Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Akira Brown. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Akira , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
A lot of my resilience comes from wanting to help others that are in my field and look like me. There’s a lot of CEOs and people in the industry I’m in that are doing what I want with either half the skill, nepotism, privilege, and more. I’ve grown up having to work twice as hard to get to where I wanted to be and I continue to do so, now while helping others achieve their dreams/goals as well.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I created WildStar Press, an indie publishing company that prides itself on uplifting voices of diverse creatives. Telling stories from the marginalized perspective; whether POC, disabled, or LGBTQ+ is imperative and our number one goal. We’re the stepping stone for emerging creators that want to get into publishing but need a place to start, until the Press itself can be that “bigger accomplishment” they desire. I am also an Editor for the same reason, helping others create stories that they’re proud of so that they can publish it and share it with the world. And when I make time for myself I create stories of my own.
WildStar Press’ 5th year anniversary is September 10th and we’ll be debuting so much! Plus there’s an anthology in the works alongside a few books that will be debuting next year.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Communication and Networking is important. You are as strong as your community. Community can also help you get to places you haven’t been before whether it’s in an event, that next job, a pay raise, etc. We are not meant to do everything alone. And with that, patience is another invaluable skill to have. Things take time when they’re not given to you on a silver platter. It may take time, but that just means you can focus on curating and improving your work. Remember that you never stop improving and that you never stop learning. So long as you remember that and your patient (not only with others but with yourself), you’ll always be on a momentum forward.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
WildStar Press has periods of submissions for comic creators with stories to tell. Later next year we’ll be looking for prose and poetry writers. Soon we’ll be looking for writers to write comic reviews and to discuss industry and community topics.
Contact Info:
- Website: wildstarpress.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/wildstarpress
- Facebook: facebook.com/wildstarpress
- Twitter: twitter.com/wildstarpress
- Other: blubat.biz
Image Credits
All Image credits belong to Akira Brown and WildStar Press
