Désirée Zamorano, author and educator, joins BookSwell Intersections host Cody Sisco to discuss Dispossessed, her powerful historical novel about mass deportations of Mexican Americans in 1930s Los Angeles. They explore the novel’s themes of invisibility and injustice, the inspiration behind its good-man protagonist, and the urgent parallels between past and present struggles for equity and representation.
Désirée Zamorano is the author of the highly acclaimed literary novel, The Amado Women. An award-winning and Pushcart prize nominee, her work is often an exploration of issues of invisibility, injustice or inequity. Her writing appears in Alta, Catapult, and The Kenyon Review. Her novel Dispossessed is out from Rize.
Désirée’s Book Recommendations
What I’m Currently Reading
A Book That Changed My Life
Books That Shaped My Storytelling
Summer of Love for Immigrant, Refugee, and Diaspora Stories
Jase Peeples, award-winning journalist and author of Twirl and Square Zair Pair, joins host Cody Sisco in conversation about his debut YA MM romance novel in the competitive world of Color Guard. They discuss Jase’s inspirations competing in and coaching the sport, writing about young love, San Francisco as a significant setting, and the power of representation in fiction for queer youth and families.
Jase Peeples is an award-winning journalist, author, and storyteller. He is the former entertainment editor of The Advocate and currently works as a features and global news editor at RVO Health. His debut novel, TWIRL (Evernight Teen), and his first children’s book, Square Zair Pair, are available worldwide.
His writing has been featured in a variety of outlets including Healthline, Healthgrades, Out, Queerty, and WGI Focus Magazine. In 2014, he was named “Journalist of the Year” by the L.A. Press Club at the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, recognized for his “original angles and points of view” that cast “new light on many beaten tracks of entertainment journalism.”
Jase earned his BFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and calls San Francisco home.
Joe McClean, screenwriter, director, and author of Sins of Survivors, joins host Cody Sisco in conversation about his debut novel rooted in the history of Black Bottom, Detroit. They discuss the Great Migration, the Carter brothers’ struggle to build an empire and leave their criminal pasts behind, the legacy of segregation and redlining, and adapting from screenwriting to prose. Joe shares how his research uncovered hidden histories, why he portrays the era’s violence unflinchingly, and what to expect in the upcoming sequel set during Detroit’s 1943 race riots.
Joe McCleanis a screenwriter and director whose 2013 breakout indie feature, Life Tracker, screened at dozens of film festivals and sci-fi conventions before streaming on demand in 100 million homes through cable providers. His follow-up, the indie-darling The Drama Club, premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in 2017 before finding a home on Tubi. His most recent endeavor, Viral, written and produced by McClean, was directed by and stars Blair Underwood.
Blair Underwood is a two-time Golden Globe and Tony nominee, as well as an Emmy, Grammy, Peabody and eight-time NAACP Image Award-winning actor, director, and producer. He made his acting debut in the 1985 musical film Krush Groove, and, from 1987 to 1994, starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series L.A. Law. Underwood has starred in numerous film, television, and stage productions, including Longlegs, Three Women, Deep Impact, Sex in the City, Set It Off, Madea’s Family Reunion, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker and many more. Underwood received his first Tony Award nomination as Best Lead Actor in a Play after starring in the 2020 Broadway revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama A Soldier’s Play.
What role does poetry play in shaping our sense of self and our connection to the world? How can poetic expression illuminate identity, belonging, and universal truths?
