December 10th 2023.
Dhonielle Clayton is making waves in the book industry by taking matters into her own hands. Through her packaging business, Electric Postcard Entertainment, she is providing buyers with book ideas that center around underrepresented protagonists. She has hosted events to bring media executives, agents, and novelists together to discuss the potential of these ideas and make them come alive.
At one of her fall events, Clayton provided party-goers with an assortment of goodies, one of which contained a QR code. This code revealed the excerpts of ten diverse narratives that Clayton was shopping around with the goal of shifting away from the standard white, heteronormative perspective in literature. As a packager, Clayton develops the plot lines and sources writers to bring the projects to life. Her ultimate aim is to create a pipeline for authors of color to write about unique characters from all backgrounds, including LGBTQIIA+, disabled, and cultural groups.
Clayton's journey to success in the industry has been a long one; it took her eight books from start to finish to break in. She wants to make sure that others don't have to go through the same. "It shouldn't have taken me eight books, start to finish, to break in. I wanted to shorten the runway for other people," she said.
Clayton's first intellectual property business, Cake Creative, was in the children's literature field. Now, she is expanding into adult fiction and her dominance in the industry is becoming clear. Since the establishment of Electric Postcard, she has sold 11 books and her influence is growing. Her mission to diversify the book industry is well underway, and she is determined to ensure that others rise with her.
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