Wave Books
An American independent press specializing in innovative contemporary poetry and poetry in translation.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Wave Books is an American independent publishing press established in 2005 and dedicated primarily to poetry. Its catalog emphasizes innovative contemporary writing, experimental forms, and poetry in translation rather than broad commercial publishing. The press has published both emerging and established poets, including CAConrad, Don Mee Choi, Timothy Donnelly, Kate Durbin, Renee Gladman, Terrance Hayes, Tyehimba Jess, Douglas Kearney, Dorothea Lasky, Ben Lerner, Chelsey Minnis, Eileen Myles, Maggie Nelson, Hoa Nguyen, Mary Ruefle, and Rachel Zucker. The press is notable for combining a strongly literary editorial program with distinctive physical book design. Wave editions commonly use restrained covers and do not rely heavily on the promotional blurbs that are typical of mass-market publishing. Its translation projects generally avoid presenting the original and translated texts on facing pages, allowing the translated work to function as an independent literary object. Some books use unusual formats: Tyehimba Jess's Pulitzer Prize-winning Olio, for example, incorporates foldout and detachable pages as part of the reading experience. Wave's publishing program has received substantial recognition. Its authors and books have been finalists for or winners of major poetry prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the Griffin Poetry Prize, and the National Book Award for Poetry. Notable examples include Jess's Olio, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; Don Mee Choi's DMZ Colony, which won the National Book Award for Poetry; Douglas Kearney's Sho, which won the Griffin Poetry Prize; and books such as Blood Snow, A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure, and Trances of the Blast, which received major prize recognition. In addition to publishing books, Wave has developed public-facing literary programming. Its 2006 Poetry Bus Tour sent contemporary poets on a fifty-day journey through fifty North American cities aboard a forty-foot biodiesel bus. Between 2009 and 2013, the press presented a recurring three-day poetry festival every two years. The 2011 edition, titled Poetry in Translation, was organized with the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington and included readings, lectures, discussions, film screenings, and art exhibitions. Wave began producing audiobooks in 2021. Its initial audiobook model emphasized author-read recordings made in front of a live audience, extending the press's interest in performance, voice, and the relationship between poetry on the page and poetry as an event. The resulting identity is that of a specialist literary press whose activities encompass book publishing, translation, design, readings, festivals, touring, and spoken-word formats.
History
Wave Books was established in 2005 as an American independent press devoted to poetry. From its beginning, the press's editorial identity centered on contemporary work that challenged conventional expectations about poetic form, genre, subject matter, and the physical presentation of books. It also developed a significant interest in poetry in translation, publishing projects that bring international and historically important writing into English-language literary circulation. The press's authors have included a wide range of influential contemporary poets, among them CAConrad, Don Mee Choi, Timothy Donnelly, Kate Durbin, Renee Gladman, Terrance Hayes, Tyehimba Jess, Douglas Kearney, Dorothea Lasky, Ben Lerner, Chelsey Minnis, Eileen Myles, Maggie Nelson, Hoa Nguyen, Mary Ruefle, and Rachel Zucker. This catalog has helped position Wave as a specialist literary house with an emphasis on formally adventurous and critically ambitious work. Wave's activities have not been limited to printed books. In 2006, it sponsored the Poetry Bus Tour, a literary traveling event in which contemporary poets toured fifty North American cities over fifty days aboard a forty-foot biodiesel bus. The project connected the press's publishing work with live performance and direct engagement between poets and audiences. From 2009 through 2013, Wave presented a three-day poetry festival every two years. The 2011 festival, Poetry in Translation, took place from November 4 to November 6 with assistance from the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington. Its program combined readings with film screenings, art exhibitions, lectures, and discussions, reflecting the press's broad understanding of translation as a cultural and artistic practice rather than a narrowly textual activity. Wave's design approach became another defining feature. Its books generally use simple covers and omit the marketing endorsements frequently found on commercial poetry releases. Translation editions typically do not place the source text and English version on facing pages. Instead, the translated work is presented as a distinct reading experience. Wave also experimented with the material structure of books; Olio, for instance, used foldout and detachable pages to support the work's multiple voices and formal dimensions. The press gained increasing visibility through prize-recognized publications. Tyehimba Jess's Olio won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Don Mee Choi's DMZ Colony won the National Book Award for Poetry, while Douglas Kearney's Sho won the Griffin Poetry Prize. Other Wave titles, including Blood Snow, A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure, and Trances of the Blast, were recognized as finalists for major poetry awards. In 2021, Wave expanded into audiobooks. Its first productions were recorded with authors reading their own work before live audiences, a format consistent with the press's long-standing interest in performance and the audible dimensions of poetry. By combining specialist publishing, translation, innovative design, touring, festivals, and author-centered audio, Wave Books has developed a recognizable independent-press model focused on contemporary poetry as both a literary text and a public art form.
- 2022
Sho wins the Griffin Poetry Prize
[1]Douglas Kearney's Sho receives the Griffin Poetry Prize.
- 2021
Audiobook program begins
[1]Wave starts producing audiobooks, initially using author-read recordings made in live settings.
- 2020
DMZ Colony wins the National Book Award
[1]Don Mee Choi's DMZ Colony wins the National Book Award for Poetry.
- 2017
Olio wins the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
[1]Olio receives the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
- 2016
Publication of Olio
[1]Wave publishes Tyehimba Jess's formally experimental poetry collection Olio.
- 2011
Poetry in Translation festival
[1]Wave presents a three-day translation-focused poetry festival with the Henry Art Gallery, featuring readings, exhibitions, films, lectures, and discussions.
- 2006
Poetry Bus Tour
[1]Wave sponsors a fifty-day tour in which contemporary poets travel by biodiesel bus and perform in fifty North American cities.
- 2005
Wave Books is established
[1]Wave Books begins operating as an American independent press focused on contemporary poetry and poetry in translation.
Products and positioning
Independent poetry publisher focused on innovative contemporary writing, experimental bookmaking, and poetry in translation.
Poetry · 2005
Contemporary poetry collections
Wave's core list consists of contemporary poetry collections by established and emerging poets. These books often emphasize experimental syntax, hybrid forms, performance, visual structure, or unconventional approaches to voice and subject matter. Notable authors published by the press include CAConrad, Eileen Myles, Maggie Nelson, Mary Ruefle, Hoa Nguyen, and Douglas Kearney.
Translation publishing · 2005
Poetry in translation
Wave publishes poetry translated into English and has treated translation as a central part of its editorial identity. Its translation editions generally avoid facing-page layouts that place the original and English text side by side. The program includes work such as Yi Sang: Selected Works, translated and edited by Don Mee Choi and collaborators.
Poetry collection · 2016
Olio
Tyehimba Jess's Olio is an experimental collection published by Wave in 2016. Its design includes foldout and detachable pages, making the physical book part of the work's formal architecture. The title won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and became one of Wave's most prominent publications.
Poetry collection · 2020
DMZ Colony
Don Mee Choi's DMZ Colony, published in 2020, combines poetry, translation, documentary material, and visual elements in an examination of war, memory, and political history. The book won the National Book Award for Poetry.
Poetry collection · 2022
Sho
Douglas Kearney's Sho is a formally adventurous poetry book published by Wave in 2022. It later won the Griffin Poetry Prize, reinforcing Wave's profile as a publisher of innovative contemporary poetry.
Audiobooks · 2021
Author-read audiobooks
Beginning in 2021, Wave expanded its publishing formats with audiobooks recorded by the authors themselves. The recordings were made in live-audience settings, preserving an event-based and performance-oriented dimension of poetry.
Marketing campaigns
- 2011Poetry in Translation
United States
Wave's 2011 three-day poetry festival explored translated poetry through readings, film screenings, art exhibitions, lectures, and discussions. The event was held with assistance from the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington.
Outcome. The festival broadened the press's translation program into a multidisciplinary public event.
- 2006Poetry Bus Tour
United States · Canada
Wave sponsored a traveling literary program featuring contemporary poets who performed in fifty North American cities over fifty days. The tour used a forty-foot biodiesel bus and connected poetry publishing with environmental themes, live performance, and audience outreach.
Outcome. The tour became a notable example of Wave's event-led approach to promoting contemporary poetry.
Brand decisions
2021
Wave enters audiobook publishingProduct launchBackground
After years of emphasizing printed poetry books and live literary events, Wave extended its catalog into spoken-word audio.
Action taken
The press began producing audiobooks recorded as author readings before live audiences.
Aftermath
The move added a new format while maintaining the press's emphasis on author performance and the audible character of poetry.
Sources2 sources
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