Vivek Shraya. Image: Random House Canada
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
‘Urgency and Curiosity’
Random House Canada in Toronto today (February 10) has announced that writer, artist, and musician Vivek Shraya has been named a senior editor.
Having written “a dozen books spanning genres,” the company reports, she’s to work in acquisitions of titles including self-improvement, celebrity memoir, music and entertainment, women’s issues, as well as genre and literary fiction, with a focus on working with LGBTQ+ and BIPOC [black, indigenous, and people of color] creators. She’s to take up her post on March 3.
Sue Kuruvilla
Sue Kuruvilla, publisher of Random House Canada, is quoted, saying, “As a creator herself, [Shraya] has a deep understanding of the artist’s experience, and I know she’ll bring tremendous empathy and insight to her work as an editor.
“At Random House Canada, we seek to empower our authors to unleash their creativity and pursue their passions fearlessly, and I’m incredibly excited to partner with Vivek in service of that goal as she builds her list.”
For her part, Shraya says, “I will never forget walking into the beautiful Penguin Random House Canada office for the first time back in 2017. I remember thinking at the time that an indie author like me could never be published by a major publisher like that.
“A year later, Penguin Canada published my debut memoir I’m Afraid of Men, and this was a game-changer for me in the industry. I’m thrilled at the possibility of now being able to offer a similar opportunity to other unsung authors in my new position of senior editor at Random House Canada. I look forward to acquiring books that are surprising and challenging.”
Kristin Cochrane
Penguin Random House Canada CEO Kristin Cochrane says, “For so long, I’ve been inspired by Vivek Shraya and her willingness to ask searching, crucial questions, especially in her books I’m Afraid of Men and People Change, which we’ve been honored to publish at Penguin Canada.
“I’m so pleased to welcome her to the company in this new capacity, and I’m certain that she’ll bring the same urgency and curiosity that defines her writing to her work as an editor.
“I can’t wait for us all to be enriched by the voices and stories she will discover.”
In 2017, Shraya founded VS. Books, an imprint of Arsenal Pulp Press, which offered mentorship and publishing opportunities to emerging BIPOC writers, producing titles including Shut Up You’re Pretty by Téa Mutonji (a 2024 Canada Reads finalist, winner of a 2020 Trillium Award) and Burning Sugar by Cicely Belle Blain (co-founder of Black Lives Matter Vancouver).
While that work will now conclude, she’ll continue to publish her own writing while assuming her new responsibilities at Random House Canada. Her next novel, The Hystericals, is to be published by McClelland & Stewart, and Tundra Books will publish her next children’s book about songwriting.
More from Publishing Perspectives on book publishing in Canada is here, more on Penguin Random House CEO Kristin Cochrane is here, and more on women in publishing is here.