Sakinah Hofler, author of Stable (Henry Holt | March 2027) is the Page One Media grant recipient for publishing year 2027.

Why We Started the Page One Media Grant Project

After years of watching certain types of authors get less (less budget, less resources, less time, all of which equals less attention), I knew I could do better and more meaningful work by starting Page One than I could by continuing in my in-house job. When I started Page One Media in 2019, I always hoped that we would be able to support authors who otherwise couldn't afford to access high-quality freelance and agency publicity and marketing campaigns. From 2021 onward, we have allotted the equivalent of one book publicity campaign worth of funds to discounting our work for three authors annually.

Last year, after watching our campaigns continue to be a stretch for many authors, we made a big transition and allocated a fully pro bono publicity campaign for one author. This was a hard decision to make—transitioning from three $10,000 grants for three authors, to one fully free campaign for just one author—because even with the discount, many authors still couldn't make it work. It's far from perfect and I wish we could do more but it's a start. If you know an arts organization or wealthy donor who wants to support more pro bono book campaigns, please send them our way! We'd love to support more authors each year!

Without further ado, we are very excited to announce the Page One Media pro bono book publicity recipient for publishing year 2027!

2027 Grant Honoree: Sakinah Hofler, Author of Stable

Sakinah Hofler is the author of the debut novel Stable which will be published by Henry Holt on March 23, 2027. Stable is the story of a teen coerced into prostitution in Newark, NJ, and how she survives with her young daughter. Keke is 13 years old when she runs away from foster care. The man who comes to her rescue on a dark night outside of Newark Penn Station and makes her feel cared for, for the first time in a long while, is also the man who will become her pimp and the father of her toddler. Hofler weaves a deeply frightening story that dives into a world few of us understand and that most of us turn away from if ever we encounter it.

Hofler's work has appeared or is forthcoming in Poetry, Kenyon Review, Georgia Review, and Analog Science Fiction and Fact. She was named a 2024 FORGE NYC Fellow and a 2024 winner of the Analog Award for Emerging Black voices. Hofler is a 2026 recipient of the NJ State Council of the Arts Individual Arts Fellowship and teaches in the Writing Program at Princeton University.

How We Chose This Year's Grant Recipient

The Page One team received over 20 submissions for this year's grant and we read and discussed those manuscripts as a group to narrow our selection down to Stable. It was entirely a coincidence that Stable and last year's grant honoree Unprecedented Times are both published by Henry Holt. But we are excited to partner with our colleagues there again for Hofler's book.

Also on Our Radar: Shazna Nessa's Beneath the Same Stars

We all also felt very strongly about Shazna Nessa's compelling memoir Beneath the Same Stars, forthcoming from Blackstone Publishing in July of 2027. As we launch Page One Education this fall, we will be inviting Nessa to join us in the small group coaching program, author education, and literary community we are building. Beneath the Same Stars tells Nessa's story growing up in London as the daughter of Bangladeshi immigrants during the 90s. She teaches us about a culture that I knew little about before this book. Nessa falls in love with a much older British rock musician who has taken advantage of Nessa's youth while also exposing her to a world of art, culture and music she might not otherwise have been able to experience as her parents and their community grow more conservative over a generation of living in England. Nessa's story shines a light on forced marriage, faith, family, and immigration issues in ways that cannot and should not be ignored. We are very excited to be able to support her in this way.

We are so pleased to be able to collaborate with Sakinah Hofler and Shazna Nessa and look forward to working closely with both of them over the coming months.

Sarah Russo is the founder of Page One Media® and Page One Education™ and a publishing professional for over twenty-five years working across multiple facets of the industry. You can connect with her on BlueSky @sarahrusso.bsky.social, Instagram, Substack and LinkedIn. You can follow the work of Page One on LinkedIn, @pageonem.bsky.social on BlueSky, Substack, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Follow our podcast, The Publishing Playbook, on your favorite podcast app.

About the Page One Media Grant Project

Launched in 2021, the Page One Media Grant Project aims to provide underrepresented authors with high-level publicity support that is often inaccessible due to cost or industry barriers. Shifting from providing three partial grants to providing one fully supported pro bono campaign to an underrepresented writer in 2025, Page One Media seeks to address systemic inequities in publishing and ensure diverse voices have the opportunities they deserve. The submission period for the 2028 grant will open in February 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Page One Media Grant Project?

It's a pro bono book publicity campaign we give away every year to an underrepresented author who otherwise couldn't afford high-level agency-style PR. We launched it in 2021, and it's grown out of my own frustration watching certain authors get less — less budget, less time, less attention — for reasons that have nothing to do with their work.

Who won the Page One Media Grant for 2027?

Sakinah Hofler, for her debut novel Stable, publishing with Henry Holt on March 23, 2027.

How many authors apply for the Page One Media Grant?

This year we received over 20 submissions, which our team read and discussed together as a group before narrowing the field down to Stable.

Why did Page One Media switch from three grants to one?

Even with three $10,000 grants split across three authors, many still couldn't make a full campaign work. So last year we made the hard call to put all of that funding behind one fully free, full-service campaign instead. It's not perfect — we wish we could do more — but it goes further for the one author who receives it.

When does the 2028 Page One Media Grant open for submissions?

February 2027.

How can I help support more grants like this one?

If you know an arts organization or a donor who wants to fund more pro bono book campaigns, send them our way — we'd love to support more authors every year.