Courtney Kocak joins the Author Spotlight to discuss her memoir

Author Name: Courtney Kocak

Book Title: Girl Gone Wild

Book Genre: Memoir

Release Date: April 1, 2026

Publisher: Trio House Press

Welcome, Courtney! Please tell us a bit about your book.

Girl Gone Wild follows my misadventures as a small-town girl with big dreams as I tried to make it in Hollywood and was ultimately transformed in this unwitting feminist coming-of-age. The title essay recounts my time selling T-shirts on the Girls Gone Wild tour at age 21, which turned out to be a life-altering experience.

What drew you to write a memoir about this experience? What made you want to tell this particular story? What do you hope readers will gain or learn from reading about your experience?

My quest to “make it” was so strong and led me down so many dark, unexpected paths that exemplify the obstacle course our society puts women through—especially challenging women who refuse to stay small—so it was all very ripe fodder for a memoir. 

I didn’t initially realize how all these experiences were in conversation with each other when I first conceived of wanting to write a book fifteen years ago. But when I seriously began writing it in 2020, the pieces came together like a deeply satisfying puzzle.

Unpacking these stories was such a powerful, liberating, life-affirming exercise. I hope the book offers that same sense of liberation to other ambitious dreamers—and to women struggling with shame over seemingly unspeakable experiences.

What was your research process like for Girl Gone Wild?

Even though it’s a memoir—and many identities and character details have been changed—I did a lot of work to fact-check my memories. There’s no foolproof way to do that, since every person involved in any situation will experience it differently. But it was really important that I ground as much of the narrative as possible.

The internet helped, along with old photos, conversations with friends and family, and anything else I could access from the time. I tapped every tool at my disposal to triangulate the truth of those moments, which made me more confident about the elements I had to invent or alter.

From your perspective, what’s the hardest thing about writing and researching? And what do you love most about it?

While I was in the generative stage, occasionally authors would visit classes I took and say, “The best part of the book-writing process is before you get your book deal.” I would roll my eyes—it’s easy to say that when your book is already out.

But I learned that they were exactly right. That generative and early revision phase is so precious—I was writing just for me. Once you sell the book and move into later revisions, you start seeing the narrative through other people’s eyes. There’s beauty in that too, but I love the freedom of writing the story first for yourself.

I found the later revisions difficult and time-consuming, but I’m really proud of how much the book improved in the back half of 2025. I learned that I’m my own harshest critic—and on the upside, that’s how I transformed the book into what it is today. I worried I would never feel done, but when that feeling finally came—that I’d taken it as far as I could—it felt like crushing a stand-up set. Just the best feeling.

What’s capturing your imagination these days outside of reading and writing?

I’m trying to tap into the creativity of marketing as I move through the book launch period. I’m also recording and editing my own audiobook, which puts me firmly back in the Girl Gone Wild text. I was an actress, so it feels especially apropos that I’m performing the audiobook, and getting to live inside the story one more time as I launch is a magical way to put it to bed.

Outside of that, I love long walks and listening to political podcasts. I’m manifesting a more perfect union for our country. I think that’s an important job for all of us right now—and half of it is simply believing that it’s possible.

Any new writing projects in the works?

Yes! My second memoir is already underway, and I’m unbelievably excited to dive back into that manuscript this summer. I can’t wait to immerse myself in that story and get back to that writing-for-me phase again. 

After that, I’m going to write my first novel—which feels like an exciting new challenge.

What was the last book that stuck with you? Why did it make such a lasting impression?

The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich is such a phenomenal book with an expertly interwoven dual narrative. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone because it truly is a must-read, but it’s raw and poignant—everything I love about the best memoirs—and also well-reported.

My mom and I read it together a couple of years ago, and we were both wrecked by it in the best possible way.

Where can readers find you? (Website, blog, social media, etc.—feel free to include any upcoming, live/online events, workshops, too!)

You can buy Girl Gone Wild on Bookshop.org or wherever you buy your books. My favorite place to connect with writers and readers is my Substack and podcast, The Bleeders. I’m on all social platforms @courtneykocak—Instagram is my home base.

I’m also teaching a Memoir Incubator through Writing Workshops starting in June. And you can learn more about my work at courtneykocak.com.

Thank you, Courtney! Girl Gone Wild is out NOW.

Girl Gone Wild

Girl Gone Wild is a collection of exploits and delusions about chasing your dreams with reckless abandon—and what happens when that pursuit becomes a new kind of trap. Author Courtney Kocak is an actress-turned-writer who transplanted herself from the quiet cornfields of rural Minnesota to the filthy heart of Hollywood in her painfully protracted quest to “make it” in a time before our lives were flattened by the internet—a longer, more arduous journey than she ever imagined, full of unexpected detours, like falling in love with an abusive asshole and eventually having his abortion, a Model Mayhem photo shoot gone wrong, acting in independent films, a Craigslist massage for money, getting paid to kick a guy in the balls, getting hooked on Adderall, selling T-shirts on the Girls Gone Wild tour, and so much more. In Girl Gone Wild, Kocak takes readers along on her heady metamorphosis from girl to woman and from dreamer to professional artist, as she is transformed in this unwitting feminist coming-of-age.

Author Bio:

Courtney Kocak is a writer, podcaster, and comedian who splits time between Austin and Los Angeles. She wrote for Amazon’s Emmy-winning animated series Danger & Eggs and Netflix’s Know It All. She’s produced a slew of highly-ranked podcasts and currently hosts three of her own with over two million downloads to date: Private Parts Unknown, about love and sexuality around the world, The Bleeders, about book writing and publishing, and Podcast Bestie, a best friend to podcasters trying to grow and monetize their shows (and a popular Substack). As a writer, her bylines include The New York Times, The Cut, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Cosmopolitan, Slate, HuffPost, and more. Her debut memoir, Girl Gone Wild (Trio House Press), is out now!