The beginning of the year saw Stormzy sign a deal with Atlantic Records for his label #Merky, which focuses on finding new talent in the music world. On Tuesday, he stopped his set at his second #Merky festival in Ibiza to watch England win their penalty shoot-out. Now, the UK grime artist has announced that he is collaborating with Penguin Random House to launch #Merky Books.
“I know too many talented writers that don’t always have an outlet or a means to get their work seen and hopefully #Merky Books can now be a reference point for them to say “I can be an author” and for that to be a realistic and achievable goal,” said Stormzy on his Instagram post yesterday.
“Reading and writing as a kid was integral to where I am today and I from the bottom of my heart can not wait to hear your stories, your poems, your novels, your sci-fis and then getting them out into the big wide world.”
“Proper proud of this!” he added.
The post also revealed that #Merky Books would be offering a paid internship next year, as well as publishing “Rise Up: The #Merky Journey So Far” 1st November as the first book released under the imprint. The book, effectively Stormzy’s autobiography, is available for pre-order now, and promises “hundreds of never-before-seen photographs, annotated lyrics and contributions from those closest to him”.
Penguin’s website describes the imprint as “dedicated to publishing the best new fiction, non-fiction and poetry”, and “a home for a new generation of voices”. They also say they will be announcing details of an open submission competition next year, with the winner receiving a publishing contract with #Merky Books.
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