Agate Publishing is a new small publisher that will debut its first list with a novel by journalist Jill Nelson, author of the 1993 bestselling memoir Volunteer Slavery.
Founded by publisher Douglas Seibold, Agate Publishing is banking on Nelson's outspoken and controversial reputation to drive interest in Sexual Healing, a comic novel about two black women who are frustrated with the lack of datable black men and decide to start a brothel for black women. The book will be released in June. It is Nelson's first book since Volunteer Slavery was published by Noble Press, a small black publishing house that has since closed.
First serial rights have been sold to Savoy magazine and an eight-city tour will begin after BEA.
It's not a coincidence that Nelson is once again publishing with a small startup house in the Chicago area. Seibold was an editor at Noble Press and acquired and edited Nelson's first book.
Agate will follow Sexual Healing, which has a 20,000-copy first printing, with three more books this fall, and is planning 10 books in 2004. Its titles will be distributed by Consortium. "Consortium gave our list a real vote of confidence," said Seibold.
Seibold said he put up most of the financing for Agate. "We want to keep our costs low and do this in the right way. There's a lot of opportunity in publishing if it's done on the right scale."
