2023-24: Our Year in Review and Hopes for the Coming Year

By Embolden Media Group founder and CEO, Jevon Bolden

At Embolden Media Group, our year ends and begins on March 8. This year, we celebrated seven years in business and, thanks to Elodie, it was the first time I realized our anniversary falls on International Women’s Day. With all that the month of March carries for me personally, the connection was never made. But being a woman founder, I’d love to believe this was not a coincidence but divine alignment.


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With a smaller team than the previous year, we set our hearts and energy toward strengthening our literary agency, Embolden Literary. Even though we are 100% remote with team members living in various locations, we pulled in tight, scheduled more face time, and reduced the number of appearances at conferences and other industry events.

Embolden Publishing and Content Development kept humming with numerous authors coached, manuscripts critiqued or edited, and four self-published titles released, while we steadily grew our list of diverse authors seeking traditional publishing opportunities.

2023 Independently Published Projects

We celebrated a multi-list best seller with Joshua Giles’s Mantled for Greatness making appearances on the ECPA, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today best-seller lists. Tasha Jun’s Tell Me the Dream Again received a Publisher Weekly starred review.

Our clients were the brightest lights!

These are just highlights. There was so much great coverage and response to our clients’ work this past year. Each of them exuded levels of passion and giftedness that astounded us. They remained committed to writing and publishing thoughtful books that carry important conversations forward, making a real impact in people's lives. We were so proud of them all, and thankful for their continued trust.

Here are a few 2023-2024 agency stats:

  • We acquired 10 new authors in 2023, bringing the total number of authors represented to 48.

  • 77% of the authors we represented are women.

  • 91% of the clients we represented are authors of color.

  • 85% of the clients we represented are first-time authors.

  • We closed 13 new book deals. More than half were for first-time authors.

  • Our clients released a total of 8 new titles.

2023 Embolden Literary Client Releases

Going forward...

In 2024-25, we hope to establish new author partnerships and collaborations across industries. A magnet for opportunities and growth, we will:

  • Expand our team

  • Increase our reach into the general market

  • Facilitate more author education and development programs for publishing’s underserved

We are committed to being a market leader and sought-out partner to publishers as we cultivate, amplify, and advocate for the works of women writers, authors of color, and forward-thinking creators whose diverse ideas move the world.

Lastly...

We’re so grateful to our clients, the publishing teams who reach out and stay wholeheartedly interested in our clients’ work, and to you--the readers, social media followers, and well-wishers who are just along for the ride. Thank you! May you ride the wave of success in your endeavors as well.

Here’s to seven years and many more!

Jevon Bolden