12 More Celebrities Who Should Have Their Own Imprints
Now that Johnny Depp’s got his own publishing imprint with Harper Collins, which other stars are going to jump on the bandwagon? This books-as-prestige-barometer thing seems to be taking off, what with Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s hitRECord publishing arm and Anthony Bourdain’s imprint, also with Harper Collins. And let’s not forget Viggo Mortensen’s Perceval Press, named for an Arthurian knight. (Aragorn was well ahead of the curve; the press marks its tenth anniversary this year.)
So who will be next? Which celebrities should get their own imprint? Who has enough wattage / clout and has something juicy to share? Yet wouldn’t get insufferably inflated (*cough* Sean Penn)? Here are a dozen to start with, laced with thanks to my fellow Rioters. Add your nominations below!
Gwyneth Paltrow
Guillermo del Toro.
Who better to do a slate of dark fantasy, monster tales, and the occasional video game spinoff?
Oprah.
Hasn’t she done this yet? Feels like she should’ve.
Emma Thompson.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
One of the many things these dames should run. The name of the imprint alone would surely be awesome! Stride of Pride.
Wes Anderson.
He’d have an elephantine literary gestation period, but each resulting book would be polished to such a high sheen, you would never want to crack the spine.
Patti Smith.
Beautiful, wrenching, illustrated editions of Arthur Rimbaud, William Blake, Bob Dylan, and other favorite poets.
Stephen King.
He can start priming the pump for a new generation of thriller and mystery writers, then toss in the occasional baseball or AC/DC rock-bio tome.
Werner Herzog.
Think of the audiobook possibilities.
Ryan Gosling.
Since he already works in publishing. He can have our F&Gs anytime.