Something old, something new, something borrowed, something debuted: What role do endorsements play in consecrating, or complicating, the emergence of Black British debut fiction authors?

Abstract

Endorsements are a familiar sight on a book’s cover, but they also structurally foreground familiarity. The commercial initiatives of the publisher dictate the way debut novels are introduced to the literary market. To increase the appeal of an unfamiliar writer, debuts are supported by comparison to, and consecration from, familiar literary names and texts. Endorsements structurally inscribe these literary connections on the cover, and this study uses Genette’s concept of the palimpsest to visualise this. The discussion analyses patterns and trends in the language of authorial endorsements on the covers of contemporary Black British debut fiction novels from 2000-2021. This reveals a recycled marketing process, which I propose complicates the emergence of the writer by obscuring their individual literary value. I argue that endorsements focalise palatable newness and profitable diversity in their language, which I present as governed conditions to the writers’ emergence. Ultimately, this study outlines the key role of endorsements as consecrators, but also defines their lesser-established roles as communicators of commercial bias, constructors of a racialised community, and perpetuators of a one-dimensional Black British narrative. The results consolidate these roles to reflect critically on endorsements’ active influence on the debut’s emergence.