Owned and directed by Steve Clay, Granary has published hundreds of books that "produce, promote, document, and theorize new works exploring the intersection of word, image, and page.

In addition to these activities, Granary Books administers projects such as "From a Secret Location," a digital repository of materials related to the small press and mimeograph revolutions from the 1960s to 1980s.

[5] Granary Books began in 1985 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as Origin Books—the name under which Clay published his first project, Noah Webster to Wee Lorine Niedecker by Jonathan Williams.

[7] By 1988, Granary Books moved to Manhattan on 636 Broadway, where Steve Clay and David Abel ran a gallery and bookstore on the tenth floor.

[9] These limited-edition publications are held in special collections and archives internationally, and explore the relationship between "image and the word and tactile comprehension," in collaboration with artists, poets, bookbinders, printers, and designers.

[14][15] Steve Clay and Kyle Schlesinger curated a series of talks from 2009 to 2012 about the art of the book featuring poets, scholars, artists, and publishers.