Grove also said Wednesday that it plans to offer a paid, one-year fellowship program that would serve as a crash course in publishing, for applicants without access to such jobs through traditional pathways. “There are so many barriers and so many gates,” she said. She cautioned that that could change if the volume of manuscripts becomes overwhelming, but said it was worth a try. Gay, who is based in Los Angeles, will make her first call for submissions this summer and plans to open her doors to writers with and without agents. (She and Grove declined to say what the minimum will be.) Her own first advance at Grove - which she said was too low - was $12,500. It has published Gay’s fiction since 2014, starting with her first novel, “An Untamed State.” She said the company has committed to offering a minimum for advances at her imprint. Grove is one of the larger independent publishers in the United States and one of the most prestigious.