[2][3][4] The press was co-founded by Sarah Gorham (President and Editor-in-Chief) and Jeffrey Skinner (Chair).
[5] According to a CLMP Newswire interview, "Its mission, according to Gorham, is to publish poetry and fiction and to disburse the works of its authors 'with diligence and creativity.'
"[6] The press publishes the winners of its national poetry and fiction competitions, as well as manuscripts accepted through general submission.
Notable authors published by Sarabande Books include Ralph Angel,[11] Rick Barot, Frank Bidart, Sallie Bingham, Alice Fulton, Louise Glück, Mark Jarman, Karen An-hwei Lee, Cate Marvin, Cleopatra Mathis,[12] Alyce Miller, Kyle Minor,[13] Edith Pearlman,[1] Kiki Petrosino, Lia Purpura, Joan Silber,[1] Gerald Stern, Deborah Tall, Paul Yoon, and Ann Townsend.
[16][17] In 2013, Sarabande Books was the inaugural winner of the AWP Small Press Publisher Award given by the Association of Writers & Writing Programs that "acknowledges the hard work, creativity, and innovation" of small presses and "their contributions to the literary landscape" of the US.