Shawanda “N’Tyse” Williams is an author, independent film producer, and former literary agent as well as the founder of Black Odyssey Media. Her publishing company is on track to release 28 books in just one year of operation.
The publishing company acquired over 40 novels and is now ready to place 28 of those books in the marketplace before the year’s end, according to Black News. The company plans to publish even more titles during its soft launch of Black Odyssey Nova, which Black News describes as a “digital-first imprint expressly tailored for hybrid authors who produce content at a rapid pace, and emerging creators with shorter-length works, or simply those who are looking for a publishing home to grow with.”
Founder and CEO Williams said, “In our initial strides towards the one-year milestone, we have already seen a tremendous response to the unique stories and perspectives our authors bring to the literary landscape.”
She said that even though there is still work to be done, the communal support from avid readers and mass retailers like Walmart, Target, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon displays the strong demand for authentic and multicultural content.
An independent, woman-owned publishing enterprise, Black Odyssey Media was founded to champion underrepresented creators of color in literature. It says on its website that it aspires to showcase the diverse narratives of marginalized writers across all genres to make a lasting impact in the publishing world, one step at a time and one book at a time. It says it does this by amplifying unique voices and exploring universal themes that resonate with readers from all walks of life.
The company’s debut in the traditional marketplace was largely thanks to its sales and distribution partnership with Kensington Publishing Corp., an independent publisher known for the diversity of its publishing program, Williams said.
Kensington’s President and CEO Steven Zacharius explained why his outfit chose to work with Williams.
He noted, “Whether she’s writing her popular novels as N’Tyse, identifying talent, or developing innovative cross-media platforms for amplifying diverse voices, Shawanda Williams has a singular perspective and a keen sense of what the market wants.
“We have a history of success together… so when she first came to Kensington with her vision for Black Odyssey Media, we immediately wanted to be a part of it.”
