loader from loading.io

The Power of Storytelling | MiP & IIRP Collaborative Episode

Minorities in Publishing

Release Date: 05/01/2025

Episode 140: Interview with EiC and Debut Author Denne Michele Norris show art Episode 140: Interview with EiC and Debut Author Denne Michele Norris

Minorities in Publishing

[This interview was conducted online and there may be some audio variation.] "Your sentences are your vehicle." --Denne Michele Norris Denne Michele Norris (When the Harvest Comes and Both/And) returns to the MiP podcast to discuss everything leading up to her debut novel, including breaking from a "quitting" mentality to one where she invested herself fully into the writing process. A process that has lead her to an amazing career as Editor-in-Chief of Electric Literature and editor of the upcoming anthology Both/And. Denne shares her fears of not reaching her dream...

info_outline
The Power of Storytelling | MiP & IIRP Collaborative Episode show art The Power of Storytelling | MiP & IIRP Collaborative Episode

Minorities in Publishing

The Power of Storytelling is a special collaboration episode between and the . Through the power of storytelling, we aim to engage powerful leaders and activists in conversations around keeping hope in dire times; giving back power to communities; radical empathy; arts as means to tell real life stories, and the effects of genuine engagement in community resilience. Listen to critical storytellers and educators including Jennifer Coreas, Reginald Dwayne Betts, and Tiffany Yu, who have been foundational in bringing awareness to societal issues and community movements through storytelling...

info_outline
Episode 138: Interview with debut author Cherry Lou Sy show art Episode 138: Interview with debut author Cherry Lou Sy

Minorities in Publishing

[This interview was conducted online and there may be some audio variation.] "Writing has extracted from me this idea of exorcising demons, but also exercising a self that felt so erased." -Cherry Lou Sy In the first MiP episode of 2025, Jenn speaks with debut author Cherry Lou Sy (Love Can't Feed You) about adjusting to prose writing as a playwright, the line between fiction and autofiction, and how the stories we need to create most come from a necessity to be seen.  [You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, transcripts, and new eps on the MiP...

info_outline
Episode 137: Meet you in The Stacks with Traci Thomas! show art Episode 137: Meet you in The Stacks with Traci Thomas!

Minorities in Publishing

[This interview was conducted online and there may be some audio variation.] Jenn spoke with the most avid of readers and the most bountiful of hosts, Traci Thomas (The Stacks podcast), about The Stacks origins and Traci's deep love of books in her approach to interviews, plus we go in-depth about the reader experience! Discussing book events and the possibilities, Traci suggests The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker to discuss overall energy and setup as well as the range of how the tour experience can go. Good stuff!  [You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job...

info_outline
MiP Live at StoryFest 2024 - Westport Library show art MiP Live at StoryFest 2024 - Westport Library

Minorities in Publishing

This is a live recording of the Minorities in Publishing podcast hosted at on September 21st as part of the 2024 StoryFest line up. Audio was provided by Travis Bell (The Westport Library).  StoryFest 2024 welcomed Jenn and fellow 2023 debut authors  (True True) and (I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom and Eighteen Roses) about their respective year as debut authors in the young adult space. The group discusses expectations, surprises, and the ways they found community to help one another through a somewhat emotional, uplifting, and unpredictable time in their creative and...

info_outline
Episode 136: Interview with MacArthur Fellow Jason Reynolds show art Episode 136: Interview with MacArthur Fellow Jason Reynolds

Minorities in Publishing

  [This interview was conducted online and there may be some audio variation.] Newly anointed MacArthur Fellow and best-selling, award-winning author Jason Reynolds returns to the MiP podcast for the 10th anniversary year! His new book, , joins the compendium of many of Jason's love stories for and featuring young people. Jason speaks to the transparency of larger conversations around intimacy--what it means, feels like, and actually looks like outside of "mainstream" representation--the multidudes of love in relationships and storytelling, as well as a very necessary need for more...

info_outline
Episode 135: Interview with Book Influencer Lupita Aquino show art Episode 135: Interview with Book Influencer Lupita Aquino

Minorities in Publishing

[This interview was conducted online and there may be some audio variation.] Continuing the podcast's 10th anniversary year, Jenn speaks with book influencer--bookstagrammer and booktoker elite--! Lupita keeps it real about the influencer life, setting boundaries, reading for the joy of it, and the ways the book influencer space has changed over the years. In this very illuminating and fun convo, Lupita also gets honest about the juggle of advocating for books while also holding down other responsibilities and interests.  [You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings,...

info_outline
Episode 134: Interview with Debut Rom-Com Author Danica Nava show art Episode 134: Interview with Debut Rom-Com Author Danica Nava

Minorities in Publishing

[This interview was conducted online and there may be some audio variation.] As the 10th-anniversary year continues, Jenn welcomes debut author Danica Nava (The Truth According to Ember) for some laughs around romance shenanigans! Danica breaks down what often makes a rom-com while increasing the stakes for characters, she discusses the necessity of representing the reality of Indigenous characters within all genres through hardships and highlights, and what it's like being one of the first Indigenous writers of a romantic comedy to be traditionally published.  [You can sign up for the...

info_outline
Episode 133: Interview with horror writer Nick Medina show art Episode 133: Interview with horror writer Nick Medina

Minorities in Publishing

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.] For the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn welcomes to the podcast! Nick Medina is the author of the novels Indian Burial Ground and Sisters of the Lost Nation. In this episode, Nick discusses the many drafts that lead to his first book deal, how horror can represent some of the truest and most potent emotions as a genre, and how he wove cultural and fantastical elements into his latest novel.  [You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new...

info_outline
Episode 132: Interview with Newbery-honor author Veera Hiranandani show art Episode 132: Interview with Newbery-honor author Veera Hiranandani

Minorities in Publishing

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation. Intro/Outro music is by Moutaineer and licensed through  Continuing the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn welcomes another Newbery honoree in ! Veera her new middle-grade novel, a follow-up to the award-winning The Night Diary, Amil and the After. Veera also discusses how writing a book about a massive historical event like The Partition of India reflects the ongoing effects/repercussions for the communities (and world) involved, the ways in which we can parse out our own questions through...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

The Power of Storytelling is a special collaboration episode between Minorities in Publishing and the Restorative Works! Podcast. Through the power of storytelling, we aim to engage powerful leaders and activists in conversations around keeping hope in dire times; giving back power to communities; radical empathy; arts as means to tell real life stories, and the effects of genuine engagement in community resilience.

Listen to critical storytellers and educators including Jennifer Coreas, Reginald Dwayne Betts, and Tiffany Yu, who have been foundational in bringing awareness to societal issues and community movements through storytelling and literacy. Tune in to hear these influential voices speak on the power of transforming stories into actionable change in the worlds of criminal justice, disability awareness, and publishing. 

Participant Bios
Jennifer Baker is an author, editor, writing instructor, and creator of the Minorities in Publishing podcast. She’s been a recipient of NYSCA/NYFA and Queens Council on the Arts grants, a 2024 Axinn Writing Award, and was named the Publishers Weekly Star Watch SuperStar in 2019. She edited the short story anthology Everyday People: The Color of Life (2018) and is the author of Forgive Me Not (2023) a 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, an NYPL 2023 Best Book for Teens, and 2023 Best of the Best by the BCALA. 

Claire de Mézerville López is a licensed psychologist from UCR (Universidad de Costa Rica). She holds a Master in Education with an emphasis on cognitive development from ITESM (Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, México). She also has a Master of Science in Restorative Practices from the IIRP Graduate School. She is also an associate professor at Universidad de Costa Rica, and has experience as a therapist, researcher, and consultant. Claire has published papers on adolescence, restorative practices, resilience and educational psychology. Claire has worked with the IIRP since 2011. Currently, among other duties, serves as a liaison to Spanish-speaking communities and organizations in Latin America and elsewhere

Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet and lawyer. A 2021 MacArthur Fellow, he is the Executive Director of Freedom Reads, a not-for-profit organization that is radically transforming the access to literature in prisons through the installation of Freedom Libraries in prisons across this country. Betts has authored several books including the poetry collections Bastards of the Reagan Era and Felon.

Jennifer Coreas is the coordinator and cofounder of the program Literacy for Reconciliation for ConTextos in El Salvador and Chicago. Her work extends from curriculum development and teaching to advocacy, training, and facilitation of dialogue. She has led the work and the vision for ConTextos’s work in prisons and communities, accompanied authors in their journeys of self-discovery, and brought their stories to hundreds of teachers, psychologists, and social workers in professional development spaces. She has been recognized with numerous fellowships and scholarships including the Rocky Gooch Memorial Scholarship and the Esperanza Fellowship. She holds degrees from El Salvador in English as a second language and applied linguistics, and she received a master’s degree in English from Middlebury College in 2018.

Tiffany Yu is the CEO & Founder of Diversability, an award-winning social enterprise to elevate disability pride, the Founder of the Awesome Foundation Disability Chapter, and the author of The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World. Her TED Talk, How to Help Employees with Disabilities Thrive, has over one million views.  She serves on the NIH National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research and was a Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit. At the age of 9, Tiffany became disabled as a result of a car accident that also took the life of her father.