Books

Stormzy's #Merky will give young writers a much-needed break into publishing

"Reading and writing as a kid was integral to where I am today and I from the bottom of my heart can not wait to hear your stories, your poems, your novels, your sci-fis and then getting them out into the big wide world. Proper proud of this!"

Grime star Stormzy is launching a new publishing imprint with publisher Penguin Random House to help young writers find their feet in the publishing world.

The 24-year-old Londoner shared the news of his collaboration on Instagram, announcing that #Merky Books will open submissions in 2019 for new works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry from young writers.

Stormzy cited his lifelong love of literature and how it’s contributed to his career as a songwriter and rapper as the inspiration for #Merky.

We’ve created #Merky Books for many reasons, the first simply for it to be a reference point for talented young writers to say ‘I can be an author’ and for that to be a feasible and realistic achievement and not something in the distance,” he said.“We hope this imprint will instil belief and ambition in young writers, making publishing seem less prohibitive and making the dream of being a published author a reality.”

The first title published under the new venture will be his own book titled Rise Up: The #Merky Journey So Far.

Super proud to announce our new venture #Merky Books, a publishing imprint in collaboration with Penguin Random House @penguinukbooks We will be using this as a platform for young writers to become published authors, I know too many talented writers that don’t always have an outlet or a means to get their work seen and hopefully #Merky Books can now be a reference point for them to say “I can be an author” and for that to be a realistic and achievable goal. Reading and writing as a kid was integral to where I am today and I from the bottom of my heart can not wait to hear your stories, your poems, your novels, your sci-fis and then getting them out into the big wide world. Proper proud of this! We’ll be doing school competitions, taking entries and submissions and looking for writers as well but I’ll keep you posted! #Merky Books will also be offering a paid internship in 2019! The first book to be released under the imprint will be “Rise Up: The #Merky Journey So Far” out November 1st and available for pre order now (The link is in my bio!) ????????❤️

A post shared by Gang Signs & Prayer (@stormzyofficial) on

Image: NRK P3

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