Mission & History

Mission

Host Publications is an award-winning, women-led independent publisher located in Austin, Texas. Devoted to our mission to elevate historically marginalized writers, Host Publications publishes radical poetry and fiction by emerging LGBTQ+, BIPOC, intersectional feminist, and immigrant voices.

With every book we publish, stage we set, and event we host, we work to empower our community of writers whose work inspires social transformation and creates a new sense of what is possible in writing.

History

Founded in 1988 by Joe W. Bratcher, Host Publications originally published literature in translation from around the world, including works by Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda, Cervantes Prize winners Ida Vitale and Nicanor Parra, and Neustadt Prize winner Ananda Devi.

In 2026, Host Publications celebrates its 38th year as a publishing house, and second year as a nonprofit literary organization. Since 2017, Host has been led by a seasoned team of editors—publisher Annar Veröld-Miranda and editor-in-chief Claire Bowman—who are devoted to publishing historically marginalized writers, providing mentorship to emerging editors of color, organizing intersectional literary spaces for in-person and virtual artistic expression, and leading educational workshops. 

With a current focus on poetry, Host publishes radical writing by emerging LGBTQ+, BIPOC, intersectional feminist, and immigrant voices. When selecting manuscripts, we especially love to champion work that is experimental, writing that queers language and meaning-making, and engages with a poetics of liberation. We have carefully developed a publishing ethos guided by an author-centric approach to book production. Leading with empathy, we prioritize the author’s vision and ensure that they feel respected, valued, and well-compensated. Our authors have creative agency throughout the entire process, from typography, to cover design to book launch events.