We desperately need principled writers with radical imaginations that work in service of collective liberation. Dominant narratives can be used to manufacture consent, launder war crimes, and justify atrocity. Writers who approach their work with ferocity and view their writing as part of an effort to build a better world free from imperialism and capitalism—in which our basic material, emotional, and spiritual needs are met—require editorial partners who share their concerns.
Be clear about your intentions. Know your readers intimately and the complexity and conflict within the movements they care about. Representation matters, yes—but to whom? For what purpose and intention? To what end? Who is most harmed, sidelined, subjugated, and how does your writing, whether in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, fearlessly express the truth, with dignity? Where does your writing illuminate points of connection or opportunities for greater solidarity?
To quote bell hooks, “I think people are hungry for dissent. I think people are hungry for provocative voices that go to the heart of the matter. Because people want to have answers to things that they are in crisis about. There’s an irony that on one hand we have a mass media, and a publishing industry particularly, that tells us, ‘keep it mellow, don’t say anything.’ But what I find is people are really hungry for truth. And that hunger I think is something that unites us across class, race, sexual preference and practice, religion. And I see the hope, the hope that I feel within my own self and with other people, is that hunger for truth and for ways to live our lives more fully, in a manner that’s more fulfilling.”
—Shabnam Banerjee-McFarland, agent, Odom Media Management
Photo credit: Rachel Wisniewski