Six Diversity-Focused Publishers & Imprints Announced in the Last Year
/Last summer, when I noticed that a number of publishers were starting up or launching new imprints to in an effort to amplify marginalized voices, I came up with a list of these 15 New(ish) Diversity-Focused Publishers and Imprints. Since then, I’ve heard announcements from at least six other such publishers and imprints and have gathered information about them as well. Similar to my previous round-up, this new list features book publishers—rather than media companies that mainly sell but sometimes publish books—and is not comprehensive. If you know of a diversity-focused publisher or imprint that meets my criteria and should be included here, please make a comment. And let’s all hope that this list continues to grow.
Publisher or imprint: Joy Revolution/Delacorte/Random House Children’s Books
Description: “An imprint dedicated to young adult romance novels by people of color, about people of color” with #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon and bestselling author David Yoon at the helm. Wendy Loggia, Senior Executive Editor, Delacorte Press, will oversee the imprint.
Date announced or launched: October 2, 2020
Submissions guidelines: None stated, but will likely accept agented submissions only.
Publisher or imprint: Emancipation Books/Bombardier Books/Post Hill Press
Description: An imprint that focuses on “controversial and marginalized BIPOC writers.” According to Bombardier Books founder David S. Bernstein, “We have made a concerted effort to publish a wide range of diverse voices…we value not only diversity of skin color, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, but most importantly, diversity of ideas.”
Date announced or launched: August 6, 2020
Submissions guidelines: Instructions, along with the email address contact@posthillpress.com, are provided on the Post Hill submissions web page.
Publisher or imprint: Tiny Reparations/Plume/Penguin Random House
Description: “A highly curated imprint dedicated to publishing both literary fiction and nonfiction as well as essay collections that highlight and amplify unique and diverse voices.” Bestselling author, stand-up comedian, actress, and producer Phoebe Robinson founded and curates the imprint. Dutton and Plume Publisher Christine Ball serves as the publisher of the new imprint.
Date announced or launched: July 9, 2020
Submissions guidelines: Per the Plume web page: “Currently accepting submissions for books that will publish in 2021, 2022, and beyond, Tiny Reparations Books is committed to publishing complex, honest, and humorous work that not only reflects the current conversation but also pushes it forward.” The email address SUBMISSIONS@TINYREPBOOKS.COM is provided on the Tiny Reparations web page.
Publisher or imprint: Hush Harbour Press
Description: “A Black feminist queer press” founded by Whitney French and Alannah Johnson that is “dedicated to the imagining of Black feminism in the tradition of Octavia E. Butler. We create and envision Black futures through literary and sonic storytelling with an emphasis on the revival of short fiction.”
Date announced or launched: June 22, 2020
Submissions guidelines: The FAQ page of the Hush Harbour website states, “We welcome submissions by Black folks of any multitude of intersections and hyphenated identities.”
Publisher or imprint: Heartdrum/HarperCollins Children’s Books
Description: “an imprint devoted to publishing books by Native creators that introduce young Native protagonists and showcase the present and future of Indian Country.” The imprint is helmed by award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee Creek) and Vice President, Editorial Director of HarperCollins Children’s Books Rosemary Brosnan.
Date announced or launched: November 19, 2019
Submissions guidelines: The HarperCollins submissions guidelines page states, “We invite Native writers and illustrators to reach out to Cynthia Leitich Smith. Smith’s contact page provides guidelines for Native and First Nations writers and writer-illustrators to query her via a form and links to a Heartdrum Brochure.
Publisher or imprint: Surely Books/Abrams
Description: “A new line of graphic novels dedicated to expanding the presence of LGBTQIA creators and content in the comics world, as part of its celebrated Abrams ComicArts publishing program.” Surely Books is being curated by the bestselling, Eisner Award–winning author Mariko Tamaki.
Date announced or launched: October 2019
Submissions guidelines: None stated, and a year after the announcement, no information about Surely Books is available on Abrams’s website. If the imprint is accepting submissions, these are likely limited to agented submissions.