MCD, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, has announced the launch of AUWA Books, an imprint directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, the longtime drummer and joint frontman for the Roots. AUWA will publish fiction and nonfiction titles, and is "devoted to finding inspiring new stories and connecting readers to lost voices."
Questlove will serve as publisher and editor-in-chief of AUWA, with Alexis Rosenzweig as senior v-p and editorial director and Malaika Adero and Ben Greenman as executive editors . The imprint takes its name from the bird-call noise popularized by Prince in such songs as "Baby I'm a Star" and "Eye No."
AUWA's inaugural title, the memoir Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) by Sly Stone, will be published October 17.
“We are embarking on this new imprint with Questlove with great excitement. Questlove’s vision and many talents will add tremendously to our list," FSG president and publisher Mitzi Angel said in a statement, "and we can’t wait to publish our first book on the AUWA imprint with Questlove this fall, Sly Stone’s much-anticipated memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”
“I have been writing books for over a decade,” added Questlove in a statement, “so it seemed like a natural step to publish them too. I’m very excited about AUWA Books, from the books we have lined up to the books we haven’t discovered yet. Let’s take it to the page.”
Other planned titles include Hip-Hop Is History, by Questlove and Greenman, slated for 2024; the debut book by podcaster Drew Afualo, slated for 2024; Josh Luber's Building the Hype Economy, slated for 2025; and Handbook for the Revolution: The Essential Guide for Workplace Organizing by Derrick Palmer, v-p and co-founder of the Amazon Labor Union, slate for 2025.
