Stormzy Is Launching a Publishing Imprint With Penguin Random House to Help Aspiring Authors

Stormzy is known for his skills on the mic, but it looks like the British-Ghanaian rapper is expanding his resume to include author and publisher as well.

The grime star has announced his new imprint called #Merky Books in collaboration with Penguin Random House UK. He'll be releasing his debut book Rise Up: The #Merky Journey So Far under the imprint on November 1. The book will include "hundreds of never-before-seen photographs, annotated lyrics and contributions from those closest to him," he wrote on Instagram.

The rapper also wrote about his hopes for #Merky, and his desire to make it a platform for talented writers whose work goes unnoticed because they lack access to major publishers. "I know too many talented writers that don't always have an outlet or a means to get their work seen and hopefully #Merky Books can now be a reference point for them to say 'I can be an author' and for that to be a realistic and achievable goal."

He also listed future plans for the company:

"We'll be doing school competitions, taking entries and submissions and looking for writers as well but I'll keep you posted! #Merky Books will also be offering a paid internship in 2019!"

You can pre-order Stromzy's Rise Up: The #Merky Journey So Far now via the imprint's site.