If you’ve been hungry for more work from Roxane Gay, you are soon to be sated. Via a press release provided to The Root, publisher Grove Atlantic has entered into a partnership with the bestselling author of Hunger, Bad Feminist, Difficult Women and other incredible works (as well as meriting her own MasterClass) to form her own new imprint, Roxane Gay Books.
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Per the release, the imprint is starting reasonably small with three titles annually, a “mix” of memoir, nonfiction, and fiction. “Gay has been editing and curating for years,” the release reminds us. “She has edited The Best American Short Stories, founded acclaimed Medium magazine Gay, and launched The Audacity newsletter and Audacious Book Club.”
“I love having a hand in bringing brilliant writing into the world, and over the past fifteen or so years, I’ve done that in various editorial capacities that have been incredibly gratifying,” said Gay. “It has been a lifelong dream to have a literary imprint of my own where I could publish great books and have the support of a storied publishing house behind me.”
In fact, the idea of an imprint was Gay’s, who approached her longtime publisher with the idea. “I’ve been publishing my own fiction with Grove Atlantic since 2014, when they published my debut novel An Untamed State,” she explained. “They are a passionate crew of book lovers who do everything in their power to make sure their writers are supported in every step of the publishing process.”
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“Roxane is one of those writers who is always reading and falling in love with and recommending other writers,” said VP and Executive Editor Amy Hundley, “and she has a fabulous eye for talent and a boundless energy for looking where others don’t. I can’t wait to see the treasures she will bring us.”
To find those treasures, Gay will open a call for submissions (agented and without) July 1, seeking out “writing that is beautifully written, provocative, and intelligent from writers who are willing to take risks on the page.” Per the release, Grove Atlantic has also announced a paid one-year fellowship program, shared between itself and Gay’s imprint, and “intended as a ‘crash course’ in publishing for candidates who might not have access to the industry through traditional avenues.”
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“Roxane Gay is an extraordinary voice in American letters and we are thrilled to partner with her in this new venture at Grove,” said Morgan Entrekin, publisher of Grove Atlantic.
