Recipes for the Resistance
Channeling a passion for activism into a cookbook project
As frequent listeners to the show know, we here at Everything Cookbooks love a good cookbook origin story - especially those from debut authors. Asking about how a book came to be helps us get to know the author, sure, but each story teaches us something new about the cookbook publishing industry.
This week’s guest, Corrie Locke-Hardy, started their career in professional kitchens, gravitating toward the baking side of things. After plans to purchase their own bakery business fell through, Corrie changed lanes to become a classroom teacher and, eventually, the founder of a consulting firm focusing on Anti-Bias, Anti-Racist (ABAR) work. And now, with the publication of The Revolution Will Be Well Fed: Recipes for Creating Community, they’ve added “cookbook author” to their CV. The book is a prime example of how, as Kristin points out during our conversation, “The best ideas come from a Ven diagram of overlapping interests.”
What stands out for me about Corrie’s story, however, goes beyond the book’s content being a true reflection of their interests and experiences (which is no small thing in itself); it’s how Corrie intentionally sought out a publisher that aligned with their values. Following advice from literary agent (and friend of the show) Sally Ekus, one of the first steps Corrie took was to find comp titles for the type of book they hoped to write, and this research led them to a small independent press, Raspberry Bow. After talking with Corrie about their experience working with Raspberry Bow, I can’t imagine a better home for their book. Tune in to hear the whole story.
“Start small and keep growing - we’ll begin with food, and then we’ll move beyond together” - Corrie Locke-Hardy
In addition to hearing a good story about working with a genuinely independent publisher (spoiler: the book was printed in the US and is not sold on Amazon), I do hope you’ll listen to this week’s episode for an example of how to weave social activism into a cookbook project while maintaining the joy and generosity of spirit that come with cooking (and baking) for ourselves and others. In our conversation, Corrie explains how everything from recipe selection to design is intended to make the book useful, accessible, and, yes, FUN, underscoring the importance of “the everydayness of activism.” It’s a message I know I need to hear, perhaps now more than ever.
Links from today’s chat:
The Washington Women’s Cookbook, the book that led Corrie to Raspberry Bow Press
High-Five Books, an inclusive kids community bookstore
The Tiny Activist - Corrie’s website with tools and resources for teachers, librarians, parents, caregivers, and anyone interested in ABAR work
The Tiny Activist - Corrie’s Instagram
Next up:
On next week’s show, Kate, Kirstin, and I talk to Maggie Hoffman, host of The Dinner Plan Podcast, about her accomplished career in food media, from Serious Eats, where she founded the drinks section and became the managing editor, to Epicurious, where she became the digital director. Maggie’s also written two cocktail books (The One Bottle Cocktail and Batch Cocktails), started a couple of blogs, and now, writes three newsletters (The Dinner Plan, What to Drink, and The Vintage Table). No surprise that we found lots to talk about!
Lots of ways to support Everything Cookbooks
There is NO charge to sign up for this newsletter. No paywalls, no pressure—just one email a week with episode notes, what's coming next, and some extras we didn't squeeze into the show. It does help other people find us if you hit the ❤️ at the bottom of the post. We love your comments and restacks, too.
We are committed to keeping the Everything Cookbooks podcast free for all, but it costs money to make the show, and we need community support to keep it going. If you can, consider a paid subscription for $6/month. For an even better deal, sign up for the annual subscription plan during April and get a 25% discount! Don’t sleep on this offer!
You can also shop for cool EVCB merch on our website and any book mentioned on the can be found at our affiliate shop at Bookshop.org. Every bit of support helps!
Bye for now. I’ll be back here next week and hope to see you. In the meantime, keep on writing, reading, and cooking.
Molly and the EVCB gang
Congrats, Corrie! Looking forward to listening!
Inspirational stories and such thoughtful content in your new substack!!👍