Show notes:

• In this episode we talk about what happens post book-deal
• Namina Forna’s The Gilded Ones is essentially The Hunger Games x The Handmaids Tale and we spend the episode talking about her journey to publication as well
• We discuss barriers in publishing
• How she started out first in film school
• We also talk about how her being Black effected the way she was rejected and the amount of rejections she received
• She was told by agents and other higher ups that people were not interested in reading about people who looked like her
• We discuss questions to ask literary agents during an offer call
• We also talk about what to look for in an agent
• “I did not understand the barriers that were against me. If I had, if I’d understood the amount of pain, the amount of years that I would spend knocking on a wall that was not going to open for me…I probably would have quit and would have done something else.” - Namina Forna
• “I cannot help but think how many other talented writers of olour gave up because the wall was insurmountable.” - Namina Forna
• “I think Black Panther in so many ways changed the game.” - Namina Forna
• We talk about her having a UK literary agent despite being from the US
• A look into UK and US book deals
• Having a day job
• Finances and financial literacy
• Twitter: @NaminaForna
• Instagram: @Namina.Forna
• Website: www.NaminaForna.com

Thank you for listening to this episode! Hope you found it engaging and helpful!