Lena Dunham to launch publishing imprint Lenny

Actor and writer Lena Dunham has teamed up with publisher Random House to launch her own publishing imprint, Lenny.

Launching in late 2017, Lenny will publish fiction and non-fiction titles selected by Dunham and Jenni Konner, co-creator of the website Lenny, which covers “feminism, style, health, politics, friendship and everything else”. What began as the weekly bulletin Lenny Letter, has as a website established a track record of attracting significant voices in literature and public debate. Previous features include an interview Dunham conducted with US presidential contender Hillary Clinton, actor Jane Fonda writing about how she became a feminist, and actor Jennifer Lawrence’s much talked-about essay about her anger towards the pay gap in Hollywood.

Dunham told Buzzfeed that her friendship with Konner “often doubles as a book club”.

“We feel like the Lenny voice lends itself to a diverse list of authors and we are so excited to work with Random House – they get our mission completely,” Dunham said. “Lenny books will aspire to push the ball forward on the issues that matter to our audience, with wit and style. We hope to see them sticking out of purses and riding public transportation everywhere.”

Random House, which published Dunham’s memoir Not That Kind of Girl in 2014, said in a statement that it would work with “Lena, Jenni and the editors of Lenny” to choose a “voice-driven list” to “to broaden what we do at Random House”.