Tamira Chapman, Image courtesy of Storehouse Voices
The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, has announced a powerful new collaboration with Tamira Chapman’s Storehouse In A Box (SIAB) to launch Storehouse Voices™, a bold new imprint focused on elevating Black voices in the literary world. Aimed at bridging the representation gap in publishing, Storehouse Voices promises to become a cultural touchstone, amplifying the diverse stories and rich history of the Black experience.
Tamira Chapman, an award-winning entrepreneur and philanthropist from Detroit, is the driving force behind the imprint. As the founder and CEO of Storehouse In A Box, a globally recognized woman-led enterprise, Chapman has long been committed to supporting and fostering inclusive content creation.
Through her partnership with Penguin Random House, she has organized large-scale events featuring renowned figures such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and former First Lady Michelle Obama. Now, as Publisher of Storehouse Voices, Chapman is poised to make her mark on the literary world by creating a platform for underrepresented authors of color.
“The most important thing that I thought about is that stories have the ability to transform lives, and so when we keep that in mind, it’s important that we have enough of us telling our own stories because our realities are being shaped by it,” Chapman said.
Storehouse Voices will bring diverse nonfiction and fiction works to the forefront, each carefully selected and supported through an innovative, community-driven incubation model. This model was born out of Chapman’s earlier success with the Women & Words program, a collaboration with Penguin Random House that saw over 10,000 Black women register for workshops and led to numerous authors securing agent representation. Five participants from this program have already signed book deals with Storehouse Voices, marking the imprint’s commitment to fostering talent from the ground up.
‘We had a goal, that maybe we’d sign up a couple 100 women, and to our surprise, we signed up over 10,000 in a week, and we actually had to shut the registration down,” Chapman said.
“But that just shows how much pinned-up demand there was. And so the women showed up to these programs with such energy, enthusiasm, and just excellence.”
Porscha Burke, former Senior Editor and Director of DEI Strategy at the Crown and Random House Publishing Groups serves as Associate Publisher, working alongside Chapman to shape Storehouse Voices’ mission and publishing program.
“Without her, we also don’t get here, so it’s just this beautiful community story of how we came together to really wield a beautiful outcome,” Chapman said.
Burke, a trailblazer in diversity and inclusion within publishing, brings over 20 years of experience to the team. She has been the editor to author giants like Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison.
“It is not lost on me that Toni Morrison, as an editor at Random House, still needed to get the approval of others in order to acquire books for her list,” Burke said.
“The curatorial power Tamira and Storehouse will enjoy—and our collective deep roots in both reader communities and traditional publishing structures—is the fruit of such incredible ancestors’ labor. It is an honor to be able to expand the impact of their work in such fresh and exciting ways.”
In a testament to the imprint’s commitment to community engagement, Storehouse Voices will also launch a dynamic digital platform. The platform will offer authors a space to connect with readers, agents, and fellow writers, ensuring a vibrant, interactive space for storytelling. The platform will also provide tools for manuscript submissions, feedback, and updates, offering authors a comprehensive support ecosystem.
“We’re creating a home for Black voices and celebrating the richness of diverse storytelling. Diverse authors have a home here, and we call on the brightest talent in publishing to join us in reshaping the narrative,” Chapman said.
David Drake, President of the Crown Publishing Group, highlighted Chapman is a visionary entrepreneur and industry disruptor.
“Crown is honored to partner with her and the talented team at Storehouse Voices to break publishing molds that have long needed to be broken,” Drake said.
As Storehouse Voices continues to develop its inaugural roster of authors, including celebrated figures like playwright David E. Talbert and Detroit native and entrepreneur Arian Simone, the imprint is already poised to become a transformative force in the literary landscape, shining a spotlight on underrepresented voices and stories that have long been overlooked.
“We have our very first book that will be published at the end of June, beginning of July, and we’ll have books two and three following along later this year,” Chapman said.
“At least two of those books have a Detroit connection, with author Arian Simone. And then another big-time author, whose name I can’t say yet, with Detroit ties, will hopefully also be out this year.”
Chapman’s message to Detroiters: If you have meaningful work that you think can move culture forward, Store House Voices would love to hear from you.
“We’re open for business, and we’ll work with just about anybody, including Black bookstores, which is also a large part of our strategy, and part of the community,” Chapman said,
“We’re creating a home for Black voices and celebrating the richness of diverse storytelling. I’m deeply grateful to the tens of thousands of Black women whose passion and dedication to excellence in literature made this moment possible, and to David Drake, Porscha Burke, and Penguin Random House for their leadership and belief in the importance of amplifying Black voices.”
For more information on Storehouse Voices and to explore the inaugural titles and author offerings, visit storehousevoices.com.
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