About
At Wayfarer Books we believe poetry is the language of the earth. We believe words—shaped like rivers through wild places—can change the shape of the world. We publish poets and writers and renegades who stand outside of mainstream culture; poets, essayists, and storytellers whose work might withstand the scrutiny of crows and coyotes, those who are cryptic and floral, the crepuscular, and the queer-at-heart. We are more than just a publisher but a community of writers. Our mission is to produce books that can serve as a compass and map to all wayfarers through wild terrain.
the story
Wayfarer Books is a fiercely independent, trans-owned publishing house releasing award-winning literature from the wild and societal margins. Founded in a fair-trade café in Boston during the summer of 2009 by Connor Wolfe, the house officially launched in 2011 under the name Homebound Publications and expanded in 2012 to include our literary magazine Wayfarer Magazine. In 2024, the house evolved along with its Founders and Homebound Publications became Wayfarer Books.
Through a collapsing industry, a global pandemic, paper shortages, shipping disruptions, and the looming dominance of billionaire-backed retailers, Wayfarer has not only survived, it has endured. The press remains committed to amplifying voices often silenced by the mainstream and continues to publish poetry, essays, and nonfiction that speak truth from the wild margins of both landscape and culture.
Wayfarer Books is based in the San Juan Mountains near Mesa Verde, on the lands of the Ancestral Pueblo, the Southern Ute, the Weenuche (Mountain Ute), the Diné (Navajo), and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. We honor the generations of Indigenous communities who have stewarded these lands for thousands of years. We acknowledge that this place was taken through genocide, colonization, and displacement. We respect the Indigenous peoples who remain here, both past and present. As one concrete act of accountability, we are launching 1% Given Back. Beginning in 2026, we will give 1% of Wayfarer’s net profits directly to the Indigenous nations on whose lands we are based, in support of sovereignty, Indigenous futures, and wealth redistribution. We do this in the belief that acknowledgment should move beyond words and into tangible practice.
