Launched in 2025, Akan Books is a new imprint of HQ (part of HarperCollins) led by author, broadcaster and diversity and inclusivity advocate June Sarpong. Akan is overseen by leading publisher Lisa Milton, one of the women behind the Primadonna Festival and Prize, and a lifelong champion of new voices across literary and commercial fiction. Sarpong herself authored the groundbreaking book Diversify back in 2017, which anticipated much of the increased debate in the creative industries, calling for a wider understanding of how ethnicity, disability, gender and class need to be considered in society.
The name Akan is inspired by Sarpong’s own West African Ashanti heritage. The imprint’s colophon depicts Anansi the spider, a master storyteller. The aim of the imprint is to give a voice to, and make a home for, writers from as yet underrepresented communities, with a special focus on ethnic minority voices.
The imprint is taking a new approach to working with authors, offering a wraparound support programme to help writers navigate the writing industries with editorial development, matched by professional development support and help with finding an agent aligned with the vision of developing long-term careers for the writers they publish.
Milton says that Akan Books aims to remove the barriers that block writers from having their stories read and told. This includes being open to submissions of work from writers who do not yet have literary agent representation.
As part of the first list of books, Sarpong has co-authored Calling Una Marson with Jennifer Obidike, a biography of the BBC’s first black female broadcaster. This pioneering journalist was discovered by Sarpong as part of her work as a diversity champion at the BBC.
As well as Jenny Knight’s Wild Moon Rising, the list also includes Overspill by Charlotte Paradise, a literary novel about a young woman “overcoming trauma and finding self-acceptance”.
Akan is open for submissions of work now and is focusing on the following: In fiction: crime and thriller, psychological suspense, romance, historical, contemporary/book club and family drama. In non-fiction: self-help, smart thinking, memoir and parenting.
Find out more at akanbooks.co.uk.
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