Noemi Press


Noemi Press is an independent, nonprofit, 501 publisher. Noemi Press was founded in 2002 to publish and promote the work of emerging and established writers, with a special emphasis on writers traditionally underrepresented by larger publishers, including women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIAP writers.
Noemi publishes about five books a year, including the Noemi Press Awards in Poetry and the Etel Adnan Poetry Prize. They also collaborate with Letras Latinas to produce the Akrilica series.

History

Publisher and editor-in-chief Carmen Giménez and founding editor Evan Lavender-Smith began Noemi Press in 2002 by publishing a single chapbook. It has grown to include full-length poetry, nonfiction, and critical work. Noemi publications previously included drama and fiction. Noemi Press was previously based in Las Cruces, New Mexico and is currently based in Tucson, Arizona and Blacksburg, Virginia. In 2022, Giménez left Noemi to become Executive Editor and Publisher at Graywolf Press. Noemi is now co-published by Suzi F. Garcia and Anthony Cody, with Sarah Gzemski acting as Executive Director and Mariah Bosch as Managing Editor. Its editorial staff includes Diana Arterian, Sara Borjas, and Emily Kiernan.

Noemi Press Book Award

One prize of $2,000 and publication by Noemi Press are given annually for one book-length poetry collection. The editors judge, and often one or two finalists are published. Poets at any stage in their career may enter. The contest results are announced in the summer.
Past winners include: Lillian-Yvonne Bertram, Kate Colby, Casey Rocheteau, Natalie Eilbert, Muriel Leung, Yanara Friedland, Nate Liederbach, Ruth Ellen Kocher, and Caren Beilin.
YearPoetryFiction
2024Asa Drake-
2023Kinsey Cantrell-
2022Zefyr LisowskiAlvina Chamberland
2021Casey RocheteauChristine Hume
2020Nilufar KarimiJackson Bliss
2019Aeon GinsbergSarah Minor
2018Lillian-Yvonne BertramStephanie Sauer
2017Jessica Rae BergaminoKate Colby
2016Natalie EilbertSara Veglahn
2015Muriel LeungYanara Friedland
2014Aichlee BushnellNate Liederbach
2013Ruth Ellen KocherCaren Beilin

Etel Adnan Poetry Prize

In 2025, Noemi Press took over the Etel Adnan Poetry Prize, previously hosted by University of Arkansas Press since 2015 under the editorial tutelage of poets Hayan Charara and Fady Joudah. The prize is named in honor of the world renowned Lebanese-American writer and artist Etel Adnan and supports poets of Arab heritage who write in English and have not yet published a first or second collection. Prize winners receive $2,000, publication by Noemi Press, and UK publication by Out-Spoken Press. Previous winners include A. D. Lauren-Abunassar, Zaina Alsous, and Peter Twal.

AKRILICA Series

AKRLILICA is a co-publishing venture with Letras Latinas which seeks to showcase new innovative Latinx writing. The name of the series alludes to the groundbreaking, bilingual poetry book by distinguished Chicanx writer and former United States Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera. Authors included in the AKRILICA series include Manuel Paul López, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, Jennifer Tamayo, Carolina Ebeid, Chloe Garcia Roberts, Roberto Harrison, elena minor, and Sandy Florian.

Infidel Poetics Series

The Infidel Poetics Series is a venue for shorter critical works addressing the overlap between poetry and politics, often interrogating notions of identity. The Infidel Poetics Series is named after poet-scholar Daniel Tiffany's 2009 essay collection Infidel Poetics. Infidel authors include: Roberto Tejada, Douglas Kearney, Susan Briante, and Sarah Vap.