How Award-Winning Journalist & Debut Memoirist Casey Parks Writes

#PodcastersForJustice

Award-winning journalist and debut memoirist, Casey Parks, spoke to me about her lifelong reverence for journalism, the emotional cost of writing a memoir, and her debut "Diary of a Misfit."

Casey Parks is a reporter for The Washington Post who covers gender and family issues. She spent a decade at The Oregonian writing about race and LGBTQ+ issues and was a finalist for the Livingston Award.

A former Spencer Fellow at Columbia University, Parks was awarded the 2021 J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award for her debut memoir, Diary of a Misfit: A Memoir and a Mystery. 

Described as "... a sweeping journalistic saga about sexuality and gender, family trauma and the redemptive force of love...," Publishers Weekly – in a starred review – called the book, “A tantalizing blend of personal history and reportage .... A brilliantly rendered and complex portrait of Southern life alongside a tender exploration of queer belonging [and] a marvel to witness.”

Casey's articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Oxford American, ESPN, USA Today, and The Nation.

Stay calm and write on ...

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In this file Casey Parks and I discussed:

• Earning $50 per story at the outset of her career ...
• ... to working in a virtual newsroom for The Washington Post
• Why that first byline in the New Yorker changes everything
• Asking permission to tell the stories of ghosts
• Why you can never take "no" as the final answer
• And a lot more!

Show Notes:

• caseyparks.com
• Diary of a Misfit: A Memoir and a Mystery By Casey Parks (Amazon)
• Casey Parks for The Washington Post
• In the Deep South, a Search for Queer Identity - The New York Times Book Review
• Casey Parks on Facebook
• Casey Parks on Instagram
• Casey Parks on Twitter
• Kelton Reid on Twitter

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