Episode 139 – Desiree Cooper – Being “Genre Agnostic”

Desiree Cooper was once a Detroit Free Press columnist, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, a Kresge Artist Fellow, an attorney and now she’s a children’s book author – which explains why she considers herself “genre agnostic.”

The latest author to share her story on the Make Meaning Podcast, Desiree started writing professionally before social media was a thing, and readers regularly sent her letters and pictures in response to her columns. Her children’s book NOTHING SPECIAL was three years in the making – and it might be her best creation yet.

 

In this episode, host Lynne Golodner interviews Desiree Cooper about how much books ignited her when she was a child, the friendship between her grandson and her father, moving from Detroit to Virginia to care for her parents, and the fabrication artist who helped bring her book to life.

 

In this episode, Lynne and Desiree discuss: 

• Launching the book in her yard
• The joy of being a featured book at the Miami Book Fair
• The Great Migration away from Jim Crow & the terrorism of the South
• The Great Reverse Migration trend of African-American families to gather for reunions in the South despite segregation and white supremacy
• All the touchpoints in the book – including a USAF hat, a University of Michigan shirt and a UVA pennant
• Author branding
• Themes of motherhood, family and one life making way for another

 

Links and Resources: 

• Booklist
• Know the Mother
• The Choice film
• Marilyn Nelson
• Flash fiction

 

Find Desiree Cooper:

Website 

Facebook

Instagram 

TikTok

 

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:

 

• Episode 127 – Ly Tran – Writing Unapologetically
• Episode 121 – Stephanie Steinberg – On Personal Passions & Creating Communities
• Episode 118 – Elizabeth Gowing – How to Know a Place by Living Its Stories
• Episode 102 – Patrick Hicks – How to Write Historical Fiction
• Episode 97 – Eric Hale – How to Give Every Child a Chance, Even in the Most Poverty-Stricken Communities
• Episode 70 – Elena Reads – How to Stoke a Love of Reading in Kids