Roxane gay substack

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I'm a fan of baby elephants, but really, who isn't?. Writing that boldly disregards normal restraints. Click to read "The Audacity.", a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. ROXANE GAY BOOKS ACCEPTS submissions from both agented and unagented writers. This imprint publishes three (3) books a year, so when submissions are closed to unagented writers, it is because my slate is currently full.

This week, we interviewed writer and cultural critic Roxane Gay, who has built a potent community on The Audacityby hosting essays from emerging writers. Roxane spoke about engaging with readers, her own online writing process, and being part of the Substack network. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Roxane Gay. Her newsletter, The Audacity, is hosted at Substack. Roxane Gay is the author of the novel An Untamed State; the essay collection Bad Feminist; Ayiti, a multi-genre collection; and the memoir Hunger.

Please submit your best nonfiction and nonfiction only. I am interested in literary essays and memoir. Please submit only one essay at a time. Essays should be between and words. We may take up to eight weeks to respond but we will respond to all submissions. I am interested in thoughtful essays, beautiful, intelligent writing, deep explorations, timelessness, and challenging conventional thinking without being cheap and lazy.

I am interested in provocative work but we are not interested in senseless provocation. You don't have to cannibalize yourself to tell a compelling story. The essays in Unruly Bodies or that I have preciously published in The Audaci ty might give you a sense of what I like but I am always open to being surprised. I am not looking to publish anew what I've already published. Again, I am only interested in nonfiction, which is to say no poetry, fiction, or anything else that is not nonfiction.

I cannot stress this enough. I am only interested in nonfiction for the Emerging Writer Series. This imprint publishes three 3 books a year, so when submissions are closed to unagented writers, it is because my slate is currently full. I am going to publish books I love from interesting writers. That could, of course, mean anything. I am looking for beautifully written, compelling books that challenge, delight, and entertain readers.

I love literary fiction but your story has to have an interesting plot. Things have to happen. I love stories about difficult women. I welcome your so-called unlikable protagonists. I enjoy dark, gritty stories but I am also open to happy, joyful but unsentimental stories that reflect faith in the overall goodness of humanity. I will consider novels, short fiction, memoirs, essay collections, and nonfiction.

Most genres are welcome but my tastes skew to not only literary fiction but contemporary romance, and science fiction and fantasy. I am always open to being surprised but I will not likely be drawn to stories about sad white people marriages or autofiction. I am not interested in police propaganda narratives.

Historical fiction, Westerns and the like will be a hard sell and there are other imprints that are a better fit for those stories. I am not currently seeking YA, middle-grade, or children's books. Only non-fiction will be considered on proposal. Poetry is a vital art form we love, but we are not considering any poetry, without exception.

Roxane Gay Books prioritizes underrepresented writers and does so, proudly. Reparations, if you will. I hope to develop deep relationships with writers and help them navigate the process of bringing a book into the world from manuscript acceptance through and beyond publication.