We are so excited to have the incredible author Coco McCracken on the Maine Irish Team as our Writer in Residence!

Coco’s next office hours will take place on Tuesday, October 13th, from 9am -2pm. Please feel welcome to reserve a 45 minute appointment below and Coco can chat about writing in any way that might be helpful to you!*

Meet Coco:

Maine Irish Heritage Center’s 2026-2027 Writer in Residence

Coco McCracken is a photographer, public speaker, and writer based in Portland, Maine. She is on the board of directors at the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and an Ashley Bryan Fellow. She is active in many communities from art to photography and non-profits. She’s especially dedicated to raising the voices of BIPOC Mainers and providing transparent access to resources that help creatives.

Coco is the granddaughter of Kathleen Elizabeth Joan McNeilly, who was born and raised in Bangor, Northern Ireland. Her “Nanny,” never knew her mother, something that always confused Coco. What started out as a mystery became a detective hunt almost 10 years ago, when Coco started to visit Ireland and piece together her broken family tree.

Just after becoming a mother herself, Coco went back to Ireland twice in order to sleuth around cemeteries, churches, and her grandmother’s old neighborhood. She sat in pubs and chatted with locals, until finally she found her great-grandmother.

Today, she’s still working on her family tree, while writing a book of essays on her process, her complicated mixed-Chinese/Irish/Canadian identity, and her bourgeoning passion with her matriarch’s homeland.

Not only is Coco eager to discover more about her connection to Ireland, she is passionate about connecting Mainers with the MIHC. Through cross-pollenating the communities she has access to, with the folks at Maine Irish, she believes a bountiful relationship could benefit both parties.

Coco is also the creative director at paletmaine.com and hopes to document her time as a writer in residence with her camera when possible.

Photo credit: @Meredith Brockington

*Please note Coco is not able to edit anything at length but is happy to give feedback on short pitches and pieces.