Four Palaces refers to the worship for the mother goddesses in Vietnam. The four palaces are a reference to the four deities, each palace residing over a particular realm (heavens, mountains, water, and earth). This religion is a minority religion that worships women. The name was chosen because it felt like it was an accurate representation of the authors and storytellers we want to publish – minorities and people whose identities cause conditions for their voices to be unheard in the world. We want to break the cycle of silence by abolishing the conditions of voicelessness.
The idea for came to fruition in 2020 when the #WhatPublishingPaidMe started trending during the summer. We felt that it was already unfair that writers who are BIPOC or from marginalized groups already have a hard time getting published and then having to encounter fair pay hurdles in comparison to their white counterparts.
Publishing is, unfortunately, not a fast-changing industry. Diversity of both editors in large publishing houses and published authors is still low. In response to this, Four Palaces Publishing will work to narrow the large divide until the narratives and stories from the marginalized become the norm.