CJ Cook

CJ Cook is an author, historian, and biographer of artists working in Polynesia, primarily Hawaii and Tahiti. His first biography about Ralph Burke Tyree, Tyree: Artist of the South Pacific (2017), won two Gold Awards for Best Cover and Best Biography from the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). His second book about Edgar Leeteg, Leeteg: Babes, Bars, Beaches, and Black Velvet Art, was awarded a Gold Medal for Best Biography from the IBPA. Cook is a lifelong manuscript collector who has a particular interest in art and the South Pacific. He is a Manuscript Society board member dedicated to preserving historical documents. 

Instagram: @cjcook1767

Facebook: CJ Cook

Favorite non-reading activity?

Beach walking and shell collecting 

Do you collect anything? If so, what, why, and for how long?

Autographed Manuscripts of Science, Poetry, and Space Legends.

If you could create a museum exhibition, what would be the theme?

Black velvet paintings by South Pacific artists.

What do you worry about?

That there’s not enough time left to complete all the books I have planned.

What brings you great joy?

Publication of my Books = Book Births.