Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books division has launched a new imprint, Black Privilege Publishing, and named multimedia celebrity and author Charlamagne tha God to head the unit. The first book to be released under the imprint will be State of Emergency by Tamika D. Mallory, the cofounder of both the 2017’s Women’s March and the social justice organization Until Freedom. The book is set to be released May 11, 2021.
In forming the BPP, Atria said the imprint “will focus on opening new doors in the publishing marketplace by amplifying Black and brown narratives, rethinking traditional approaches to the industry, and engaging with the audiences Charlamagne knows best: cutting-edge, connected, and culturally aware.” Among his other endeavors, Charlamagne is set to host a weekly late-night show on Comedy Central; he is also host of iHeartRadio’s The Breakfast Club, and founder of iHeart’s Black Effect podcast network.
BPP will be operated for Atria Books by editor Nicholas Ciani and senior v-p and publisher Libby McGuire. “There is no one better positioned to discover, cultivate, and elevate the next generation of art and leadership in Black and brown America than Charlamagne tha God,” Ciani said in a statement.
