I was like, “If we do this, you need to hire a person of colour, at least. One of the reasons I wanted this fellowship – one of the things I told Grove Atlantic – is that you don’t really have any employees of colour. She’s especially interested in stories about women and gritty realism, as well as books within the science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, and nonfiction genres. ‘I’m just looking for great books – those that are provocative and make me think, that are entertaining and satisfying in some way a book that I can’t put down,’ she says. In terms of what she’s looking for, Gay says she desires ‘an ineffable quality’. Submissions for Roxane Gay Books opened on 1 July. But realistically, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to do that,’ she says. ‘I’m just hoping to remove at least one of the barriers. There is no pipeline problem people just need the opportunity.’ Now that Gay is in a position to do something, she’s taking advantage of her privileges to lift up others. ‘And people keep talking about pipelines and this and that, and it’s all a bunch of nonsense. ‘Something has to be done,’ adds Gay about the book industry’s gatekeeping.
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Instead, Gay is interested in featuring writing from underrepresented writers, whether they’re Black, or people of colour, or disabled. Universality is not the current goal of Roxane Gay Books. ‘But I always wondered what it would be like to do that kind of work with resources.’ ‘I’m very proud of the writers I’ve worked with – and we put out really great books,’ she says. She then went on to publish work by authors such as xTx and Kirsty Logan. While teaching at Eastern Illinois University, she launched Tiny Hardcore Press, her own micro imprint. The more time Gay spent in publishing through the writer’s perspective, the more she became interested in bringing other books into the world. ‘I never even dared imagine anything beyond that.’ ‘I’ve wanted to have an imprint for quite some time, but I always just wanted to be a writer,’ she says. But for Gay, this new imprint is not a first-time endeavour. It’s rare for a writer, especially one of Gay’s stature, to be involved in both sides of the publishing industry in this manner. ‘I just thought, “I read a lot and I would love to have some forum where I could discuss these books with others”.’īut her biggest venture of the year is the launch of her new imprint, Roxane Gay Books. I think a lot of the time, we’re wondering, “Where do I start? What do I read?’” says Gay. ‘There are so many great books that are published every day, every week. Like many of her projects, the book club began as a way to share writing that she loves with curious readers. Gay also launched The Audacious Book Club in 2021. She also went to Iceland to film a MasterClass, worked on the screenplay for Hunger (based on her bestselling memoir), and has nearly completed a young adult novel.
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Currently, Gay is finishing up How To Be Heard, her next book that’s filled with writing advice and tools for how to use one’s voice.