Graywolf Press celebrates the completion of its $1 million Advance Fund Campaign to increase Graywolf’s capacity to serve authors and readers. A campaign of this ambition has never been achieved by a literary publisher.In 2004, as Graywolf celebrated its thirtieth anniversary, the Press embarked on a venture to raise $1 million. Literary fundraising of this magnitude is rare.  “Nonprofit publishing is so vital, yet it is not a common philanthropic cause,” says Fiona McCrae, publisher and director of Graywolf Press, “so we had to make our case by meeting with people individually. It was so gratifying to see how positively people responded once they heard our story.”

The money raised through the Advance Fund is being invested in Graywolf’s programs over a period of five years, from 2004 to 2008. During this time, Graywolf is increasing advances for emerging and established writers, developing new marketing initiatives, and expanding its national and international profile.

On May 2, 2006, Graywolf Press opened the campaign to the public after raising $738,000, and receiving a $100,000 challenge grant from the Lannan Foundation. Individual donors from all over the country contributed over 80 percent of the $1 million. The Carolyn Foundation and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation also made significant donations. The local and national arts community has overwhelmingly embraced this record-breaking fundraising effort. Gayle Dosher, reader and Advance Fund contributor from Bend, Oregon said, “I believe strongly in what independent publishers like yours are doing. I have loved so many of your delightful books.”

Graywolf Press, based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is a literary nonprofit publisher dedicated to the creation and promotion of thoughtful and imaginative contemporary literature essential to a vital and diverse culture. Their authors include Pulitzer Prize-nominee Elizabeth Alexander; two-time National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Albert Goldbarth; Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; and exceptional local authors Jim Moore, David Treuer, and Stephen Burt.  Founded in 1974 in Port Townsend, Washington, Graywolf originally published hand-set, limited editions of poetry. Over the years, the award-winning list has expanded to include novels, short fiction, memoir, and nonfiction as well as poetry.