Overview

Orison Books is a 501-(c)(3) non-profit literary press focused on the life of the spirit from a broad and inclusive range of perspectives. Orison [“or-ə-sən”] is an archaic word that means “prayer.” We at Orison Books believe that the best spiritual art and literature call us to meditate and contemplate, rather than asking us to adopt any ideology or set of propositions. We seek to publish non-fiction, fiction, and poetry that probe the nature and experience of being, that reach toward the subtler dimensions of perception, that engage the possibility of the divine, or that yearn with words toward the unsayable.

Orison Books will serve as a home for writers and readers of all backgrounds, religious or non-religious. In addition to publishing exceptional spiritually-engaged poetry, fiction, and non-fiction books, we will publish The Orison Anthology—an annual collection of the best spiritual writing in all genres published in periodicals the preceding year. Additionally, Orison Books aims to contribute to the cultural conversations around spirituality and literature by hosting classes, symposia, and other public events. We seek to be broad, inclusive, and open to perspectives spanning the spectrum of spiritual and religious thought, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

We cannot succeed without the contributions of those who support our mission of publishing exceptional literature that engages the life of the spirit, and of fostering cultural conversation around spirituality and literature. Please see below for details about how you can contribute.

What We've Achieved So Far

We released our inaugural title, I Scrape the Window of Nothingness: New & Selected Poems by the Romanian-American poet Stella Vinitchi Radulescu, in March of this year. Radulescu's book has received much praise from readers and critics alike. In its newsletter, Image Journal described Radulescu's words as "so spare and polished they shine"; poet David Dodd Lee calls her work "a triumph of being, a war against banality."

We have several exciting titles lined up for the new year, including:

• The Divine Magnet: Herman Melville's Letters to Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by scholar Mark Niemeyer, with a foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Paul Harding.
• Constellarium, the debut poetry collection by Jordan Rice, which chronicles the author’s gender transition and engages the ontological quandaries that arise from this experience, reckoning with family history and religious heritage along the way.
• The Orison Anthology, a new annual collection of the finest spiritually-engaged writing that appeared in periodicals during the previous year.

How You Can Help