New Directions Publishing
An independent American literary publisher noted for modernist, experimental, translated, and classic works.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
New Directions Publishing is an independent American literary publishing company based in New York City. James Laughlin founded the company in 1936 after advice from Ezra Pound, who encouraged the young Harvard student to pursue useful work rather than follow a conventional business path. Laughlin made the advice concrete by creating a publishing house devoted to ambitious, modern writing. The company was incorporated in 1964 and, after Laughlin's death in 1997, ownership passed to a trust created under his will. The publisher initially established its identity through the anthology series New Directions in Poetry and Prose. The volumes introduced or brought together writers associated with literary modernism and experimental writing, including Dylan Thomas, Marianne Moore, Wallace Stevens, Thomas Merton, Denise Levertov, James Agee, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The early list also helped establish New Directions as an important American home for writers whose work did not fit comfortably within commercial publishing categories. Laughlin subsequently expanded the company's scope beyond poetry and short prose to include fiction, drama, essays, criticism, and literature in translation. New Directions became an early American publisher of writers such as Vladimir Nabokov, Jorge Luis Borges, and Henry Miller. It also published important work by Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and issued Tennessee Williams's poetry at a time when he was primarily known as a dramatist. Its translated-literature program connected American readers with major modern and contemporary writers from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and other regions. The list has included authors such as Hermann Hesse, Jean-Paul Sartre, Octavio Paz, Yasunari Kawabata, Pablo Neruda, László Krasznahorkai, and many other internationally recognized figures. The company has repeatedly experimented with publishing formats. Its Poet of the Month program offered subscribers slim volumes devoted to individual poets, while the Poet of the Year program produced a larger annual volume. Directions, launched in 1941, was a quarterly soft-bound series that devoted each issue to a single author or prose work; Pharos was another short-lived periodical. New Directions also created the New Classics and Modern Readers series to return recently out-of-print works to circulation, including books by James Joyce and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Design has been central to the brand. After the Second World War, New Directions developed a close relationship with designer Alvin Lustig, whose abstract, modernist jackets gave the publisher a recognizable visual identity. Lustig's influence continued through later designers, including his former student Ray Johnson. The company's centaur colophon, based on a sculpture by Heinz Henghes, became a recurring mark on the spines of its books. New Directions's present program is organized around three related priorities: introducing contemporary international writers to American readers, publishing new and experimental American poetry and prose, and reissuing established works in carefully designed editions. The Pearl series extends the house's tradition of presenting substantial literary works in compact, minimalist formats, with design associated with Rodrigo Corral. The publisher also produces selected academic reading guides for works on its list. Its backlist includes enduring sellers such as Jorge Luis Borges's Labyrinths, Lawrence Ferlinghetti's A Coney Island of the Mind, Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, Jean-Paul Sartre's Nausea, Gary Snyder's Turtle Island, Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, and Ezra Pound's The Cantos.
History
New Directions Publishing emerged in 1936 from the literary ambitions of James Laughlin, a Harvard student who had received memorable advice from Ezra Pound to do something useful after completing his studies. Laughlin interpreted that instruction as a mandate to create a publisher for challenging contemporary writing. The company's first major undertaking was New Directions in Poetry and Prose, an anthology series that continued through the nineteenth volume in 1966. Its contributors included a broad range of significant poets and prose writers, among them Dylan Thomas, Marianne Moore, Wallace Stevens, Thomas Merton, Denise Levertov, James Agee, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The anthology program gave New Directions an immediate literary identity, but the company soon developed beyond collections of new writing. Laughlin built a list spanning poetry, fiction, drama, essays, and translated literature. The house published early or important work by American writers including Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams, and it presented Tennessee Williams as a poet before his reputation was dominated by theater. It was also among the first American publishers to issue books by Vladimir Nabokov, Jorge Luis Borges, and Henry Miller. By combining American experimentation with literature from abroad, New Directions helped make international modernism and less conventional forms more available to American readers. Laughlin used series and subscription formats as tools for developing readership. The Poet of the Month series offered short, inexpensive volumes devoted to individual poets, and a larger Poet of the Year volume appeared annually. Directions began in 1941 as a quarterly soft-bound publication whose individual issues focused on one prose author or work. Although its subscription model did not persist, later issues were sold as individual books. Pharos, another periodical experiment, ended after its fourth issue in the winter of 1947. The New Classics and Modern Readers series addressed a different problem: bringing recently unavailable books back into print. Its reissues included James Joyce's Exiles and Stephen Hero and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. New Directions's publishing identity was reinforced by its physical design. In the postwar period, artist and designer Alvin Lustig created abstract, modernist jackets that became a visual hallmark of the house. Ray Johnson, who had studied under Lustig at Black Mountain College, later designed covers including the 1957 edition of Arthur Rimbaud's Illuminations. The centaur colophon, adapted from a sculpture by Heinz Henghes, became a distinctive mark normally placed on the spines of New Directions books. The company was incorporated in 1964. Laughlin remained the central figure in the firm's development until his death in 1997. His will placed the company under a trust, preserving New Directions as an independent literary publisher rather than transferring it into a larger corporate publishing group. The house received a special citation for distinguished publishing in experimental literature at the 1977 Carey-Thomas Awards. New Directions's authors have received major literary distinctions, including Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes, National Book Awards, MacArthur Fellowships, the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Prix Goncourt, and the Man Booker International Prize. These honors reflect the breadth of its list rather than a single genre: the catalog has included poetry, fiction, drama, translated writing, and hybrid or formally experimental books. In its current program, New Directions emphasizes three continuing activities: finding contemporary writers from outside the United States and introducing them to American readers; publishing innovative American poetry and prose; and restoring established titles through new editions. The Pearl series continues the tradition of compact, carefully designed literary volumes, using minimalist formats associated with designer Rodrigo Corral. The company also publishes selected reading guides for classroom and academic use. Its established catalog remains an important part of the brand, with widely recognized titles including Borges's Labyrinths, Ferlinghetti's A Coney Island of the Mind, Hesse's Siddhartha, Sartre's Nausea, Snyder's Turtle Island, Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, and Pound's The Cantos.
- 1997
James Laughlin dies
[1]Following Laughlin's death, ownership of the publisher passes to a trust established in his will.
- 1977
Carey-Thomas special citation
[1]New Directions receives a special citation for distinguished publishing in experimental literature.
- 1964
The company is incorporated
[1]New Directions Publishing is formally incorporated as New Directions Publishing Corp.
- 1957
Ray Johnson designs a notable New Directions cover
[1]Ray Johnson designs the cover for the New Directions edition of Rimbaud's Illuminations, extending the house's modernist design tradition.
- 1947
Pharos ends publication
[1]The short-lived periodical Pharos concludes with its fourth issue in the winter of 1947.
- 1941
Directions series begins
[1]The publisher launches Directions, a quarterly soft-bound series devoted to individual authors or prose works.
- 1936
New Directions is founded
[1]James Laughlin establishes New Directions after encouragement from Ezra Pound, creating an independent house focused on ambitious contemporary writing.
Products and positioning
An independent, design-conscious literary house specializing in modernist and experimental writing, international literature in translation, innovative American poetry and prose, and durable reissues of influential books.
Literary anthology · 1936
New Directions in Poetry and Prose
The founding anthology series that established New Directions as a publisher of modern and experimental writing. Its volumes brought together poetry and prose by influential authors from the United States and abroad, including Dylan Thomas, Marianne Moore, Wallace Stevens, Thomas Merton, Denise Levertov, James Agee, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The series ran through its nineteenth volume, published in 1966.
Compact literary editions
New Directions Pearl series
A series of slim, minimalist volumes presenting short works by New Directions authors. The series extends the company's long-standing interest in accessible formats and distinctive design. Titles associated with the series include F. Scott Fitzgerald's On Booze and Joseph Roth's The Leviathan, with design linked to Rodrigo Corral.
Classic reissue series
New Classics and Modern Readers
Series created to return relatively recent but out-of-print literature to readers. The program has included reissues of works such as James Joyce's Exiles and Stephen Hero and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, reflecting New Directions' role as a steward of modern literary classics.
Educational publishing
Academic reading guides
Selected reading guides accompanying books on the New Directions list. Examples include guides for Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and Tennessee Williams's The Night of the Iguana, supporting classroom and academic engagement with the publisher's literary catalog.
Brand decisions
1997
Preserve independence through a testamentary trustStrategyBackground
James Laughlin's death raised the question of how the independent publisher would continue after its founder's leadership.
Action taken
Ownership was transferred to a trust established under Laughlin's will.
Aftermath
New Directions continued as an independent literary publisher rather than becoming part of a larger publishing conglomerate.
1941
Experiment with a subscription-based prose seriesOtherBackground
New Directions sought formats that could present substantial individual works outside the standard commercial book model.
Action taken
It launched Directions as a quarterly soft-bound series, with each issue devoted to one author or prose work.
Aftermath
The subscription model did not take hold; subsequent issues were issued and sold more like conventional individual books.
1936
Build an independent house for experimental literatureStrategyBackground
James Laughlin founded New Directions in response to Ezra Pound's encouragement and concentrated the new company on demanding contemporary poetry and prose.
Action taken
The publisher began with anthologies and developed a list centered on modernist, experimental, and later translated literature.
Aftermath
This editorial strategy became the foundation of New Directions' identity and long-term author list.
- Maintain a three-part contemporary programStrategy
Background
The publisher's current program builds on its historical interest in experimentation, international writing, and literary preservation.
Action taken
New Directions focuses on discovering contemporary international writers for American readers, publishing new experimental American work, and reissuing classic titles in new editions.
Aftermath
The strategy links the active frontlist with the established New Directions backlist and reinforces the house's independent literary positioning.
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