As some of my faithful readers will have noticed already, I’ve been preoccupied of late with the publication of my newest book, Nine Nasty Words, which was released by Avery Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House) this month. Things are looking like it’s on a path to be my best-selling book ever – much to my surprise it’s a New York Times bestseller this week.
However, questions about the origin stories of motherfucker notwithstanding, for months now I’ve been asked almost every day when or whether the material I’ve been introducing here as my work in progress, The Elect, will be available in book form.
I’m delighted now to be able to answer that question. That manuscript will be released as a book by Portfolio (also a Penguin Random House imprint) in October. It will be published under a new title: Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America.
I should mention that the often sharp and insightful subscriber comments, as well as the brilliant editorial counsel of Bria Sandford at Portfolio, have already made Woke Racism significantly different from the The Elect excerpts. Woke Racism will express what the Substack excerpts did and then some. It will still analyze Third-Wave Antiracism as a religion. It will still make legions of black people see me as a race traitor. It will still make legions of white people see me as a tragically deluded white supremacist with brown skin who merits dismissal and ostracization.
And amidst all of that, it will still represent what I consider the most pro-black book I have ever written.
But this does mean that from now on, my Substack “newsletter” will be exactly that. I am glad many of you have enjoyed my posts here beyond the The Elect excerpts, and they will continue, at the rate of once or twice (and I hope, more often, twice) a week. I have loved communicating to you as well as the feedback I get. Let’s keep this going.
Only: get “The Elect” as a real book, Woke Racism, around Halloween. Here, get my take on things as they happen, unfiltered.
Excellent new title. It will be instantly approachable to a broader audience.
This summarizes everything I respect about you John- these few sentences you penned here: " It will still make legions of black people see me as a race traitor. It will still make legions of white people see me as a tragically deluded white supremacist with brown skin who merits dismissal and ostracization.
And amidst all of that, it will still represent what I consider the most pro-black book I have ever written."