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.

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Photo credit: Rachael Warecki

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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.

Jase’s Book Recommendations

What I’m Currently Reading

A Book That Changed My Life

Books That Shaped My Storytelling