Fiona McCrae, Publisher of Minneapolis based Graywolf Press, to be a valued new force as the National Book Foundation works to expand reach and develop resources. New York, NY (July 13, 2016): The National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards, is pleased to announce the appointment of Fiona McCrae, the Publisher of Graywolf Press, to its Board of Directors. McCrae has been the publisher of the independent and nonprofit literary press since 1994. Under her leadership, the Minneapolis based press has formed national and global partnerships; expanded its lists of poetry, literary nonfiction and criticism, fiction, and works in translation; won the AWP Best Small Press of the Year Award in 2015; and successfully spearheaded a $2 million fundraising campaign. “Fiona is widely respected in both the publishing and nonprofit worlds, and we are honored to have someone with Fiona’s deep expertise as both a publisher and a nonprofit leader join our Board,” said David Steinberger, Board Chairman of the National Book Foundation. “Fiona’s impressive skills in increasing resources and creating opportunities are tremendous assets to the expansion of the Foundation.”
“Fiona is a champion in discovering new voices and in getting those writers, who have won major national and international literary awards, to readers everywhere,” said Lisa Lucas, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “It’s a privilege to have Fiona on the Board. She is deeply connected to our mission of reaching and engaging readers across the country, and we’re thrilled to have both her talent and Minneapolis represented here.” With Fiona McCrae as the third member to join the Board in 2016, the National Book Foundation’s Board now stands at 22 governing members, who come to the Foundation from corporate publishing, independent presses, the broader media and entertainment industry, the nonprofit sector, retail, libraries, literary agencies, and various other enterprises. The full list of Board of Directors is available here and McCrae’s bio can be found below. For additional details, please email Lisa Lucas at llucas@nationalbook.org.
*** About Fiona McCrae: Fiona McCraehas been publisher of Minneapolis based Graywolf Press since 1994, following eleven years with the British publishers Faber and Faber, of which the last three were spent in Faber’s office in Boston. While in the Boston area, McCrae taught publishing courses at Harvard University and Emerson College. During her tenure at Graywolf, the Press has expanded its lists of poetry, literary nonfiction and criticism, fiction, and works in translation. Recent authors who have enjoyed notable successes include Elizabeth Alexander, Jeffery Renard Allen, Eula Biss, Percival Everett, Leslie Jamison, Maggie Nelson, Per Petterson, Claudia Rankine, Vijay Seshadri, and Tracy K. Smith. In 2014, Graywolf celebrated its fortieth anniversary and concluded a $2 million fundraising campaign, and McCrae was presented with a leadership award from CLMP. Graywolf was the winner of the AWP Best Small Press of the Year Award in 2015, and McCrae was honored by Guernica magazine the same year. McCrae has served on the boards of Books for Africa and CLMP, and is currently on the Board of Fence magazine. About the National Book Foundation: The National Book Foundation’s mission is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America. In addition to the National Book Awards, for which it is best known, the Foundation’s programs include 5 Under 35, a celebration of emerging fiction writers selected by former National Book Award Finalists and Winners; the National Book Awards Teen Press Conference, an opportunity for students to interview the current National Book Award Finalists in Young People’s Literature; NBA on Campus, a partnership that brings current National Book Award authors to colleges and universities; the Innovations in Reading Prize, awarded to individuals and institutions that have developed innovative means of creating and sustaining a lifelong love of reading; and BookUp, a writerled, afterschool reading club for middle school students.
