Grime star Stormzy is launching a new publishing imprint with publisher Penguin Random House to help young writers find their feet in the publishing world.
The 24-year-old Londoner shared the news of his collaboration on Instagram, announcing that #Merky Books will open submissions in 2019 for new works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry from young writers.
Stormzy cited his lifelong love of literature and how it’s contributed to his career as a songwriter and rapper as the inspiration for #Merky.
“We’ve created #Merky Books for many reasons, the first simply for it to be a reference point for talented young writers to say ‘I can be an author’ and for that to be a feasible and realistic achievement and not something in the distance,” he said.“We hope this imprint will instil belief and ambition in young writers, making publishing seem less prohibitive and making the dream of being a published author a reality.”
The first title published under the new venture will be his own book titled Rise Up: The #Merky Journey So Far.
