Making It: Queer & Trans Writers & Book Workers On Craft & Publishing

Join Hive Mind Books for a conversation with writers Denne Michele Norris and Christina Cooke, and editor Alicia Kroell, about the writing and publishing life.

Making It is a conversation series where queer and trans writers can learn directly from accomplished writers, publishing professionals, and other book workers about the art and business of books.

Bring your questions about craft, publishing, and bookselling to Hive Mind Books for candid conversations with our featured speakers, who pull back the curtain on how they create work and share it with the world. After their conversation, we’ll open the floor for an extended audience Q&A.

This conversation is free to attend. Writers of all levels welcome. No MFA or conference free required. The event is produced by Hive Mind Books and is intended specifically for queer and trans writers.

Denne Michele Norris is the editor-in-chief of Electric Literature, winner of the 2022 Whiting Literary Magazine Prize. She is the first Black, openly trans woman to helm a major literary publication. A 2021 Out100 Honoree, her writing has been supported by MacDowell, Tin House, and the Kimbilio Center for African American Fiction, and appears in McSweeney's, American Short Fiction, and ZORA. She is co-host of the critically-acclaimed podcast Food 4 Thot, and her debut novel, When The Harvest Comes, is forthcoming from Random House.

Christina Cooke: Named a “Writer to Watch” by CBC Books and Shondaland, Christina Cooke is the author of Broughtupsy — named a best book of 2024 by Elle, Electric Literature, CBC Books, and Debutiful. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The Caribbean Writer, The Journey Prize Stories 33, Prairie Schooner, PRISM international, and elsewhere. Born in Jamaica, Christina is now a Canadian citizen who lives and writes in New York City.

Alicia Kroell is an editor at Catapult, where they acquire literary fiction and hybrid memoir. Authors they work with include Sarah Aziza, Manuel Betancourt, Christina Cooke, Davey Davis, Marissa Higgins, and Benedict Nguyễn. Originally from Oregon and now based in New York, Alicia got their start in publishing at Tin House, National Book Foundation, and Literary Hub.

Host or Publisher Hive Mind Books