The World Needs More Feminist Books…And Why You Should Write One of Them by Dr. Angela Yarber

I believe more women—and particularly queer and/or BIPOC women—deserve to publish books. Let me explain why.

It was my first year of seminary. After majoring in religion in undergrad, I had a decent handle on feminist theology, but I hadn’t yet reconciled my strong, feminist upbringing with the faith tradition that held my ordination in their patriarchal hands. A seminary friend recommended I read Sue Monk Kidd’s Dance of the Dissident Daughter and everything changed.

This was twenty years ago. That one book helped me internalize the intersectional feminist theory that had always dwelled outside of me. Decades later, I find myself teaching in my own seminary classrooms and mentoring DMin students, requiring that same text, along with one of my own books, Queering the American Dream, and Christena Cleveland’s God is a Black Woman when discussing the power of feminist memoir in religious leadership.

Because books have the power to change lives, change the church, change spirituality, change religion, even change the world. Empowered by this life-changing work, I started Tehom Center Publishing.

Tehom Center Publishing is an imprint publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment that at least half our authors are BIPOC.

The perspectives of marginalized women—and particularly queer women and/or women of color—are severely lacking in the publishing industry. In fact, after publishing eight of my own books with four different publishers, I can say that not one woman or person of color was involved in the editing and publishing of my books.

My personal experienced is backed by data that motivated the founding of Tehom Center Publishing. 70% of all publishing employees are white; straight people account for 80% of all publishers; 89% of all published authors are white; and only 16% of authors are LGBTQIA+. In other words, the perspectives of marginalized women are altogether absent.

Growing up in a working poor, single-parent family where no one had graduated high school, let alone attended college, I knew that books and education were my way out of a toxic cycle of poverty. So, I earned a degree on behalf of each member of my family: a B.A., M.Div., and Ph.D. With each degree, my love for books increased and my desire to become an author grew.

Upon completing my Ph.D., I published eight books over a period of ten years. Five of these books were listed in QSpirit’s Top LGBTQ Religion Books. These books established me as an expert in my field and I witnessed them make a tremendous difference in the lives of women. I say this, not to list accolades or brag, but to name the ways in which publishing changed my life, and how books change the lives of countless marginalized women.

Still, as a small-name author without access to the resources of the big-name publishing companies, I experienced first-hand the lack of marketing, publicity, and business acumen in small, independent publishing houses.

I transitioned my non-profit into a publishing house to disrupt the old-school, white, male publishing system and to provide a safe and brave space for feminist and queer women to tell our stories. At Tehom Center Publishing, it’s not enough that we simply publish these marginalized authors, though. In addition to publishing their books, TCP also offers possibilities for author training where writers are coached in how to best market their books, in addition to developing signature programs that turn their books into a business brand that can support them as author/entrepreneurs.

In our six months of existence, our first author reached #1 and #3 in her Amazon categories and, together, we created a sustainable, profitable retreat business that coincides with her book; she has told her story, felt empowered, and made a difference in countless lives already. TCP also recently signed the drag queen who inaugurated Drag Queen Story Hour in Atlanta, Miss TerraCotta Sugerbaker, to coach her in writing her book in the face of anti-drag and anti-LGBTQ legislation. And I have a queue of about twenty authors—all women or nonbinary, many queer, over half women of color—waiting to become a cohort of authors writing about the intersection of women and spirituality.

This burgeoning business is on the cusp of doing powerful, revolutionary work that empowers marginalized women. It’s not simply a publishing house or books, but a movement that emboldens marginalized authors in publishing their books and in developing life-giving programs that align with the mission of their books.

So, Feminism and Religion readers and writers, I want to extend a special invitation to you to consider writing and publishing a book with Tehom Center Publishing.

If you’re interested in learning more about Tehom Center Publishing, join me for a live Zoom Q&A on Monday, August 7 at 6pm EST. Learn more and register here.

Feminist civil rights activist Toni Cade Bambara once wrote, “the great work of feminist writing is to make revolution irresistible.” Let’s start a revolution, subversive sister saints, one word, one paragraph, one page, one book at a time.

BIO: Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber is an award-winning author, artist, and publisher. She founded Tehom Center Publishing to publish feminist and queer authors, with a commitment that at least half their authors are BIPOC. Five of her eight books have been listed in QSpirit’s Top LGBTQ Religion Books and she holds a Ph.D. in Art and Religion with an emphasis in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. In addition to being Affiliate Professor of Women in Religious Leadership at Drew University, she also leads arts and writing retreats that fuse feminist and queer spirituality. Her work has been featured in Forbes, HuffPo, Ms Magazine, NPR, and on the television show Tiny House Nation. For more, visit www.tehomcenter.org