April 2022 Newsletter — People of Color in Publishing

The latest news from People of Color in Publishing

Featured

Jun 9, 2022

Featured Publishing Professional: Wendy Wong

Jun 9, 2022

Why book publishing

The original reason? I was sick of being a freelance journalist and wanted to find something in the editorial space that also came with a steady paycheck. As I was looking for full-time editorial jobs, book publishing came up over and over again and brought me back to those early days of weekly trips to the library, maxing out my borrowing limit and my mom’s, and immersing myself in different lives, worlds, and ideas from one book to another. I was (and still am) excited to be a part of that, working with smart, thoughtful, passionate writers, guiding them and their work through each step of the publishing process, and helping these books find the exact readers who want and need this in their lives. There are a lot of lows that can come with being in this industry, but reading a proposal or manuscript, falling in love, and wanting to run out and immediately tell everyone you know about it…

Wendy Wong (she/her) was a food writer for several years prior to her pivot into publishing. She worked at a small educational publishing company before joining HarperCollins, where she acquired titles for Harper and Harper Business such as The First, The Few, The Only by Deepa Purushothaman, a Financial Times business book of the month. She is currently an Associate Editor at Ballantine in Penguin Random House. Twitter: @wendyplacething

Publishing Professionals Making Moves in the Industry

By Chonise Bass

Asharee Peters has joined Knopf Doubleday as an Associate Marketing Manager.
Janine Perez-La Sala has been promoted to Associate Marketing Director at Grand Central Publishing.
Danny Vazquez was promoted to Senior Editor at Astra House.
And a special shout-out to our advisory board member Saraciea J. Fennell on her recent promotion to Senior Publicity Manager at Tor Books, a trade division of Macmillan Publishers.

Congratulations to all!

The Salt Eaters Bookshop

By Amanda Orozco

The Salt Eaters Bookshop is an independent bookstore in Inglewood, CA.

The Salt Eaters aims to create a Black feminist literary hub and resting ground for dreamers, seekers of knowledge, creatives, writers, community archivists, artists, change agents, and those invested in a liberation practice that holds Black women, girls, femmes, and gender expansive people at the center.

We prioritize books, comics, and zines by and about Black women, girls, femmes, and nonbinary people. Inspired by The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara, our shop is working to create a resting ground for us all, a place to come home.

Location: 302 East Queen Street Inglewood, California 90301

Learn more: https://www.thesalteatersbooks.com/

By Leila Siddiqui

Del Rey is seeking to hire an Associate Marketing Manager.
Scholastic is also seeking an Associate Marketing Manager.
Chronicle Books is seeking a Publicist to join their Children’s team.
DK is seeking a Senior Editor to join their team.

By Leila Siddiqui

Publishers Lunch recently reported on the rise of editorial resignations and the burnout culture in publishing. Read more here

If People of Color of Publishing has helped you as an industry professional, please let us know and share your experience with us. Submitting a testimonial will assist us in sharing with others how impactful our programming can be to our community and help us reach new industry professionals.

To nominate a BIPOC publishing professional to be featured in People of Color in Publishing’s newsletter, please fill out a nomination form here.