Sourcebooks Partners with EBONY Publishing
CHICAGO PRNewswire -- Sourcebooks, an innovative and
entrepreneurial Midwest-based publisher and the largest woman- owned book publisher in America, is partnering with EBONY
Publishing, the publishing arm of the iconic Ebony brand, a
leading and trusted voice in areas of social justice, entertainment,
and African American culture.
“It’s wonderful to partner with the forward-thinking team at Sourcebooks,” said Lavaille Lavette, president and publisher of EBONY Publishing. “This collaboration with our flagship imprint Ebony Magazine Publishing will celebrate the broad spectrum of Black voices through powerful fiction and nonfiction stories with authors who represent and speak to the full spectrum
of our culture.”
This partnership will combine Sourcebooks’s best-in-class publishing
experience and infrastructure with the EBONY brand’s 75-year history, with a plan to publish four to eight books a year, ranging from adult fiction to adult nonfiction.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with EBONY to showcase the extraordinary work of Black authors and celebrate Black stories,” said Dominique Raccah, Sourcebooks publisher and CEO. “Books change lives, and Ebony Magazine Publishing will be life-changing for authors and readers alike.”
Black Hollywood: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments by visionary photographer Carell Augustus will be the first adult nonfiction title published in association with Ebony Magazine Publishing in October 2022. Black Hollywood features dozens of prominent Black actors and artists, including Vanessa L. Williams as Cleopatra, Vivica A. Fox as Veronica Lake, Dulé Hill in Singin’ in the Rain, Lauren London in Basic Instinct, Sheryl Underwood in Sudden Fear, Michael Jai White in Terminator 2, and Omari Hardwick as James Bond. In addition to shooting the photos, Carell recruited the actors and coordinated the elaborate sets, lighting, costumes, hair, and makeup himself. The foreword is written by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker and the afterword is by Niecy Nash.
“At the end of the day, Black Hollywood is a statement about representation,” Carell said. “It’s really important to me that Black people, especially Black kids, see themselves in ways that I hadn’t when I was growing up. If you never see yourself somewhere,
it’s hard to imagine ever being in that place. So, this isn’t a book just for Black people—it’s a book for all people about Black people. About the dreams we were never told we could achieve. About the places we were never told we could go. And now, finally, about how we can get there.”
Ebony Magazine Publishing’s first planned adult fiction publication is book one in the Martyr Maker series slated for November 2022. A dark and gritty three-book crime thriller series from award-winning actor, producer, director, and author Eriq La Salle (most famously known for his role as Dr. Peter Benton from E.R.) follows NYPD detectives Quincy Cavanaugh and Phee Freeman and FBI agent Janet Maclin as they investigate brutal slayings by a serial killer known as the Martyr Maker in New York City.
“Unfortunately, there has historically been a blatant underrepresentation of authors of color in the thriller/suspense genre,” La Salle said. “The exciting collaboration between two well
respected brands such as Ebony and Sourcebooks is a testament
to their commitment to ushering in fresh voices and diverse perspectives. I am both honored and elated to have my thriller series selected to help launch this incredible endeavor of showcasing
universally compelling stories that exist beyond race and gender.”
La Salle self-published the first two books in the series, receiving blurbs from James Patterson (“Eriq La Salle’s Laws of Wrath is all thriller, no filler—a white-knuckled treat.”) and earning a Starred Review from Kirkus Reviews (“A gripping must-read that could have readers pondering right and wrong long after they’ve finished.”). The third title in the series, Laws of Annihilation, will be a new book.
Other planned adult fiction projects include the Millionaires Club series by bestselling romance author Sandra Kitt and Black States of America by d. E. Rogers. Kitt, an NAACP Image Award nominee and recipient of the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award, will become Ebony Magazine Publishing’s flagship romance author, with publication of the series in 2022 or 2023. Black States of America is a modern-day sci-fi story based on a parallel world that imagines what Black lives would look like today if President Abraham Lincoln had lived—due to a scientist and a former slave’s hot air balloon ride through a black hole in the sky. d. E. Rogers is a screenwriter, director, and author. Sea Islands, a TV show based on Black States of America, is currently under development.
Other planned adult nonfiction projects from Ebony Magazine
Publishing include The Grift and A Date with a Dish. The
Grift exposes how Black Republicans evolved from leaders of
justice to insidious sell-outs, from award-winning journalist and
radio host Clay Cane, and is scheduled for publication in February
2023. The book reveals how over 200 years, the Republican
Party evolved into the go-to place for racists, seeking out African
Americans attempting to gain power by aligning themselves with
white supremacy.
