Sarabande Books

What Sarabande Books does

Sarabande Books is a nonprofit independent literary publishing house founded in 1994 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The company specializes in publishing poetry, short fiction, essays, and literary nonfiction, maintaining a catalog of more than 300 works that includes authors who have gone on to win Nobel, Pulitzer, Guggenheim, and National Book Award recognition. Sarabande runs recurring annual prize cycles — the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, the Sarabande Prize in the Essay, and the Sarabande Chapbook Prize — plus an annual open reading period called The Sarabande Open. All manuscript submissions are managed through the Submittable platform, and the publisher adheres to the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) contest code of ethics. The publishing operation provides in-house editorial, design, publicity, and marketing services, with distribution handled nationally and internationally by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution (a department of Ingram Content Group) and Ingram Content Group directly.

The company generates revenue across three streams: per-unit book sales (individual titles priced $14.95-$21.95; themed bundles priced up to $75.80), transaction-based manuscript submission fees ($30 for The Sarabande Open reading period), and nonprofit funding including grants (e.g., 2026 Literary Arts Fund general operating grant, 2021 Fund for the Arts ArtsMatch campaign) and tax-deductible donations. Go-to-market is multi-channel: event-driven (annual prize submission windows in January-February, April, July, October), community-led (Zine Lunch! virtual workshops, Sarabande Insiders membership, editorial panel), and channel-partnered (Consortium/Ingram for trade distribution, direct bulk/event orders via marketing@, website e-commerce). Customer segments span unagented writers seeking publication, individual readers of literary fiction and poetry, educators and academic institutions requesting desk/exam copies and readers guides, and booksellers/libraries placing trade orders. The organization has 1-10 employees and is led by co-founder Sarah Gorham (President and Editor-in-Chief) alongside co-founder Jeff Skinner (Editorial Consultant).

Name

Sarabande Books

Legal name

Sarabande Books Inc.

Website

https://sarabandebooks.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sarabande Books is a nonprofit independent literary publisher founded in 1994 in Louisville, Kentucky, publishing poetry, short fiction, essays, and literary nonfiction across a 300+ title catalog, distributed nationally and internationally by Consortium/Ingram and supported by grants, donations, and submission fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Literary & Classics Publishing (MPAJAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Manuscript Development Services (Coaching, Developmental Editing) (MPAJAJAF)

Keywords

• Literary book publishing
• Poetry collections
• Short fiction publishing
• Literary nonprofit press
• Literary prize programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Sale of published literary works including poetry collections, short fiction, literary nonfiction, chapbooks, and literature in translation. Titles are sold at retail prices ($14.95–$21.95 for standard titles, $18.95 for The Longest Way to Eat a Melon, $17.95 for Ancient Algorithms, $19.95 for anthologies). Available through retail, wholesale, and direct bulk/event orders.
2. Prize Submission Fees: Manuscript submission fees for annual prizes and open reading periods, including $30 submission fee for The Sarabande Open and prize submission windows.
3. Grants and Donations: Nonprofit independent publisher supported by grants such as the 2026 Literary Arts Fund general operating grant, and tax-deductible donations from supporters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sarabande Books is an award-winning nonprofit independent literary publishing house that publishes poetry, short fiction, essays, and literary nonfiction. The press acquires manuscripts through annual literary prize programs (Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, Sarabande Prize in the Essay, Sarabande Chapbook Prize) and an annual open reading period (The Sarabande Open), offering cash awards plus publication. Sarabande provides in-house editorial, design, publicity, and marketing services and distributes titles nationally and internationally through Consortium Book Sales and Distribution (Ingram).

Product overview

Sarabande Books is an award-winning independent nonprofit literary publisher founded in 1994 in Louisville, Kentucky, publishing poetry, short fiction, and literary nonfiction. The company operates a multi-format publishing program including full-length collections across poetry (Poetry Publications), fiction (Fiction Publications), and nonfiction (Nonfiction Publications), along with specialized formats: Chapbooks, Anthologies, Translation works, the Commonwealth Collection focusing on Kentucky literature, and the Quarternote Series. Sarabande runs multiple annual prize programs including the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, and Sarabande Prize in the Essay (each offering $2000 and publication), the Sarabande Open (open submission period), and Spring/Fall Chapbook Prizes. Community engagement includes Zine Lunch! virtual workshops and the Sarabande Insiders membership program. The company also offers themed book bundles (Poetry, Prose, LGBTQ+ Prose, LGBTQ+ Poetry, Chapbook Prize bundles) and merchandise. Titles are distributed nationally and internationally by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution/Ingram. The catalog includes over three hundred works with authors who are Nobel laureates, Pulitzer winners, Guggenheim recipients, and National Book Award winners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry: Annual poetry prize with $2000 and publication awarded to a poetry manuscript.
• Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction
• Sarabande Prize in the Essay
• Sarabande Chapbook Prize
• The Sarabande Open

Products and services

• Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry
• Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction
• Sarabande Prize in the Essay
• The Sarabande Open
• Sarabande Chapbook Prize (Spring and Fall)
• Sarabande Insiders Literary Membership
• The Longest Way to Eat a Melon by Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross
• S_MMER CR_SH by Stine An
• Jewish American Dream by Danny Caine
• Ancient Algorithms by Katrine Øgaard Jensen
• Lake Effect by Hillary Behrman
• The Grief Artist by Traci Brimhall
• The Friend Seekers by Siamak Vossoughi
• Perfect Italian by Kiki Petrosino
• 2024 Sarabande Chapbook Prize Bundle
• 2023 Poetry Bundle
• 2024-2025 Poetry Bundle
• 2024-2025 Prose Bundle
• The Latest in LGBTQ+ Prose Bundle
• Branded Merchandise

Quantifiable outcome

• Catalog of more than three-hundred published works since 1994
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Consortium Book Sales and DistributioncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary trade distribution partner for Sarabande Books titles, handling retail and wholesale orders nationally and internationally. Consortium is a department of Ingram Content Group.
• Ingram Content GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational book distribution through Ingram Content Group, ensuring national and international reach for all Sarabande titles.
• Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSarabande Books complies with the CLMP contest code of ethics. The company adheres to CLMP's standards for ethical contests including conducting contests ethically, providing clear guidelines, and making selection processes transparent.
• SubmittablecoreTechnology or IntegrationSarabande Books uses the Submittable platform for all manuscript submission management including annual prizes, open reading periods, editorial panel inquiries, event requests, and exam copy requests.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Graywolf Press: Graywolf Press is a leading nonprofit literary publisher based in Minneapolis that publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and essays. It is one of the closest direct peers to Sarabande, sharing the nonprofit model, literary focus, similar prize/manuscript acquisition practices, and distribution through Consortium/Ingram.
• Copper Canyon Press: Copper Canyon Press is a nonprofit literary publisher specializing exclusively in poetry, headquartered in Washington state. It is a direct peer in mission (poetry-first literary publishing), nonprofit structure, and distribution model, with a comparable catalog depth and award-winning author roster.
• Coffee House Press: Coffee House Press is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit literary publisher of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. It overlaps directly with Sarabande on literary poetry and short fiction, nonprofit governance, small staff, and Ingram-based distribution.
• Milkweed Editions: Milkweed Editions is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit literary publisher of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. It is a direct peer in nonprofit literary publishing, with a similarly curated catalog, prize programs, and donor-supported operating model.
• BOA Editions: BOA Editions is a nonprofit literary publisher in Rochester, NY focused on poetry and short fiction. It shares Sarabande's poetry and fiction emphasis, prize programs (e.g., A. Poulin Jr. New Poets of Native Nations), and small nonprofit operating structure.
• Four Way Books: Four Way Books is an independent literary publisher of poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction based in New York. It directly parallels Sarabande's editorial scope, prize program model (e.g., Levis Prize), and curated small-press identity.
• Wave Books: Wave Books is a poetry-focused nonprofit publisher based in Seattle. It directly compares to Sarabande on poetry specialization, nonprofit governance, chapbook publishing, and curatorial role in contemporary American poetry.
• Akashic Books: Akashic Books is an independent literary publisher in Brooklyn publishing literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. It is a direct peer in independent literary publishing with a curated catalog, anthology programs, and similar small-team operating model.
• Alice James Books: Alice James Books is a nonprofit cooperative poetry publisher based in Maine. It directly compares to Sarabande on poetry specialization, cooperative/nonprofit structure, prize programs (e.g., Alice Fay di Castagnola Award), and small-team operations.

Emerging players

• Tin House Books: Tin House Books is an independent literary publisher known for literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, originally associated with the Tin House literary magazine. It overlaps meaningfully with Sarabande on literary fiction and poetry but has broader genre reach and a higher public profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sarabandebooks
• Facebookfacebook.com/SarabandeBooks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sarabande-books

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sarabande Books