This chapter adopts a book history approach to account for Richard Wright’s steep rise to popular success and critical recognition, mapping the unexpected way Wright became a published author. In keeping with the discipline’s interest for editorial mediators, it reviews Wright’s trajectory from a minor poet and radical artist to a best-selling author by focusing on publication outlets -- from left-wing reviews to mainstream editorial institutions -- and by determining the triggers of this evolution, namely the Story magazine prize and the Book-of-the-Month Club selections. Following book history’s curiosity for the political, social, and cultural context in which books come to be published and circulated, the chapter then sheds light on confrontations and compromises found in the correspondence with editorial authorities, such as his publisher and the book club judges. Such negotiations allowed for the broadened readership Wright was able to reach out to, across racial lines and national boundaries. The editorial history of Wright’s early career thus illuminates the making of a best-selling African American author.