Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pledge:Simon & Schuster is dedicated to publishing a broad and diverse range of books for everyone, representative of the world around us. We are committed to working with and supporting writers, illustrators, and other creative partners from all walks of life, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, nationality, religion or belief, age, social or economic circumstance.
“Simon & Schuster is committed to creating and sustaining a workplace whose staff is representative of the multi-faceted audiences we serve. We look to foster and nurture a vibrant and stimulating culture of awareness and inclusion, in order that we may better identify and champion a diverse range of authors and viewpoints.”—Jonathan Karp, President & CEO
Multicultural Titles
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is expressed through increased focus on recruiting and staffing, retention and career development, mentoring, diversity and inclusion training for employees, and a continued emphasis on broadening our publishing lists and marketing efforts to serve underrepresented groups. In addition, Simon & Schuster awards various scholarships, and is involved in various community outreach programs that help to create awareness of publishing and help broaden the candidate pool among underrepresented groups.
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is much more than an 'HR issue.' It is an essential ingredient in the design and implementation of our business and must necessarily be embedded in the day-to-day activities of our company. True innovation requires that we reflect the world’s full diversity of individuals, opinions, and viewpoints. But it is not enough to simply include people at the table, but to amplify everyone’s voices, clear barriers, and appreciate each other for our unique backgrounds.”
—Amanda Armstrong-Frank, Director, Workplace Culture & Diversity Initiatives
Some of our initiatives to improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in our business and in our culture have been long-standing, while others are new. These include:
BLACK PRIVILEGE PUBLISHING led by Charlamagne tha God, to amplify Black and Brown narratives, engaging connected, culturally aware, cutting- edge audiences.
13A focuses on publishing renowned, relevant, and diverse voices in culture and politics. Its name refers to the amendment that abolished slavery.
Denene Millner Books celebrates the everyday joy of Black children and families.
Salaam Reads aims to introduce readers of all faiths and backgrounds to a wide variety of Muslim children and families and offer Muslim kids an opportunity to see themselves reflected positively in published works.
Primero Sueño Press focuses on publishing Latinx/Latine/Hispanic authors in both English and Spanish. Named after iconic feminist Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s landmark poem celebrating the soul’s search for absolute knowledge, Primero Sueño Press will serve English and Spanish speakers seeking identity, culture, inspiration, entertainment, wellness, and personal development.
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Imprint Diversity
Multicultural Marketing
The Multicultural Marketing department works on developing and sharing best practices for publishing multicultural works, strategizing marketing tactics and campaigns for individual titles and publishing programs, developing targeted marketing and merchandising programs, establishing relationships with key media, influencers, booksellers, and librarians, and serving as the liaison with internal and external partners to promote Simon & Schuster adult and children’s diverse publishing.
Books Like Us
The Books Like Us program is a platform for promoting our diverse titles—Books Like Us includes video content from authors sharing their inspiration for writing their books and their experiences getting published, monthly emails featuring our upcoming titles, and Live content with our authors in conversation.
This video series showcases our authors and employees from underrepresented groups, discussing the books that influenced them and helped them to find their own voice.
Announcing the winner of the annual BOOKS LIKE US First Novel Contest from Atria BooksAtria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, is pleased to announce D.K. Furutani as the winner of the third annual BOOKS LIKE US First Novel Contest with his novel, This Is Where You Are Now, which will publish in Spring 2026. The aim of the Books Like Us contest is to facilitate access to the publishing process for writers from underrepresented groups, and to celebrate the diversity of readers across the United States.
Set against the backdrops of Japanese American incarceration and modern-day Los Angeles, This Is Where You Are Now follows a high school English teacher who unexpectedly receives his estranged uncle's personal memoirs, forcing him to confront unspoken family history and explore the incremental effects of intergenerational trauma, shedding light on the often-overlooked experiences of Americans whose rights were seized and loyalties questioned before, during, and after WWII.
“The Books Like Us contest is an important effort undertaken by the staff of Atria. I am proud of the program begun by Gallery three years ago and am looking forward to working with our new author D.K. Furutani as we publish his excellent debut.” said Libby McGuire, SVP and Publisher of Atria
“Winning the Books Like Us Contest is a dream opportunity to amplify the stories of Japanese Americans, from immigration to incarceration to resettlement and beyond,” said Furutani. “I’m so proud that ‘Books Like Us’ is a phrase attached to this novel, as it is a story that mirrors the history of my own family as well as the many thousands of other families who endured forced evacuation and displacement by the very country they were born in and loved. It is their bravery and resilience I hope to honor with this book.”
Assistant Editor and Books Like Us committee member, Jade Hui said “D. K. Furutani's novel This Is Where You Are Now absolutely took my breath away. This is a deeply heartfelt and earnestly told story that takes us on a journey through time and across generations of a family, offering an insightful and emotionally resonant look into this critical time in history. These characters, their stories, their resilience, and the hope that echoes throughout these pages, will stay with you long after you turn the last page.”
D.K. Furutani is a fiction writer of Japanese and German descent. His work has received support from Periplus and Tin House. He was born and raised in Los Angeles where he works as a teacher and resides with his wife and three cats. Furutani is represented by Julia Kardon at HG Literary.
This year's contest was hosted by the Atria Books adult trade imprint. Previous winners are Tara Dorabji for her novel Call Her Freedom coming inJanuary 2025 from Simon & Schuster and Elba Iris Pérez, whose novel The Things We Didn't Know was published by Gallery in the spring of 2024.
The BOOKS LIKE US First Novel Contest was created to facilitate accessibility to underrepresented writers and celebrate the diversity of readers across the United States. The Books Like Us First Novel Contest will rotate among all Simon & Schuster adult imprints.
During each session, aspiring writers are invited and encouraged to submit twenty-five pages of an original adult novel to SimonAndSchuster.com/p/Gallery-First-Novel-Contest. At the end of the submission period, the editorial, marketing, and publicity team at the imprint, will review all submissions for originality, relevance to today’s publishing climate, and writing quality. The author of the selected novel will be awarded the opportunity to enter into a $50,000 book deal with the imprint.
This new program is designed to find new voices from those who struggle to get past the literary industry’s traditional gatekeepers, with a focus on underrepresented writers.
Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope was one of the children’s division earliest diversity initiatives. It is a diversity program that features a website and annual printed brochures. Thousands of brochures are distributed each year to teachers, librarians, booksellers, and consumers through numerous channels including educational wholesaler and retail account mailings, conferences, and trade shows.
Employee-Led Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Councils
Simon & Schuster has three employee-led Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Councils, comprised of employees from all divisions and levels of the company–one led by the UK Office, which includes employees from our offices in London, Australia, India, one in Canada, and one in the United States.
The focus of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Councils are to foster a positive and inclusive work environment, identify diversity, equity, and inclusion related issues and develop recommendations and initiatives that embrace the differences of current and potential employees. It is our goal that Simon & Schuster become an employer of choice, so that both prospective employees and authors of varied backgrounds will be attracted to Simon & Schuster and view the company as a superior publisher of quality books. We strive to maintain our exceptional reputation and competitive advantage in the publishing industry.
Fostering An Inclusive Culture
Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council hosts authors for employees which feature inspiring voices who help us to see beyond our own known spaces and challenge how we think. Past authors have included Zulema Arroyo Farley, Ilia Calderon, Common, Chloe Gong, Erica Dunbar, Arun Gandhi, Tim Gunn, Marc Lamont Hill, T.D. Jakes, Constance Wu, Rachael Lippincott, Robbie Couch, Kiese Laymon, Marlee Matlin, Janet Mock, Rebecca Roanhorse, Jenny Han, Ilyasah Shabazz, Sister Souljah, and Paula Stone Williams.
