Desiree Cooper

Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day at Book Beat this Saturday, April 25. Meet "Black Summers" contributor Cassandra Spratling Odetoyinbo and other great authors! Wayne State University Press Nancy J. Rodwan

Sat., April 25 is Bookstore Day! Hey-ho, Let’s Go! - The Backroom Indie Bookstore Day at Book Beat is Sat., April 25 10-6 and an evening soirèe from 6-8 PM with local authors.

My thanks to writer Mary Kay Zuravleff for this wonderful interview!

An Interview with Desiree Cooper | Washington Independent Review of Books The Independent is an important voice in the community of readers and writers dedicated to book reviews and writing about the world of books.

Searching for who you are as a writer? I LOVED this essay
by Lillien Waller in her Substack, "The Dominant Sound." Check it out...you might find yourself there. 💖

The Inescapable Truth Creative writing fails when we avoid our true subject.

This.
‘I want my career, my children and a free supple life’: Sylvia Plath’s radical reinvention | Sylvia Plath | The Guardian

‘I want my career, my children and a free supple life’: Sylvia Plath’s radical reinvention Too often framed as a tragic icon or a victim of domesticity, the poet remade herself and her work at the start of the 60s, as a new collection will show

A brilliant protest against AI:

Thousands of authors publish ‘empty’ book in protest over AI using their work About 10,000 writers including Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory and Richard Osman join copyright campaign

It's come to this...

UK Society of Authors launches logo to identify books written by humans not AI | AI (artificial intelligence) | The Guardian

UK Society of Authors launches logo to identify books written by humans not AI Tracy Chevalier announces registration scheme at the London Book Fair as AI works flood market

It was a beautiful thing when River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative co-hosted a reading of flash nonfiction at this year! Thanks to and Beautiful Things for inviting me along for the ride!!!

Wayne State University Press jammed at in Baltimore this year. Big love! Shonda Buchanan

Where I'll be at AWP 2026 in Baltimore. Come say HI!!!

Ok, fine. Writing isn't the hardest job in the world. (But I'm still gonna whine.)

Bookshop.org has included "Black Summers" in its recommended Black History Month reads. Check it out, along with these other urgent selections!!!! (Thank you Swamp Fox Bookstore in Iowa for nominating us!)

2026 Black History Month: Bookseller Adult Nonfiction Picks Booksellers Recommend Adult Nonfiction Books for Black History MonthLooking for your next read by a Black author?