HONOREES
22 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ SEPTEMBER 9, 2019
CLAY STAFFORD
Founder
Killer Nashville, NashvilleS
tafford—who wears many hats, from publisher of Stafford
Books (launched in 2018) to author, actor, composer, edu-
cator, and philanthropist—is the founder of “Killer
Nashville,” a mystery, thriller, and suspense writers’ confer-
ence that has made the so-called music city a literary destination as
well. A few years ago, in an article about the Nashville book scene,
PW said that Stafford plays “an essential role in defining which books
become bestsellers not only in Middle Tennessee, but beyond... into
the nation’s book culture.”
That hasn’t changed. In
February, the Writer maga-
zine named “Killer
Nashville” one of the
nation’s top writing confer-
ences. Stafford has gone fur-
ther—under the helm of
“Killer Nashville,” he has
established several book
award competitions
including the Killer
Nashville Silver Falchion
Award, which recognizes the best books in various categories, the
Killer Nashville Claymore Award, which assists authors in getting
published, and the John Seigenthaler Legends Award, which is
bestowed on an individual within the publishing industry who has
championed First Amendment rights. “Killer Nashville” also con-
tributes to many charitable causes, donating books to schools,
libraries, and the armed forces, as well as providing scholarships for
needy individuals to attend the conference.TANEKA STOTTS
Cofounder
Ascend Comics, Los AngelesA
queer writer, comics writer, and editor, Taneka Stotts used Kickstarter to create a series
of science fiction and fantasy comics anthologies focused on challenging the absence
and stereotypical depiction of queer people, women of color, and other marginalized
communities. She was cofounder of Beyond Press (with Sfé R. Monster and Shing Yin
Khor) that published the 2015 Lambda Award–winning Beyond: The Queer Sci-fi and Fantasy Comic
Anthology, centered on the fictional lives of people with diverse genders and sexual identities. While
at Beyond, she created and edited Elements: Fire, an anthology of comics by creators of color based
on the theme of fire, which won the 2018 Eisner Award for best anthology, prompting an inspired
speech on the presence and depiction of queer lives delivered by Stotts from the stage during the
awards ceremony. In July of 2018, Stotts moved beyond Beyond to cofound, with Der-Shing
Helmer, a new press, Ascend Comics, with a similar mission. More anthologies are on the way, and
Stotts, called “one of the most dynamic voices in independent comics today” by PW’s Calvin Reid,
continues to work on other writing projects, webcomics, and more.BRIAN SKULNIK
Managing editor
RosettaBooks, New York CityS
hortly after she was selected as a 2016 Star Watch
honoree in her role as managing editor at
RosettaBooks, Hannah Bennett moved on to Start
Publishing, but not before helping handpick her
successor, Brian Skulnik, who three years later has now also
won a rising-star spot. When Skulnik first joined the com-
pany, CEO Arthur Klebanoff remained senior editorial/pro-
duction publishing
executive for super-
vision, but that
didn’t last long.
“Brian was more
than up to the job on
his own,” Klebanoff
says. “I promoted
him to managing
editor within a year.”
Klebanoff praises his
ability to guide
authors who tend to
be very successful in their chosen fields—but who are not
writers by background—through the publishing process. He
interacts closely with them to achieve the custom experience
on which the company prides itself. “Brian is able to make
our authors feel that they are one among ones, as opposed to
one among many,” Klebanoff says. He also praises Skulnik’s
talent for creating and sticking to a production schedule,
and—music to any CEO’s ears—sticking to budget.