Interview with McCoy Grant recipient Rachel Randolph

Applications are currently open for the McCoy Grant for Bookseller-Writers, one of the most unique grants available to SIBA members. There is a close bond between booksellers and writers. The McCoy Grant, created by author Sarah McCoy in partnership with SIBA, is for any unpublished southern women or nonbinary booksellers who harbor ambitions to be published writers. Two $1500 grants will be awarded. The deadline to submit an application is March 21, 2024.

2024 is the second year the McCoy Grant has been offered. Sarah McCoy spent some time talking to the recipients of last year's grant recipients, Kendra Gayle Lee of Bookish in Atlanta, GA and Rachel Randolph of Parnassus in Nashville, TN. Here is her conversation with Randolph.

Sarah McCoy: First off, congrats again on being the 2023 McCoy Grant recipients. It may be a new year, but we’ll be celebrating you until the 2024 recipients are announced in August! So, we thought it the perfect time to sit down and chat about what you’ve been up to. How has the McCoy Grant made an impact on your writing?

Rachel Randolph: The McCoy Grant has helped my writing by providing me with resources to lean on in hard times! While I was in the late stages of revision, my beloved and trusted laptop decided to leave this world behind and pass on to the next one. I am so grateful for the grant money which enabled me to quickly replace an invaluable writing tool. 

SM: Would you like to tell us a little about your work in progress?

RR: My work in progress is a high fantasy novel titled Ring of Light. Ring of Light follows Arabella, an Almost God, who is suddenly forced to descend to the mortal realm and reconnect her soul with its missing half. The novel focuses on queer love and the temporal nature of mortality, the extreme highs and lows we feel as we walk through time. I’m excited to say I’m nearly done with revisions and plan to query in early February!  

SM: How has the McCoy Grant made an impact on your personal life? 

RR: Unfortunately, I had some unexpected medical bills come up in 2023. I always think of Virginia’s Woolfe’s A Room of One’s Own when I think about money and writing. To make art, we must have the privilege of free time, resources, and the space to create. The McCoy grant has helped me take care of myself, physically and mentally, which has in return, strengthened my art. 

SM: What would you tell other bookseller writers who are thinking of applying?

RR: I would say to take your art seriously. If you want to write books, then do everything in your power to take steps towards that goal. Applying for this grant is within your power, so take that first step.  

SM: Both you and Kendra Gayle are diamonds and I count myself blessed to have found your sparkles in the mine. Such a pleasure catching up. You have a bright future ahead of you. I know your fellow booksellers are cheering for you and your bookstore. As am I! 

Sarah McCoy is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author and creator of the McCoy Grant. 

Rachel Randolph is a fantasy writer, part-time poet, and frontline bookseller at Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee.