Source: Emma McIntyre/NBC / Getty
Author Gillian Flynn and Emmy-winning writer, producer, and actor Lena Waithe are doing big things in the publishing world. The Gone Girl author and the Queen and Slim creator are both joining the team at Zando; a publishing company founded last year by Molly Stern.
According to the Associated Press, both Flynn and Waithe will be running their own imprints on the relatively new platform. Flynn’s imprint will be called Gillian Flynn Books, while Waithe will be running hers as an extension of the Hillman Grad Productions, a production company she founded with fellow film producer Rishi Rajani.
“When I first met with Molly several years ago, I knew there would be something special we would create,” Waithe said in a statement, AP reported. “As Hillman Grad has grown, Rishi and I have had the opportunity to support underrepresented voices in film, TV, and music. Now we get to do the same for books, and we couldn’t be more excited.”
Waithe’s excitement in working with Zando is shared by Stern, who called Flynn and Waithe “dream publishing partners” for her platform.
“I’m no different from millions of other readers who know what these remarkable creators stand for, respect their unique vision and trust their taste,” she said. “Lena and Gillian are cultural pioneers who devour and celebrate exciting new literary work and share my desire to support new voices.”
And, of course, Flynn also spoke on the new partnership in a recent Zoom interview with AP, saying she hopes her new position will help her introduce lesser-known authors and books to the masses.
“I start every conversation about books with ‘What’s the weirdest things you’ve read this year? What’s the book that you read and later thought, what the hell was that? What an interesting, quirky little book,’” she said.
Flynn also said her imprint will focus on ”propulsive, culturally incisive and dynamic work from writers working across genres.”
Each imprint by Flynn and Waithe—who said Hillman Grad will feature “vibrant, richly imaginative work from underrepresented voices including memoir, literary fiction, and YA”—is set to publish four to six books a year.
This is a good look for anyone who is an avid reader and always on the hunt for new or newly discovered literature.
Congrats to Waithe, Flynn, and Zando on their new ventures.
