The Importance of Publishing Marginalized Authors - Guest Post

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Today, I have the great pleasure to share my blog with a fellow academic, writer, artist, activist, and minister, Angela Yarber.  Angela and I met online when I was drawn to her "Subversive Sister Saints," one of which now hangs proudly in my living room. I was so impressed with her work and advocacy that I wrote a blog post about her and her art.  You can find it here.

However, today is a time for Angela to share some thoughts on why it is important to publish marginalized authors. This is the topic I chose for her to write upon as part of her Women in Writing blog tour for her book, Queering the American Dream. So, without further ado, I welcome my subversive sister, Angela Yarber!

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Did you know that only 16% of published authors identify as LGBTQIA+? Even worse, only 11% are BIPOC. 

As a queer woman, these aren’t simply statistics but my lived reality. And after I had my first seven books published with four different presses, it dawned on me that it didn’t have to be this way. I didn’t have to be the only one my publishers represented, or the one who made it to the final round with a publishing company only for them to respond, “We really believe in this book, but we don’t know how to market to queer audiences.” 

I was sick and tired of seeing straight, white men thrive with mediocre books because their advances, royalties, and stories had an advantage from the very start, because when they looked around at the presses that represented their books, they saw a bunch of other straight, white cis dudes staring back at them. What about our queer dreams? 

The world was missing out on the precise perspectives and stories we need most 

In writing and publishing Queering the American Dream, I was able to create and imagine a different world, a world where women, queer folx, and BIPOC have equitable access to publishing, to fulfilling our dreams. 

Queering the American Dream begins the day the Supreme Court ruled our marriage legal, my queer little family traversing the American landscape for two years in a camper named Freya, following in the footsteps of revolutionary women from history and myth. Amid our wanderings, I grappled with the loss of faith, addiction, death, and what it means to reimagine the so-called dream promised to so many. With unapologetic grief, humor, and radical imagination, I created a new dream, not just for myself, but for all marginalized people living in America. 

One of my favorite writers, Gloria Anzaldúa, inspired this dream. This queer Chicana feminist claimed: “The world I create in my writing compensates for what the real world does not give me.” 

The “real world” has given us, on the whole, an old-school, white, male, predatory publishing industry that, at best, doesn’t understand the nuances of queer and feminist writing, and at worst, preys upon us for capital gain. So, I created Tehom Center Publishing to compensate for what the real world has not given us. Tehom Center Publishing is a press publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers. 

Publishing Queering the American Dream with my own press was not only empowering, but it also galvanized me to coach other marginalized authors in the power of living the authorpreneur dream. Yes, Tehom Center publishes authors at absolutely no cost, but we also offer just and equitable coaching programs empowering authors in creating entire businesses aligned with their books, thereby sustaining a financially abundant life. 

Traveling throughout the country with my queer little family taught me that the world not only needs marginalized authors to be published, but we deserve to live abundant lives. This is our iteration of the American dream.

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About the Author:
Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber is an award-winning author of eight books and a
highly sought public speaker. She is the Founder of Tehom Center Publishing, an imprint publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers. With a Ph.D. in Art and Religion and over a decade serving as a Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, five of her books were listed in QSpirit’s Top LGBTQ Religion Books. Her work has been featured in Forbes, HuffPo, Ms. Magazine, Tiny House Nation, and more at https://angelayarber.org 

You can find her online at: 




To join us in queering the American dream and stay connected with book and publishing events, visit Tehom Center - Book Tour




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