Inprint was founded in 1983 by a group of community leaders who sought to address a need in Houston for greater support and appreciation of the literary arts. They had a vision of Houston as a city of letters, a place where the power of the written word is vital to the lives of its citizens. Inprint aimed at achieving this vision by stimulating a vibrant literary life in Houston among diverse social, racial, economic, and age groups, and by supporting a distinguished and growing University of Houston Creative Writing Program (UH CWP).

For more than 20 years, Inprint has continued to build on its founding vision and expand and enhance its community literary programs. Inprint’s programs range from the prestigious Inprint Brown Reading Series, last year celebrating its 25th anniversary of bringing the world’s leading writers to Houston (more than 250 since 1980), to lectures, readings, collaborations, and writing workshops for all segments of Houston’s population, including the general public, senior citizens, school teachers, and at-risk children. Inprint’s programs, events, and educational activities provide something for everyone and play a vital role in Houston’s rich cultural life.

Inprint’s programs have achieved recognition in Houston and beyond. Jonathan Franzen, best-selling author of The Corrections, called the Inprint Brown Reading Series “famously good.” In 2002-03 and 2003-04, Inprint was ranked #1 in the Texas Commission on the Arts/Writers’ League of Texas competition for literary grants, and Inprint received a TCA Star Award for excellence in marketing. In 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007 Inprint received national endorsement in the form of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Brown Reading Series and Inprint Writers Workshops have been voted “Best of Houston” by the Houston Press on several occasions, and H-Texas Magazine chose Inprint Writers Workshops as the city’s best adult education program.

As our culture continues to shift to an information-based society, the need for good writing skills has increased. Inprint continues to fill this niche and offer the general public as well as targeted communities the opportunity to study with published writers and to hone their writing skills in a stimulating and effective manner.

Since its inception, Inprint has also provided fellowships and other assistance to the UH CWP, enabling the university to recruit the country’s most talented emerging writers to live and work in Houston. In 1991, Inprint was given a one-million dollar anonymous gift to establish an endowment fund for UH CWP student fellowships in honor of founding president C. Glenn Cambor. In that same year, further fundraising provided for underwriting of an Inprint office and professional staff (until that time, Inprint had been run entirely by volunteers). In 1999, Inprint embarked on a major fundraising effort—the Inprint Literary Capital Campaign. More than $3,000,000 was raised from foundations, corporations, and individuals, establishing at the UH CWP the Cullen Foundation Chair in Creative Writing (jointly held by renowned fiction writers and husband and wife Antonya Nelson and Robert Boswell) and nine named endowed graduate student fellowships. The campaign also provided five years of direct funding for three Inprint community programs. Thanks to Inprint’s support, the UH CWP is a top-ranked program with a growing international reputation that attracts some of the nation’s leading emerging writers to Houston. Through their work in the community as writers and teachers, Houston is greatly enriched.

Today, Inprint is Houston's only major nonprofit organization that champions creative writing and reading for all ages. It has made the literary world accessible to all Houstonians and serves as the city’s leading advocate of writers and literary activity.