You've Dreamed of Writing and Publishing a Book
Let the Family of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington help you take control of your narrative, preserve your legacy, and reach readers worldwide through Simon & Schuster distribution.
Throughout history, the voices of African Americans, women, and other marginalized people have too often been silenced, distorted, or erased. For centuries, the stories enshrined in classrooms and history books centered almost exclusively on white men.
Meanwhile, the courage, brilliance, and struggles of Black Americans and the contributions of so many others were overlooked, minimized, or told only through the lens of those in power. In a world where your history could be ignored or rewritten, claiming and telling it yourself was not only an act of courage; it was an act of survival.
My great ancestors, Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, understood this reality long before the modern world. They lived in an era when the dominant culture sought to define Black people through enslavement, subjugation, and stereotypes.
Douglass wrote his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, to seize control of his identity and shatter the lie that an enslaved man had no voice, no intellect, and no claim to his own life. Decades later, Booker T. Washington published Up from Slavery to chart his journey from bondage to leadership, proving that Black advancement could not be denied or dismissed.
Both men understood that telling their story was more than self-expression; it was an act of defiance that preserved the truth, inspired generations, and ensured that their voices, not those of their oppressors, would define the legacy they left behind.
We continue to draw strength from the lives they lived and remain inspired by the courage they showed in speaking the truth when others tried to silence them. As a result, the words they penned nearly two centuries ago still resonate, carrying the same courage and unwavering commitment to truth.
That belief that your story belongs to you is at the heart of a journey we share each summer with educators as a part of our Footsteps to Freedom program. These Underground Railroad study tours trace the path of those who risked everything to escape slavery after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, seeking refuge in Canada after slavery was abolished there in 1834. Founded by Ms. Cheryl Brown, the tour will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, a testament to its enduring impact on generations of participants.
For more than twenty years, I have helped guide groups on this life-changing journey along the Underground Railroad, beginning in Cincinnati and winding through Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Canada, and New York. At every stop, Windsor and Buxton, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Seneca Falls, Auburn, and finally Rochester, participants walk in the footsteps of freedom seekers.
They stand in the very places where lives hung in the balance, where whispers of courage and hope once cut through the fear of capture. Each site is a powerful reminder that the pursuit of freedom was not an abstract ideal, but a perilous, flesh-and-blood journey whose echoes still stir the soul today.
At the end of each trip, we ask participants to fill out a card with their SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound commitments. We then ask them to declare these goals in front of the entire group. This creates accountability for what they have set out to do.
Again and again, I hear the same yearning find its voice:
I have a book in me.
I’ve started chapters but never finished.
I want to tell my family’s story.
These are stories the world cannot afford to lose: stories of struggle and triumph, of hard-won wisdom, of people who dare to believe that their lives and experiences matter, that their voices can shape the future and preserve the past.
Frederick Douglass once declared, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” Booker T. Washington taught, “If you want to lift up yourself, lift up someone else.” Both men understood a vital truth: if you do not claim your own story, others will twist it to serve their power, their prejudice, and their version of history.
I see the tears and the light in the educator’s eyes when they share their SMART goals at the end of Footsteps. Something about the journey unlocks a sense of possibility. But inspiration alone isn't always enough. Life gets busy. Doubt creeps in. The book stays unfinished.
That's why we created Frederick Douglass Books.
In partnership with Forefront Books and powered by Simon & Schuster distribution, this imprint exists to amplify underrepresented voices and ensure that stories too often overlooked, silenced, or erased find their rightful place in history. By helping authors share these powerful narratives, we honor the past, challenge the present, and create a legacy of truth for generations to come.
This isn't about gatekeepers or cookie-cutter templates. It's about giving you both the freedom and the infrastructure to publish your book with the dignity and care it deserves.
And it's important to understand: publishing with us is a serious investment. Many people spend tens of thousands of dollars on self-published books that never reach beyond a handful of online sales and family and friends.
Most importantly, your book will be distributed nationally through Simon & Schuster's retail network, a level of access to bookstores, libraries, and major retailers that self-published authors simply do not have.
This model is designed to position your book to earn that investment back through real sales opportunities, speaking engagements, and events. Authors retain complete control over their work, full rights to their intellectual property, and final say over what is published while being supported by a team of experts whose sole mission is to see your book succeed.
But more than logistics, this is about taking control of your narrative.
Just as Douglass and Washington understood, telling your own story on your terms is one of the most powerful acts you can take. When you write your book, you're not only honoring your past, you're shaping how it will be remembered for generations to come.
And here is the truth that moves me every time I hold one of my ancestors' books in my hands: because Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington dared to claim their narrative, we are still reading their words nearly two centuries later.
Their books were more than autobiographies; they were blueprints for freedom. Every page was a voice raised against oppression, and that voice still echoes across the generations, reminding us who they were, why their words matter, and how their legacies continue to shape this nation. In doing so, they built a bridge from bondage to possibility, one we still cross in our pursuit of justice.
Now it is your turn.
The same pen that Douglass and Washington used to open doors of possibility for generations is in your hands. Will you use it?
Will you take control of your narrative, not just for yourself but for those who will come after you?
Imagine a young person fifty or a hundred years from now, opening your book and finding the hope, courage, and vision they need to rise.
This is your moment.
Your voice matters. Your story can shape lives, communities, and even history itself.
The only way to safeguard the truth of your story is to claim it and speak it yourself, just as Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington did, leaving a record that could never be silenced or rewritten.
Apply today to publish with Frederick Douglass Books and let us help you bring your story to life with the care, credibility, and reach it deserves while keeping complete control over your work and your legacy.
We would be honored to consider your manuscript.
In Freedom,
Ken
P.S. Every person has a story worth telling. Please share this opportunity with someone ready to tell theirs.
I will certainly keep this in mind when I’m ready to publish my memoir.