|
Verb Noir:
The mission:
To celebrate the works of talented, underrepresented authors
and deliver them to a readership that demands more.
"Everyone has a story." These words are the driving force
behind this project, because we believe that EVERYONE has at
least one good story in them, and that story demands to be
shared with the world.
Mikki Kendall
has had a love affair with fiction since she first
understood language. As a child she told herself her own
bedtime
stories and escaped to life in faraway lands
regularly. In many ways she's still living in those dreams.
A creative writing class at the age of 9 set her on a path
of writing fiction as a means of expression. As she grew
older she discovered fandom in all its dubious glory and
learned that there was more to a good story than whether or
not it was on a bestseller list. Now, prompted in part by
many discussions about
speculative fiction
and its impact on society she has turned attention to trying
to carve out a niche in the market for people that look like
her. No longer content to imagine having Rapunzel's long
blond hair, she wants to give her children and all the
children
of the world princesses that fight for
themselves and princes that don't have to always slay the
dragon to be a hero.
Jamie
Nesbitt Golden has had a love affair with the
written word itself since she picked up a TV Guide at three;
at age eight, she started writing her own stories on her
first electric typewriter. Years later, she found herself
telling other people's stories for a living as a journalist,
something she wants to continue doing —in a different
way—through Verb Noire. A woman violently protective of her
bookshelf (on which you'll find everything from Stephen
Carter to
C.S. Lewis),
she has been known to finish entire books during dinner
parties. She is also quite pithy, which is why her biography
ends here.
1. What is Verb
Noire?
A small press dedicated
to showcasing the work of underrepresented writers. We want
to provide a platform and a spotlight for all those stories
that usually go unheard.
2. What made you
decide there was a need for a Women of Colour publishing
house?
The glaring lack of
diversity in genre fiction--not to mention the many, many
conversations we've had with other fans--made us realize
that there was definitely a market out there, one that is
tired of being ignored or overlooked. And a lot of them are
utterly fabulous writers with stories we want to hear and to
share with everyone else.
3. What do you mean
when you say 'Women of Colour'?
*Non-white. But to be
clear, Verb Noire accepts work from everyone, as long as
that work adheres to the guidelines.
4. Why the focus on
genre?
Because--contrary to
popular belief--a lot of us (read: brown people) are huge
sci-fi/fantasy fans, and we want heroes and heroines who
don't look as though they came from central casting in some
Nordic fantasy world. There are millions of stories out
there that deserve to be shared with the world, and we want
to be a part of that. More importantly representation in
escapist works is how many of us connect with our
imaginations and learn to fly even when our feet are chained
to the ground. Rendering us invisible hurts us and helps no
one. So, we're here to fix that little problem.
5. What sort of work
are you looking for?
Currently, we're
focusing on science fiction/fantasy/horror (short stories
and novels) and poetry.
6. What sort of work
should people AVOID sending you?
Manuscripts that don't
follow our guidelines. We HATE that. Also, please don't send
us stuff that you think is awful. If you don't like? Chances
are excellent we won't like it either.
7. What do you think
of how women of colour are portrayed in fiction?
Good, Bad, Ugly?LOL. You
mean, if at all? There's a lot of the stereotypical
sidekick/magical negro thing going on which annoys me to NO
END, because these characters could be SO much more but
they're just treated as an afterthought. (Like, any WOC in
the Whedonverse, for example.) Or, we wind up playing to one
of the older stereotypes in new and unpleasant ways that
leave us ranting and passerby staring.
Occasionally
non-fan friends and relatives will timidly ask why we're
still reading/watching genre stuff and we come up with new
ways to scare them into silence. And once I asked Jamie why
she was still watching Heroes and she yelled things at me
that curled my hair.
8. What authors of
colour/works that portray POC well would you recommend?
THAT is a good question.
I've become a HUGE fan of No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. You
can see that Alexander McCall Smith went to great lengths to
create these beautifully multi-layered characters, and he's
done it in a very compelling way. And yes, he's white. So,
let's stop claiming that it can't be done or that the
stories won't sell. And of course we love Octavia Butler
(even if Mikki finds her work deeply depressing) and Nisi
Shawl's Filter House is awesome. On the webcomic front...Mikki
won't shut up about Bayou. I know I should read it, but I
don't just to irritate her.
9. Do you know what
your first book is going to be? Are you focusing on e-books
or print?
We do! Our first
novella, River's Daughter, will be debuting later this
month. And we're just focusing on e-books for now, with an
towards print runs once we have an idea of the demand for
that format.
10. What plans do you
have for Verb Noire in the future?
World domination and
massive terra-forming once our reign is secure. No
seriously, our goal is to continue to grow so that we can
give the fans something fabulous. |
