Gillian Flynn to launch imprint with Zando

Gillian Flynn, the author of acclaimed psychological thriller Gone Girl (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), is to launch her own imprint with new US indie press Zando.

Along with actor and producer Lena Waithe, Flynn is a founding partner of the press, which aims to collaborate with creators, authors and platforms to obtain and publish titles. Flynn will be involved in every stage of the publishing process for her imprint, including acquisition, editing and publication. She ​will publish her Zando list under Gillian Flynn Books, releasing four to six titles over three years.

The press was launched by c.e.o. and former Crown publisher Molly Stern. Stern published Michelle Obama's Becoming before leaving Penguin Random House US in 2018 following a company restructure that merged the Crown division into the Random House Publishing Group.

She said: "Lena Waithe and Gillian Flynn are dream publishing partners for Zando. I’m no different from millions of other readers who know what these remarkable creators stand for, and respect their unique vision and trust their taste. Lena and Gillian are cultural pioneers who devour and celebrate exciting new literary work, and they share my desire to support new voices."

Books are now being acquired for the lists, and the publisher will be announcing further imprint partners, publishing its first titles in 2022. 

Waithe's imprint, Hillman Grad Books, is tipped to include work from underrepresented voices across genres including memoir, literary fiction and YA. Gillian Flynn Books is expected to include both fiction and non-fiction, featuring narrative non-fiction and true crime.

Flynn said of the new imprint: “Books have often saved me, and they’ve certainly nurtured me at every stage. I love being a writer and now I’m thrilled to be working with Molly as a publisher, helping distinctive voices find all the readers out there who are craving the unique. Creating my own imprint with Zando is truly an honour—I can’t wait to start the conversation around books I love.”

In addition to her novels, Flynn has written the screenplay for "Utopia" for Amazon Studios, based on the original British series, plus the script for the "Gone Girl" film. She is currently working on another novel.