Apr 06, 2021
Keep Writing, Just Keep Writing
As a way to cope with rejection, I often repeated to myself: Focus on the work rather than the results.
Writing Myself Back Into My Body and Into the World
We have the right to imagine what is possible beyond the systems that try to destroy us. Black and queer writers have long imagined worlds beyond this one.
Mar 22, 2021
When There Is No Right Way to Heal
The details of those poems may be his first inkling that I know what he did.
Nov 12, 2020
Writing Sex with Women, by Women, for Women
People have sex. Women have sex. It would feel irresponsible to censor or smooth over this part of their (and our) lives.
Sep 14, 2020
On the Dangers of Autobiographical Writing
Writing like I didn’t think anyone would ever see my words made me bold and reckless, taking risks I might have avoided if I knew my book would be published.
Apr 15, 2020
What I Learned When I Set Out to Write an “Authentic” Latina Character
Latinidad, to me, was like a shrunken sweater. I never wanted to get rid of it, but I couldn’t imagine how it would possibly fit.
Oct 22, 2019
Portrait of the Author as a Woman with Adult Acne
Will my face betray me when it’s time to talk about my book in public?
May 24, 2018
A Memoirist’s Terror & Insight: Writing My Ex-Husband on the Page
I wasn’t looking for pretty stories. I wanted messy, ugly, honest secrets.
May 09, 2018
How This Lawyer Learned to Call Herself a Writer
My vision of a writer has always been someone quiet, someone introverted, and—especially—someone white.
Jan 30, 2018
Magic and Echoes: How Music Helps Me Write
Acoustic-rich spaces feel enlivening and the echoes they produce sound like life.
Jan 09, 2018
My Editor Was Black
Debut author Naima Coster on working with Morgan Parker, the whiteness of publishing, and literary self-determination.
Dec 11, 2017
On Making Things Up: Some True Stories About Writing My Novel
“I want you to believe every single word I say, but don’t be fooled—I’m using lies to convince you.”
Feb 23, 2017
Rumpelstiltskin Goes to the Dentist
“Would someone take away my firstborn—my first book—after I had seemingly spun straw into gold to produce it?”
Mar 11, 2016
The Art of the Perfect Book Cover
What is the best approach for creating a cover that attracts readers?
Jan 08, 2016
