True Story: Bringing Books and Music Together for Ella Fitzgerald

Sofia Ritz — May 11th, 2026

See full article here.

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes in creative fields like publishing and music entertainment? Well, we’ve got quite the story for you, and the late great Ella Fitzgerald is our muse. We’ve married the two industries this past year, bringing together a beautiful biopic book and an original piece of music that won’t soon be forgotten. Let's take a look at how Bookstr CEO Scott Richmond made it happen.

How It Began

About a year ago, Bookstr CEO Scott Richmond was considering his client, Diane Richards, and her historical fiction novel, Ella, about the unknown origin story of Ella Fitzgerald.

His background in the music industry led him to view this work of fiction about Ella as a cover of her life in book form. This sparked an idea: an Ella Fitzgerald musical cover, inspired by Ella. He was also influenced by the beautiful illustration of Ella on the book’s front, which would be incorporated into the record's cover.

Lisa Shaw came to mind for vocals, a major figure in house music and a huge Ella Fitzgerald fan, and he pitched her the concept. No expectations, just following the thread of this idea as far as it’d go. She jumped on the idea and started recording, sending Scott demos, to his great surprise and excitement. She wanted to find an Ella song that really spoke to her, and after some experimentation, landed on Ella’s renowned rendition of “Night and Day.”

Making It Happen

Lisa proposed they reach out to house DJ and producer Miguel Migs, another huge name in the industry, to produce the cover. He loved the concept; this project was based solely on beautiful artwork, the book, and Lisa's love for Ella. He recorded it, and Scott worked closely with him throughout the process, offering feedback and guidance, as this was Miguel’s first cover production.

Regina Brooks of Serendipity Literary Agency, the group that represents Diane Richards, helped contact the book cover illustrator to extend their rights agreement for the record cover, and they were able to license the beautiful picture of Ella.

Throughout, Scott worked with Lisa, and Miguel ran mixes by him. It was hard to fathom that Scott’s inkling of an idea was blossoming into this incredible, fleshed-out product, but there was still a lot of work to be done.

Time constraints and scheduling conflicts meant they couldn’t release it in June for Black Music Month as intended, so they regrouped at the start of 2026, when they decided to get the cover out for Ella’s birthday on April 25th. Scott got the publishing clearance for the music done, and Miguel agreed to release it on Salted Music, his record label. Salted shares its back story for the release here.

This past month, Miguel redid the arrangement, Lisa re-recorded the vocals, and the track came together beautifully. Miguel entrusted Scott and the Bookstr team with the video promo, the canvas for Spotify, the cover, and help with the write-up for Salted’s website.

A Multi-industry Story Comes to Life

The cover serves as musical accompaniment to Ella: A Novel, an intimate and faithful depiction of the First Lady of Song’s early years, and Diane Richards’ historical fiction debut. Richards shines a light on Ella Fitzgerald’s unknown origin story in a brilliant tale of hope and ambition, a story mirrored in this vibrant, soulful rendition.

Diane Richards said, “Writing Ella: A Novel, I was constantly thinking about how to interpret a voice that the world already knows so intimately. Hearing that interpretation continue through music in this way feels like the story has taken on another life.”

Paperbacks Ink in Newport News—Ella Fitzgerald’s birthplace—held an author event with Diane Richards on Saturday, April 25th, featuring a book discussion and premiere listening of the track, which was incorporated into the city’s celebration of Ella’s birthday.

Enjoy Ella’s story as a multi-media project, brought to life across disciplines in celebration of the Queen of Jazz.

“Night and Day (Miguel Migs Ella Tribute Version)”, released on Salted Music, is now available to stream on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and Traxsource.

Love stories about self-discovery? Here are 10 books that explore identity and change—great post-Ella reads.

Grab your copy of Ella: A Novel from our Bookshop shelves or any of the links above.

FEATURED IMAGE VIA BOOKSTR / SOFIA RITZ