When Frederick Douglass’s The North Star newspaper was first published in 1847, he understood that creating a mouthpiece for enslaved and oppressed people was vital. With the significant disparity in the amount of Black and Brown authors in the book publishing industry, the Frederick Douglass Books imprint will take its cue from The North Star and continue the educational work of Frederick Douglass by giving an opportunity to those with a message for the world.
The Frederick Douglass Books publishing imprint is a partnership between Forefront Books and Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI) to amplify the voices of Black and Brown authors and establish a pathway to publish books that are distributed into traditional retailers through Simon & Schuster.
Our first publication under the Frederick Douglass Books imprint is the Douglass Family Edition of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (June 2023).
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Our second publication under the Frederick Douglass Books imprint is Striving For Justice, by Nathaniel Glover (August 2023).
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OUR PROCESS
DISCOVERY CALL
We love to meet our authors first! We look forward to learning more about your book and publishing goals. We will share more about who we are and what we do at Frederick Douglass Books and answer any questions you may have. We are excited to meet you and determine if our imprint is a good fit for your book!
PUBLISHING AGREEMENT
Our publishing agreement includes all the pertinent information you’ll need to know to kick off our process. We want our authors to be well-informed about the amazing journey their about to embark upon as we prepare to bring your book legacy to life.
Have you ever read a book that you just couldn’t put down? That’s because behind every well-written book was a great developmental editor. Our expert editors focus on the arc of the book with the reader’s experience top of mind. We skillfully take your book through all phases of editing and create a professional manuscript.
SENIOR LEVEL EDITING
COVER DESIGN
Our award-winning team will design a cover that makes your book stand out! Your book cover will grab the attention of readers and the media. If you already have a design, we will transform it into your dream book cover.
INTERIOR LAYOUT
Want callouts, chapter summaries, or photos added to your book? Our team will design your book from cover to cover and create a layout that will keep readers engaged and connected to your book.
PUBLICATION
Imagine walking into a major book retailer and seeing your book on the shelf! Through our exclusive distribution partnership with Simon & Schuster, our authors receive distribution into traditional retailers.
A TRAILBLAZING IMPRINT
The first book featured under the Frederick Douglass Books imprint will be Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, a book the Library of Congress named one of the 88 Books That Shaped America. Published in 1845, Douglass's first autobiography became an instant bestseller and, having escaped slavery just seven years earlier, put his life in immediate danger. The Narrative helped change the course of the U.S. Abolitionist Movement in the mid-nineteenth century and has changed the lives of readers ever since.
Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI) wants to inspire and empower one million young people to do and be more than they ever dreamed possible. In honor of Douglass's 200th birthday in 2018, FDFI published a special Bicentennial Edition of the Narrative. Through Frederick Douglass Books, FDFI intends to publish and distribute one million hardcover copies of a new Douglass Family Edition of the Narrative to students worldwide.
WRITTEN BY HIMSELF
Introduction by Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative
Foreword by Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., Co-Founder and President, Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives
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KENNETH B. MORRIS, JR.
CO-FOUNDER and PRESIDENT, FDFI
“My great-great-great-grandfather, Frederick Douglass, understood the importance of telling his story and amplifying the voices of the enslaved and oppressed. It is my hope that this imprint will carry on his legacy and provide a platform for Black and Brown authors to publish their own narrative."
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JONATHAN MERKH
PRESIDENT and PUBLISHER, FOREFRONT BOOKS
“With the large disparity in the amount of Black and Brown authors in the book publishing industry, the Frederick Douglass Books imprint will continue the educational work of Frederick Douglass by giving an opportunity to those with a message for the world.”
