The Project

SFWP is an independent press dedicated to the craft of writing. We stand by our authors and we stand by our books, embracing new trends and ideas beyond those of the current publishing industry.Our history, and our mission, goes far beyond publishing. At the heart of SFWP, we are a resource for authors. For a decade, we have hosted an internationally recognized Literary Awards Program. Since 2002, we have maintained an online Literary Journal which provides a home for published and unpublished authors, featuring fiction, creative nonfiction, book reviews, and experimental work. We publish our winning authors, and 90% of our previous Awards Program winners have gone on to publication.Interested? Please join us on Facebook, and check out our blog.

SFWP was founded in 1998 by Andrew Gifford. The goal was to offer recognition for excellence in writing in a time of declining support for writers and the craft of literature. What started as a grass-roots trial effort supported by a small group of writers and arts advocates in Santa Fe, has since spawned an internationally recognized literary awards program and an on-line literary journal fueled by a community of authors who are organized around the Project’s goals and ideas. SFWP Embraces this mission with a spirit of artistic preservation, bringing to print stunning books and authors..

Check out an extensive interview with Andrew Gifford about the founding of SFWP and our overall mission at Delphi Quarterly.

Read a profile about Andrew Gifford from the Washington Post Magazine’s “Heir to a Scandal”

Read an interview with Andrew from Out of Print Writing

SFWP now looks forward to continued growth as we explore different ways to champion books, writing, and writers. In 2005, we realized a lifelong vision: to launch a small press. SFWP secured the work of Canadian author Ray Robertson, hailed as one of Canada’s finest novelists. His acclaimed novel, Moody Food, was the first title offered by SFWP, released in 2006 and earning a gold Independent Publisher award for best regional fiction. Our second release, The Fires, is a duo of novellas from NPR commentator Alan Cheuse, and was released in 2007. On September 1st, 2008, SFWP released a new collection of nonfiction from celebrated pop-culture maven Pagan Kennedy titled The Dangerous Joy of Dr. Sex and Other True Tales. In 2009, we released the 20th Anniversary edition of Fatal Light, by Richard Currey.

And then things really got exciting. We’re up to 20 books. Check them out right here. We’ve unflinchingly adapted to the changing world of publishing and we challenge the norms by embracing short stories, novellas, translations, reprints, and the avante garde.

Since 2000, the Project has held a successful annual Literary Awards Program, attracting thousands of outstanding authors from over 70 nations and judged by authors such as Richard Currey, Jayne Anne Phillips, Chris Offutt, Kate Horsley, Ayun Halliday, Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Olen Butler, the “Queen of the ‘Zines” Pagan Kennedy, the creator of “Rambo” David Morrell, and the “godfather of nonfiction” Lee Gutkind.

“SFWP launched the best year of my literary life.”

–K.L. Cook, author of Last Call and The Girl from Charnelle

In the summer of 2002, we introduced our online literary journal, dedicated to our goal to promote and recognize authors. Ever since those first days, the journal has thrived, supported by our lively community.

With years of experience, and extreme dedication to the literary culture, SFWP continues without hesitation on the path dreamed of in 1998.