Turning a new page: the rise of #Merky Books

Malorie Blackman sold her life story to them, other hot authors are lining up. What makes Stormzy’s imprint so different?In a glass-walled meeting room on the fifth floor of Penguin Random House headquarters in Pimlico, Theophina Gabriel is talking about her love of reading while laughing at her trigger-happy printing: “The last thing that came in I found so magical, it was 329 pages and I printed it all… Don’t worry I checked if I was allowed to first!” She’s part of a team that makes up one of the year’s most exciting literary imprints, #Merky Books. Today, the team is gathered around, drinking coffee and chatting about their pop-up event in east London the week before, which invited a community of young writers to dance and seek writing advice from the likes of playwright Inua Ellams and musician Wretch 32.The team are all characters worth reading about themselves. Twenty-two-year-old editorial assistant Gabriel, who routinely dresses all in purple (today she has a crop of lilac hair, violet glasses and a purple jumper), currently on an internship programme, was the first in her British Grenadan family to go to university, and publishes a radical zine, Onyx, which celebrates black creatives. Emma Wallace, 30, the senior audience and brand manager, is British Sri Lankan and English, and previously worked at start-ups and the BBC doing social media. The softly spoken founder and editorial director Tom Avery, 36, brings 13 years of publishing experience. And there’s... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-12-16 08:00:15 UTC ]

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