Margot Atwell has been named executive director and publisher of the Feminist Press at CUNY.
Atwell is a writer, editor, publisher, and community funding expert. Most recently, she served as director of outreach and international for Kickstarter. Previously, she was publisher of Beaufort Books, an independent book publisher based in New York, where she published four national bestsellers. She also founded and ran the micropress Gutpunch Press.
In 2019, Margot created and led the Next Page conference, Kickstarter’s free digital conference focused on the publishing, comics, and journalism fields. She is also the coauthor of The Insider’s Guide to Book Publishing Success (Beaufort) and Derby Life: Stories, Advice & Wisdom from the Roller Derby World (Gutpunch).
As publisher of FP, Atwell plans to build on the Press’s mission of centering marginalized voices. “Part of creating good representation is publishing a broad range of different stories so one writer or one story doesn’t have to do all the heavy lifting to speak to an entire community’s experience,” said Atwell. During her tenure, Atwell also aims to publish books about economic justice written in accessible language, feminist speculative fiction that explores the human condition, and novels and nonfiction by queer, trans, disabled, and neuroatypical writers.
“Margot possesses the ideal global vision, exceptional talents, and expertise to lead the Press into an exciting new chapter," former FP executive director and publisher Jamia Wilson said. "I deeply respect her literary citizenship and innovative leadership in the publishing community and beyond.”
