Cassandra Lane on Parenthood, Race, and Self-Discovery

In episode 113 of The Writing Coach podcast, host Kevin T. Johns speaks with Cassandra Lane, award-winning memoirist and editor-in-chief of LA Parent magazine.

Cassandra is the author of We Are Bridges: A Memoir (Feminist Press, 2021), winner of the Louise Meriwether First Book Prize, and editor-in-chief of L.A. Parent magazine in Los Angeles. She formerly worked as a newspaper reporter, senior communications writer, and community relations manager for the LA. Dodgers. Her stories have appeared in The Times-Picayune, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Everything But the Burden, Writers Resist, the NYT “Conception” series, and elsewhere.

During our discussion, Cassandra describes:

• How her mother’s passion for reading inspired her to become a writer
• What it was like being the first Black and first woman editor-in-chief of her university newspaper
• How being part of NOMO – a group of black poets, novelists, and artists – influenced her non-fiction writing
• What excites her about her role as editor-in-chief of LA Parent magazine and how she approaches collaboration with her team of editors, writers, photographers, and designers
• Why she chose to write a memoir that covers not only her story but also explores the inter-generational trauma resulting from the lynching of her great-grandfather
• And much more!

Listen now!