Fiona McCrae, the powerhouse publisher who transformed Minneapolis' Graywolf Press from a modest Midwestern nonprofit to a nationally renowned publisher of award-winning essays, poetry, fiction and nonfiction, has announced that she will retire next year.
Fiona McCrae, who turned Minnesota's Graywolf Press into a national force, is stepping down
Graywolf books have won the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, among other laurels.
November 9, 2021 at 5:12PM
McCrae, who has been with Graywolf for 27 years, will step down in June.
"It's an emotional moment to think about stepping away from this beloved press that has allowed me to flourish over so many years," she said in a statement. "It's been a marvelous adventure and I am so grateful to all the incredible individuals I have had the pleasure of working with."
Books published by Graywolf under McCrae's tenure have won the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the Booker Prize, the Dublin International Literary Award, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, among others.
Graywolf also established its own literary prizes — the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize and the African Fiction Prize.
Only the second publisher in Graywolf's history, McCrae came to Minneapolis from the famed London press Faber & Faber. Graywolf was founded in 1974 by Scott Walker.
The Graywolf board of directors will launch a search for McCrae's replacement.
LOCAL FICTION: Featuring stories within stories, she’ll discuss the book at Talking Volumes on Tuesday.
