oregon centric lit + arts broadside paper.”
- Pomegranate: “We believe in the power of art and information to positively impact the world. Being moved by art and being inspired to learn are timeless, universal experiences. This is the backbone of what we believe, and we’ve remained steadfast in our commitment to honoring art and making it more accessible for over 50 years.”
- Scout Books: “…founded in 2009 with the belief that little books can make a big impact. As designers and book lovers, we believed in ink, paper and the magic of print production. We wanted to make it easy and sustainable for people to design and produce their own books and notebooks…”
- Secret Room: “A place for contemporary art and illustration, small press publishing, risography, creative tools, and unexpected analog media”
- Sidebrow: “…an independent, nonprofit literary press dedicated to publishing innovative fiction, poetry, prose, and collaborative, experimental, and hybrid forms. …Sidebrow seeks work that finds form and urgency through the process of its writing. Our aesthetic is an ongoing evolution evidenced by the books we produce.”
- The Poetry Box: “By curating work that stirs the senses, we bring beautifully designed books into the world that will not only rejuvenate the spirit but also inspire engagement with our fellow humans across the globe through the act of storytelling.”
- Timber Press: “…publishes books by experts in the fields of gardening, horticulture, and natural history.”
- Tin House Books: “Critically acclaimed titles that challenge, illuminate, and linger. Discover award-winning fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from voices you’ll say you found first.”
- Two Plum Press: “…produces slim volumes of literary works both contemporary and classic. Titles include works of poetry, essays, fiction, philosophy, visual art, travel and food writing.”
- Underland Press: “…an independent press, specializing in books that swim on the fringes of genre, both literary and weird. Founded in the Pacific Northwest in 2006, it has consistently published novels, novellas, collections, and anthologies that celebrate horror, dark fantasy, fantasy, mystery, and science fiction.”
- University of Hell Press: “…promotes artists who are creating irreverent and thought-provoking works in quiet corners of their worlds. Specializing in intimate literary arts that communicate the human experience with raw views into the everyday condition, University of Hell aligns with like-minded individuals who are making their mark through unique vision and simple, yet heightened, language.”
- Unsolicited Press: “Founded in 2012… focuses on the works of the unsung and underrepresented. As a womxn-owned small publisher that doesn’t worry about profits as much as championing exceptional literature, we have the privilege of partnering with authors skirting the fringes of the lit world.”
- Verse Chorus Press: “Verse Chorus Press is an independent publishing house founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1998… It grew out of the music and arts magazine Puncture, which they edited from 1982 to 2000, and primarily publishes books on music and popular culture, along with literary fiction, often with musical themes, and crime fiction (under the Dark Passage imprint).”
- Volumes Volumes: “Volumes Volumes publishes poetry, artworks, lists, and essays. We also provide graphic design and editorial services. Please contact us for a custom quote.”
- Westwood Press: “…a traditional, independent publishing house… We seek works of non-fiction or fiction that draw from the humanities and social sciences, and encourage submissions in both Spanish and English. We also specialize in professional translations, fact checking, and editing and consultation for academic publications.”