Linda Gill

Linda Gill is the general manager, and business visionary of Kimani Press, a new division of Harlequin launched in December 2005. Kimani Press is the home of best loved imprints Arabesque, Kimani Romance, Sepia, New Spirit and the upcoming launch of Kimani TRU, novels for, by and about African-American teens. As a publishing executive with over 20 years of experience, she has launched award-winning magazines and successfully overseen the development and growth of two book publishing imprints, including BET Books, a division of Black Entertainment Television, where she served as Vice President and Publisher, and currently, Kimani Press.

Linda began her publishing career at Conde Nast Publications, and it was “career love at first deadline,” working on magazines such as Mademoiselle and Vanity Fair. Her publication career continued at BET, as an executive of YSB, Emerge, BETWeekend, and Heart & Soul. Combined, these magazines reached over 2 million African-American households. Throughout her career, she has worked with leading African-American magazine and book editors, in addition to many of the top African-American reporters and writers across the country. She has built an award-winning reputation for product development, marketing and creative excellence, and was recently featured in Black Enterprise for the launch of a young adult line of fiction…Kimani TRU.

At Kimani Press, Linda has been charged with building an organization that includes more than 60 authors, and publishes over 100 titles per year targeted to the ever-expanding African-American marketplace providing consumers worldwide with a diverse range of quality books and new media formats primarily in the genres of romance, women’s fiction, and inspiration. Her book publishing career includes many Essence® and Black Expressions® bestsellers with authors such as Nea Simone, Sheila Copeland, Sandra Kitt, Donna Hill, Jacquelin Thomas, and others, in addition to launching the successful literary careers of Vikki Johnson, Dwight Fryer, Alex Hairston to name a few. The recent memoir “Friends…A Love Story” by Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance hit the New York Times Bestseller List.

Linda Gill draws on her unique education to encourage minorities to pursue a successful career in publishing. She is a past board member of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, and is currently serving as Chairwoman of the National Black Women’s Health Imperative (www.blackwomenshealth.org), and the Publishing Committee Chair for National Council of Negro Women (NCNW.www.ncnw.org). Linda Gill is also a proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc and graduate of Dartmouth College.