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SPEAKER ’ S CORNER

KAYLIE JONES MAKING AN IMPRINT ON THE PUBLISHING WORLD by Mary Ellen Walsh

JUST WHEN the publishing world turned upside down, author/ teacher Kaylie Jones took a bold step and launched her own imprint, Kaylie Jones Books (KJB) www.kayliejonesbooks.com. Rave reviews continue to pour in from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews and American Library Association of KJB’s first titles. The July release of Sing in the Morning, Cry At Night, by Barbara J. Taylor hit 1,000 e-book sales on Amazon in one week. Kaylie Jones is a survivor. A second-degree black belt in mixed martial arts, with a string of novels, award-winning screenplays, and an honest memoir, Lies My Mother Never Told Me (HarperCollins/William Morrow, 2009) establishing her position as a revered writer, no challenge proves too big or too risky. “It’s more like a grassroots movement with writers taking back control,” says Jones. “We have a saying in Taekwondo, when we’re

sparring—not to judge ourselves. Just think without emotion.” Jones’ sense of place is strong both in literary history (daughter of James Jones, From Here to Eternity) as well as the Sagaponack she holds dear to her heart in a Camelot mystique. With her imprint, Jones has created a home for literature by helping talented authors publish their work. While teaching memoir and novel-writing classes at various MFA programs, including Stony Brook Southampton MFA in writing and literature in the Hamptons, Kaylie had met many struggling authors and wanted to do more than just mentor. Jones knew Johnny Temple, former bassist of the punk band Boys Against Girls, who founded Akashic, the Brooklyn-based indie label with the “Rad” attitude that features books and music, www.akashicbooks.com. “I felt like I wasn’t doing enough. A few years ago, I called Johnny and said I have to do something bigger to help writers. I suggested we open

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