Eastern Washington University Press originated in the 1970s as an outlet for faculty to circulate their scholarly research. In 1992, the Irish poet James McAuley revitalized the press with a focus on literary publishing for a national audience that was closely connected to the university's growing graduate program in creative writing. During that period, the Press also began to offer the various facets of training in publishing to graduate student assistants and interns.

In the 1990s, the Press published fiction, poetry, translations, and literary criticism; established what are now the Lynx House Prize for Poetry and the Spokane Prize for Short Fiction; and founded the Get Lit! festival , the oldest literary festival in the Northwest.

The Press has since developed into a full-range university press, publishing scholarly, literary, and trade titles, with an emphasis on regional history and culture, environmental issues, Southeast Asia, poetry, short fiction, and literature in translation. In 2007 the Press became a member of the Association of American University Presses.