What Books Press was founded in 2009 as an imprint of the Glass Table Collective by a small group of writers in Los Angeles. We publish innovative literary work across genres and remain committed to bringing out books that we believe need to exist in the world.

Since our inception, we have published more than 75 books by emerging and established writers. In 2019, we added a second imprint, Giant Claw Press. Our books continue to garner positive attention and recognition and, most recently, have been honored with inclusion in Lit Hub’s 100 Notable Small Press Books for 2025 and with an Honorable Mention for the Juan Felipe Herrera Poetry Award at the 2025 International Latino Book Awards Festival.

We are a micro-press, publishing five or fewer books per year, roughly split between poetry and prose-based narrative. Our list is genre-bending and includes bilingual poetry, speculative and eco-fabulist fiction, hybrid narrative, and formally innovative work. We are particularly interested in writing that challenges formal boundaries and engages with the human condition and its historical moment.

All WBP and Giant Claw Press titles feature cover art by the artist Gronk Nicandro.

Submissions are accepted during our annual reading period, January 1 through April 30. A submission fee is required. What Books Press does not charge authors any fees for publication.

To stay informed about our publications and calls for submissions, readers may sign up for our email list here.