With the news reported today by Publishers Marketplace that rapper 50 Cent (who can be seen at some of your local multiplexes in "Get Rich and Die Tryin'") will be launching a brand new imprint of street fiction called G-Unit Books, it seemed like a good idea to find out more about this unusual venture.

G-Unit Books is a co-production with Simon & Schuster, specifically Pocket's Louise Burke and MTV Books' Jacob Hoyt (who published 50 Cent's memoir.) The imprint, which includes both novellas and graphic novels, will launch in 2007 with a novella by Nikki Turner (who's just inked a juicy deal of her own with Random House/One World) followed by 3 to 5 more books that year, with more to follow in subsequent years. So what else is in store? The rapper's agent, Marc Gerald, provided additional details:

50 Cent and his management and I got to know each other a few years back, and since our earliest discussions, having a book imprint was his goal and dream. 50 is a huge reader, whether it be street novels by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim, or business and management books like THINK AND GROW RICH or 48 LAWS OF POWER. Prior to getting into representation, I created and edited OLD SCHOOL BOOKS, a sorta blaxploitation revival series for WW Norton, then founded a company called THE SYNDICATE w/Wesley Snipes which sorta pre-dated the hip hop/street fiction movement by a year or so. Doing this together, especially after the success of his memoirs, became a natural fit.

In addition to Nikki, who I represent, we are launching with a book by K. Elliot, whose self-published UNTANGLED,sold about 25,000 copies, and rocked our worlds. We are in advanced discussions with two well known writers in the genre -- one of whom is really big and might really surprise people.