Melisse Shapiro, also known as M.J. Rose, an early self-publishing advocate as well as bestselling author, died unexpectedly on December 10 while in Florida visiting her father. She was 71.
In a Soapbox column she wrote for PW in 2012, Rose recounted how after her first novel, the racy Lip Service, was turned down by traditional publishers in 1998, she used her background in advertising and marketing to release the title as an e-book and print book on Amazon. Within six months, Lip Service had sold more than 75,000 copies and would later be published by Pocket Books. Her subsequent books regularly reached national bestseller lists.
Rose was also an entrepreneur. Along with partners Liz Berry and Jillian Stein, Rose founded the 1001 Dark Nights Press and Blue Box Press imprints that were part of another Berry-Rose creation, Evil Eye Concepts. In a 2021 interview with PW, Rose said that Dark Night’s books had thus far sold more than 3 million copies across all formats. She also noted that Evil Eye was created to see “what would happen if a publisher treated an author the way an author wanted to be treated.”
Liz Berry remembered Rose best for being "innovative, and brave, and fierce, and an icon. She will be sorely missed." Jillian Stein also said her partner will be missed. “M.J. was a force of nature both in the industry and out,” Stein said. “She was both bold and tender hearted and she was always happy to share her experiences and use what she’s learned in her long career to help anyone who asked. The amount of people she’s touched over the years is incredible.”
Rose was also the founder of the book marketing firm AuthorBuzz, which she started in 2005. In addition, Rose was a founding member of the International Thriller Writers association, eventually serving as co-president.
Rose lived in Connecticut with her husband, the composer Doug Scofield, to whom she was married for 30 years.
