Daily Wire launches conservative book publishing imprint

NEW YORK (AP) — A publishing division started by the conservative media company the Daily Wire will include releases by Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro, former “Mandalorian” actor Gina Carano, and a book by one of the officers involved in the Breonna Taylor shooting that was dropped by its original distributor.

DW Books will officially launch next spring, the Nashville-based Daily Wire announced Wednesday. The new publishing arm continues a trend of conservatives setting up channels outside of the New York houses, which in the wake of the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters have become increasingly reluctant to take on authors — including Trump — seen as promoting extremist views.

“By working with some of the world’s leading authors, then using the Daily Wire’s marketing prowess to bring their work to broader audiences, we will ensure that conservatives and free thinkers are never silenced — that, in fact, their exposure continues to grow,” Shapiro said in a statement.

Earlier this year, two former heads of conservative imprints at New York publishing houses, Louise Burke and Kate Harston, started All Seasons Press, which plans books by such Trump insiders as former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former trade adviser Peter Navarro.

“The company is open to welcoming those authors who are being attacked, bullied, banned from social media, and, in some cases, outright rejected by politically correct publishers,” All Seasons announced in June.

Simon & Schuster dropped a book by Sen. Josh Hawley after the Missouri Republican had openly expressed support for the Jan. 6 rally in Washington that led to some attendees storming the Capitol and attempting to prevent the formal certification of Democrat Joe Biden as the next president. Numerous publishing executives in New York have said they would not publish a memoir by Trump, should he decide to write one, citing in part his false contention that the 2020 election was stolen.

Even distribution agreements, once little noticed by the public, have been challenged in the face of widespread objections. Simon & Schuster in April withdrew distribution for “The Fight for Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy,” by Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who along with another officer fired shots that hit Taylor during a March 13, 2020, narcotics raid that killed Taylor.

DW announced it would publish Mattingly’s book, which had been originally acquired by the independent publisher Post Hill Press, under a different title, to be announced later. They will release it and other Daily Wire books through Ingram Content Group’s Two Rivers Distribution, where other clients range from Gun Digest to the progressive publisher The New Press.

“Simon & Schuster was too afraid to tell his (Mattingly’s) story, but we’re not,” DW Books Vice President of Publishing Alyssa Cordova told The Associated Press.

Other DW releases include a book by Daily Wire host Candace Owens and a book by Carano, the “Mandolorian” actor who was dropped early this year by LucasFilm after likening the current political climate to the experience of Jews during the Holocaust.

Shapiro and Owens each have worked with New York publishers, and have had recent bestsellers. But Cordova said DW Books sees itself as “the ideal partner for conservative authors looking for a publisher that shares their values and can deliver direct access to millions of like-minded Americans who appreciate premium, thought-provoking content.”