Backwoods Literary Press
Publishing, workshops, and shared spaces for rural storytellers
Backwoods Literary Press is an independent press dedicated to publishing and sharing rural stories. We focus on writing shaped by rural places and the people connected to them—those who live there, those who leave and return, and those who carry those places with them elsewhere. Rural life is not singular or static. It includes small towns, hollers, reservations, borderlands, and the many communities that make those places what they are.
We publish an annual rural anthology bringing together a wide range of voices and lived experience. We prioritize work by BIPOC, LGBTQ+, immigrant, disabled, and working-class writers, whose stories are often erased or flattened when rural life is discussed. We care about strong, honest writing and welcome writers at different stages, including those who haven’t always been told they belong on the page.
Alongside our books, we host workshops, readings, open mics, and other gatherings that make space for people to write, read, and share work together. Our programming happens in rural and urban places alike, primarily in Kentucky and surrounding states, with occasional events elsewhere, and through pay-what-you-can virtual workshops.
This work looks backward and forward at the same time. We document stories so they aren’t lost, and we share them to shape how rural places are understood—now and into the future. We’re committed to growing this work carefully and sustainably.
Photo by Trish J. Gibson
Reclaiming the Narrative
Documentation is political. Who gets remembered—and how their story is told—is usually decided by those who hold power, not those most affected. For centuries, history has been shaped to serve the few. But writing is a tool for truth-telling, and documentation is a claim to being believed.
In a time when our histories are being erased, silenced, or rewritten, we hold the responsibility to record who we really are—not the version shaped by dominant narratives. By documenting our lives on our own terms, we build an archive of resistance, care, and clarity. We make space for future generations to understand the full truth of what came before them.
