Inside Elizabeth and Minnie, the Publishers Taking Diverse Stories to the Screen  

Tanya Sam and Jeanell  English are the co-founders of Elizabeth and Minnie Publishing, an independent Black-female-owned publishing house dedicated to identifying and amplifying powerful stories.

The talented duo has built their community-centered brand from the ground up to diversify the entertainment industry by enhancing the supply and demand for diverse stories.

UrbanGeekz had the opportunity to sit down with Sam and English to talk about disrupting the publishing industry, amplifying diverse voices, and transforming powerful stories into future blockbusters. And it turns out, their partnership was nearly destined.

When Sam and English first met through a mutual friend, they didn’t realize they were on the verge of launching a publishing revolution.

Sam was once an oncology nurse. She later became a tech entrepreneur and media personality. English, on the other hand, had a long career in the entertainment industry and served as an executive at the Oscars. They came from dramatically different professional worlds. Yet both felt frustrated by how powerful stories, especially by women and people of color, struggled to break into traditional publishing and entertainment.

“We are the stewards of these memories and these historical accounts, whether fictionalized or not,” says Sam.

And so, Elizabeth and Minnie Publishing was born. More than just a publishing house, it’s a movement dedicated to amplifying unheard voices and transforming those stories into global media properties.

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The Grandmothers Behind the Name

The company’s name is more than branding. It’s legacy. For English, it honors her great-grandmother, Elizabeth, whose handwritten letters offered a glimpse into the private musings of a Black woman navigating life in a very different era.

“I was sitting there reading them, thinking, if only the world saw what her experience was like, how different would it be?” English says. “There’s value in writing and expressing. That’s why we focus on women’s voices.”

For Sam, it’s her grandmother Minnie, who emigrated from England to Canada and found her first job in publishing. “It felt like our female ancestors were guiding us,” Sam says. “Their signatures are literally our logo. We traced them and combined them. It’s like they’re on this journey with us.” Each book Elizabeth and Minnie print bears those signatures, a quiet tribute to the women whose stories went untold.

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A Broken Industry and Untapped Opportunity

Still, Elizabeth and Minnie Publishing isn’t entering a market without competition. Publishing is one of the oldest industries in the world. It’s also English notes, one of the most risk-averse.

The traditional model favors safe bets sequels, celebrity memoirs, and proven intellectual property (IP) that can become a blockbuster film or Netflix series. According to English, over 80% of book-to-screen adaptations in 2023 were written by white authors.

Co-founders of Elizabeth and Minnie Publishing Jeanell  English and Tanya Sam

“The entertainment industry wants proven IP,” English explains. “They’d rather keep making Batman or Superman movies. But great new stories exist, they’re just not getting through.”

Meanwhile, as Sam discovered through her Tanya Time Book Club, a thriving community she built after her stint on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, countless aspiring authors felt locked out of the industry. “People kept saying, It’s so hard to break into publishing if you’re not famous or don’t have a huge following.”

Elizabeth and Minnie aims to change that. They are making publishing and the leap from page to screen more inclusive and community-driven. Especially for women and voices from Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and MENA communities.

Community at the Core

Unlike many publishers focused solely on selling books, Elizabeth and Minnie is built around community engagement.

“We’re not just publishing,” English says. “We’re creating community around books and story.”

Their model extends well beyond traditional book tours, offering experiential trips that allow readers to explore the real-life settings of books. It also fosters book clubs designed to ignite cross-cultural conversations. Additionally, they collaborate with entertainment partners to bring diverse stories to wider audiences.

Take the company’s trip to Ghana, for example. One book [No One Dies Yet] on their list, by Ghanaian author Kobe Ben Ben, follows two gay Black American men visiting Ghana and navigating contrasting cultural narratives.

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Set in Ghana during the country’s “Year of Return,” the novel follows two gay Black American men who travel back to their ancestral homeland. There, they hire both a traditional tour guide and a gay Ghanaian guide, giving them radically different windows into Ghanaian society. 

The story is laced with sharp satire about identity, cultural expectations, and the tension between how Ghana sells itself as a pan-African utopia to the diaspora, and the complex realities, including deep-rooted homophobia and political conservatism, beneath the surface.

“It was controversial,” English recalls. “But we gathered this group of incredibly accomplished Black American women, and the conversations were electric. That’s what a book should do: ignite dialogue.”

Books like this push boundaries

For Elizabeth and Minnie Publishing, “No One Dies Yet” encapsulates exactly why diverse storytelling matters. The novel confronts modern questions of belonging, queerness in Africa, and the sometimes romanticized narratives of the African diaspora returning “home.” It forces readers to grapple with uncomfortable truths.  Who gets to claim which identities? How do communities reconcile cultural pride with the urgent need for progress on human rights?

“Books like this push boundaries,” English says. “They create space for the kinds of nuanced conversations that traditional publishers and studios often shy away from. And those conversations are where real change begins.”

Tanya Sam and Janelle English with actress Lupita Nyong’o at a special private screening of The Wild Robo in Atlanta. Elizabeth and Minnie collaborated with Universal Pictures for the event. Photographer: FreddyO

Similarly, their commitment to bringing stories off the page isn’t limited to adult audiences or controversial topics. Elizabeth and Minnie also collaborated with Universal Pictures for the Wild Robot film, voiced by Lupita Nyong’o. In this case, the team hosted a special event in Atlanta, inviting children, especially those from underrepresented communities, to experience an outdoor adventure inspired by the story.

“It’s about bringing stories to life in multiple ways,” English says. “A great book shouldn’t stay trapped on a page.”

Redefining Success Beyond Bestseller Lists

In an industry obsessed with bestseller lists, Sam and English are determined to measure success differently.

“Traditional KPIs are book sales and bestseller rankings,” Sam says. “For us, it’s community engagement. Are people connecting with the stories? Are our authors becoming stars in their own right?”

Elizabeth and Minnie also wants authors to have a voice in how their stories are adapted for film or TV. In traditional publishing, authors often get sidelined once Hollywood comes knocking.

“We’re shortening the timeline,” English says. “We want our authors involved in the adaptation process. And sometimes, we’re working with writers who already have experience in film or TV. It’s a different way of thinking about storytelling.”

Of course, launching a publishing company. Particularly, one that’s independent and Black woman-owned comes with challenges. Elizabeth and Minnie secured a sizable government-backed investment last year, only to have it vanish due to sudden political shifts in the U.S.

“It was heartbreaking,” English admits. “But we keep going. We’re resilient. And we’re not building alone.”

Instead, the founders are doubling down on what makes them different. Authenticity, community, and a fearless belief that new stories deserve to be told and seen.

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What’s Next for Elizabeth and Minnie Publishing?

Despite setbacks, Sam and English are optimistic about the future.

Their debut title, The Sun and All the Other Stars by Cuban American author Karla Montalván, is set for publication in February 2026. The novel follows a Cuban American muralist in Madrid who undergoes past-life regression therapy to break a generational curse on love, unraveling fated romances across 15th-century Florence and 1980s SoHo, all while discovering her destiny is bound to a mysterious Italian poet across centuries. Elizabeth and Minnie acquired the book in an exclusive submission, reflecting their focus on sweeping, cinematic stories that could one day shine on screen. Montalván, who’s also a sex therapist, offers a fresh perspective on contemporary fiction.

Beyond publishing, the founders are planning more immersive trips and events through the Tanya Time Book Club.

Lastly and most importantly, Elizabeth and Minnie are open for submissions, particularly from women and underrepresented authors eager to see their stories in print and potentially on screen.

“Books take you everywhere around the world,” Sam says. “We want to make sure everyone’s stories have the chance to travel too.”

Interested in submitting your manuscript? Visit here and follow them on social media at @ElizabethMinnie.