The MCD imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux is launching AUWA Books, an imprint directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, the filmmaker, musician, DJ, producer, director, culinary entrepreneur and author. Questlove is publisher and editor-in-chief; Alexis Rosenzweig is senior v-p and editorial director; and Malaika Adero and Ben Greenman are executive editors.
AUWA Books will publish both nonfiction and fiction on a range of topics. The publisher said that "Questlove's interests are rooted in music and its history, of course, but the tree's branches expand outward from there to cover nearly every topic under the sun. A literary imprint devoted to finding inspiring new stories and connecting readers to lost voices, AUWA Books' name is inspired by the bird-call noise that was popularized by Prince (you can hear it in songs such as 'Baby I'm a Star' and 'Eye No'). Questlove has always felt a deep kinship with Prince, not just musically but personally, and in that spirit the imprint seeks to strengthen the connection between creators and audience. AUWA is more than just a sound. It is the call going out and the call being answered, a community being identified and nourished. Every book must find its audience, but every publisher must help audiences find their way to books that matter to them."
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AUWA Books' first title is Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) by Sly Stone with Ben Greenman, in which the pop music star shares "a story that many thought he'd never have the chance to tell." Pub date is October 17.
Titles to follow include Questlove's own Hip-Hop Is History, about hip-hop's first 50 years, co-written with Ben Greenman (2024); the first book from TikTok and podcaster star Drew Afualo (2024); Building the Hype Economy (2025) by Josh Luber, co-founder of StockX and Fanatics Collectibles; and Handbook for the Revolution: The Essential Guide for Workplace Organizing (2025) by v-p and co-founder of the Amazon Labor Union Derrick Palmer.