Hinton Publishing Centers Stories From Historically Underinvited Communities

New publishing company aims "to make visible the invisible stories of our communities."

by Patheresa Wells

Many people can only dream of writing down their stories. It takes a special bravery to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to produce a sharable work, and getting it published and getting it out to a wider audience is a huge next step. People who have been historically underrepresented in traditional publishing are even less likely to take that step. But new publisher Hinton Publishing, an imprint of Vertvolta, has begun operations with a focus on helping underinvited communities in the Pacific Northwest to get their stories published.

Started in March by Marcus Harrison Green, Seattle Times columnist, award-winning author, and founder of the South Seattle Emerald, Hinton intends to help build a more diverse literary community. Hinton accepts submissions from writers who identify as part of an underinvited community, including but not limited to People of Color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, and those from low-income backgrounds. Hinton authors with upcoming titles include Sean Goode, Danielle Marie Holland, Juan Carlos Reyes, and Reagan Jackson.

Harrison Green recently spoke with South Seattle Emerald about Hinton Publishing, and the necessity to expand beyond the mainstream when it comes to telling stories.

"To quote Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 'There is tremendous danger in a single narrative.' I think you see that throughout history when society's choose one accepted story that serves as the 'official' chronicle of their history, present, future. You erase not just the untidy parts of a society but you also erase much of its beauty and the beauty, creativity, and contributions of the people who don't snugly fit into that accepted narrative. For all its faults, we live in a country where multiplicity is present, if not always celebrated. It's important that readers have a full account of life that is authentic and genuine. You can't do that without sharing the stories from America's underinvited communities."

Harrison Green named Hinton after his grandfather Leonard "Lenny" Hinton, a Black writer who, in the 1950s, sent his novel to a publisher, never to hear back. Years later, Hinton discovered his book had been published under a white writer's name. This crushed him, causing him to give up on writing altogether, which led to alcoholism as a way to deal with the sorrow of his predicament.

Yet publishing hasn't changed much since Hinton's time when it comes to who makes the decisions about what is worth printing. Lee & Low Books released their first Diversity Baseline Survey in 2015, which drastically proved the need for more inclusion in the publishing world. Lee & Low Books is a publishing company created to address the lack of diversity in children's books. Through their studies, they have put numbers to the lack of inclusivity in publishing. The survey was sent to review journals, trade publishers, university presses, literary agencies, and the "Big Five" publishers (Penguin/Random House, Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan). They repeated the study in 2019, noting, "the field is just as White today as it was four years ago."

Reagan Jackson has been writing since she was a kid. She spent a lot of time in bookstores and remembers browsing the young adult section only to find it full of white girl stories. Jackson said when she was 10, she had the opportunity to meet Toni Morrison.

"One of the things she instilled in me was the idea that if you didn't see a story told, that it was your job to tell it. This has been a guiding principle for me as a writer, no matter what genre I'm creating in, and this is the work of Hinton — to make visible the invisible stories of our communities, to provide a platform that balances out the representation of BIPOC, queer, and trans folks," said Jackson.

Her path to being a published writer has been nontraditional. Jackson became a journalist after being offered a chance to write for The Seattle Globalist in 2013. Since then, she has published over 100 articles with numerous outlets, including Seattle Globalist, South Seattle Emerald, Crosscut, and YES! Magazine. She has also taken the route of self-publishing three collections of poetry and two children's books. Jackson even has a young adult novel that she hopes to publish — one for her younger self.

She is currently working with Hinton to release Still True: The Evolution of an Unexpected Journalist. The second-edition nonfiction book includes a collection of articles and essays alongside a short memoir of unexpectedly becoming a journalist.

"I talk about everything from gentrification and gun violence to death doulas, disability justice, and Black joy. It's partly a time capsule and partly an invitation for readers to locate themselves in my work and then think about what stories are taking place in their families, their communities, worlds, and how my work relates," Jackson said.

Figuring out the stories that are taking place in underinvited communities and showing those writers that they have a place in the literary world is what Hinton is working to do. Vladimir Verano, publisher of Hinton's partner, Vertvolta Press, said that big and mid-sized publishing companies still have a long way to go when it comes to bringing in authors from these communities. "This kind of diversity would encourage a broader perception of 'who's fit to publish,'" he said. "For Hinton, we're choosing to make that our priority." He added that many small publishers are doing this critical work that fills the void left by the larger publishing houses.

For Hinton's Deputy Publisher Maggie Block, that means asking writers and storytellers how Hinton can help get their stories out. This includes people who don't consider themselves writers. Hinton has created a survey to find out what kind of resources, community building, and support people need to realize their aspirations of being writers.

"Anyone can fill this out who has a story that they want to tell. If you have never felt like you're a writer before but you have this idea or there's a story from your life or your family that you really want to be able to tell, this writer survey is for you," Block said.

The survey asks questions like: What genre do you write in (or hope to)? What support do you wish existed in Seattle for writers, and how should Hinton prioritize that assistance? Block added that while they have goals of eventually starting a literary magazine, partnering with local writing organizations, and holding workshops, it's essential that they hear directly from the underserved so that they can see what those communities need.

Juan Carlos Reyes is a creative writing professor at Seattle University and a published writer of short fiction, essays, and poetry. His upcoming book from Hinton, Three Alarm Fire, is a collection of fiction where each narrator in a different life circumstance tries to feel heard.

Reyes said, "Whether it's a Latina whose fiance was gunned down by police violence, or it's a mother trying to articulate to her son how to confront the fear of violence that she feels consumed by, each fiction builds this sense of urgency, a call that the narrators, and hopefully readers, feel the need to answer."

He said that revisiting stories from his own life, which took him from Ecuador to New York, from New Jersey to Los Angeles, from Seattle to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and now back to the Pacific Northwest, has been helpful while putting the book together. These connections with his friends and family help him see himself through their eyes. And that reflection, he said, is valuable as he communicates to his kids "where they've come from and where they might want to go next."

While current generations from underinvited communities might find more representation in the literature than Jackson and Reyes did as children, Hinton is about increasing those odds for future generations. And about continuing the legacy of the man whose name is on the masthead. Who never lived to see his name in print, but whose legacy will help ensure others do.

To complete the Hinton Publishing Writers Survey, please fill out this Google form.

If you have something ready for publication, you can submit it through Hinton Publishing's website.

Follow the Hinton Publishing Instagram page for details about their upcoming releases.

Featured Image: Hinton Publisher founder Marcus Harrison Green (right) with Deputy Publisher Maggie Block at this year's Trans Pride. (Photo: Chloe Collyer)