A person with braided hair, wearing a beige cap, green and striped oversized T-shirt, light blue jeans, white sneakers with pink accents, sitting on a stool against a plain off-white wall.

Cody Cook-Parrott is an artist, writer, teacher, and dancer. They write a weekly newsletter and are the author of six books, including The Practice of Attention, out March 2026 with St. Martin's Essentials.

Pre-order

The Latest

Upcoming classes, events, and new offerings

  • Book cover titled 'The Practice of Attention: Cultivating Presence in a Distracted World' by Cody Cook-Parrott, featuring wavy purple lines on a pink background.

    The Practice of Attention (March 17)

    My new book is available for pre-order! The Practice of Attention‍ is a guide to reclaim your focus and live with presence through practices that embrace creativity and awe.

    Pre-order
  • Event poster for a book presentation featuring Cody Cook-Parrott and Erin Shetron, with images of both authors, the book titled 'The Practice of Attention,' and details of the event including date, time, and location.

    Book Launch Event @ Powell's (March 19)

    Celebrate the launch of my new book at Powell’s City of Books in Portland, OR, where I’ll be in conversation with creative advisor, strategist, and “newsletter whisperer” Erin Shetron.

    Event Details
  • A person wearing a beige hoodie, beige pants, and a white cap stands outdoors near a pink building with white trim and black hinges, looking up.

    Cody's World (Ongoing)

    Cody’s World is my digital garden Notion universe of research, books lists, writing experiments, dance videos, Notion templates, and more. Included for paid newsletter subscribers!

    Subscribe
  • A person with blonde hair in braids, wearing a striped shirt, sitting at a wooden table, writing in a notepad with a coffee mug nearby, in a cozy, plant-filled room.

    Prompts (Ongoing)

    A monthly analog newsletter with writing prompts and reflections to help you slow down, pay attention, and make more—on paper, not screens.

    Sign up
  • Person with short brown hair wearing a striped brown and white shirt, facing away, raising one arm and resting the other arm on their head against a plain white wall.

    Mapping Your Creative Business (January 24 + 25)

    A weekend workshop to map out the ecosystem of your business.

    Join the waitlist
  • A person with blonde hair lying on a pastel patchwork quilt, wearing a beige sweater and beanie, with their eyes closed and left arm resting on their head.

    Fieldwork (February 11 - April 29)

    A three month small business cohort for peer support, creative marketing, and radical community.

    Join the waitlist

Coming soon

〰️

Coming soon 〰️

Introducing

The Practice of Attention

Coming March 17, 2026 from St. Martin’s Essentials

Book cover for 'The Practice of Attention: Cultivating Presence in a Distracted World' by Cody Cook-Parrott. The cover is pink with purple wavy lines and black text.

The Practice of Attention is a guide for stepping out of the loops that keep us hooked—so we can return to presence, play, and service. This isn’t an anti-technology book; it’s about reclaiming your time and focus so life feels like it belongs to you again. Moving from digital detox and an attention audit into five grounding practices—creative work, hobbies, movement, research, and spiritual life—you’ll learn how to weave your own retreat or residency into everyday living.

Pre Order Bonuses: Pre-order to receive The Attention Audit Workbook and an invitation to No Signal: A digital detox email course. (Enter your receipt info here).

Pre-order

“When our attention splinters, so do we. It is not an exaggeration to say this book will save your life. It saved mine.”

―Holly Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of Quit Like a Woman

“The only book we need right now.”

―Samantha Irby, #1 New York Times bestselling author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life

“A beautiful book about the importance of attention and how we might turn to it in a world that is constantly trying to capture ours.”

―Esme Weijun Wang, New York Times bestselling author of The Collected Schizophrenias

A person with braided hair, wearing a plaid button-up shirt, adjusting their collar, with rings on their fingers and earrings visible, standing against a plain, light-colored wall.

An expert of nothing, a devotee to the mystery

I’m Cody Cook-Parrott: a hermit, a social person, a Gemini, Human Design Manifestor, Queer person, freak, and artist. I love to create fun and joyful containers for figuring out how to live in the world as an expert of nothing, a devotee to the mystery.

My work has been featured in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Dance Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. I have a BFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and am an MFA candidate at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University.

About me
A person with long hair in a braid, wearing a beige sweater, is seen from behind arranging a patchwork quilt or fabric collage on a surface.

Quilting Practice

I make quilts as a way to slow down and work with my hands, often using simple shapes and everyday materials. My practice is rooted in utility, care, and financial redistribution, creating pieces meant to be used, shared, and lived with.

A quilt with a geometric pattern featuring purple and white squares and rectangles arranged in a symmetrical design.
A quilt with geometric patterns in blue, beige, and striped fabric laid flat on a surface.
Colorful, geometric quilt with concentric squares in shades of blue, pink, peach, and white, arranged in a pattern.
Colorful quilt with pastel patches and striped sections, laid out flat on a surface.
A patchwork quilt with eight square sections, each featuring concentric squares in pastel colors, some with striped patterns, arranged in a 3x3 grid with a beige border.
A quilt with a simple design of a mountain and a circle, with the mountain in soft blue and the circle, representing the sun or moon, in matching light blue on a white background.
A patchwork quilt with a geometric pattern of red, pink, beige, tan, gray, and white fabric pieces, bordered by a pink edge.
Abstract pastel-colored quilt with curved shapes in light blue, beige, and teal, bordered by a white frame.
Patchwork quilt with geometric and striped patterns in yellow, gray, white, and blue colors.

Movement Practice

I approach dance as a space for research, improvisation, and connection to the body. My practice blends structured movement with open-ended exploration, often influenced by everyday gestures and collective experiences.

A person with blonde hair lying on their back on a wooden floor, with their legs raised vertically against a plain beige wall, wearing a black outfit.
Person with short hair, wearing a beige striped top and white pants, reaching upward with one arm while standing against a plain white wall.
A person lying on their back on a wooden floor, with arms crossed over their chest and eyes closed.
Person with brown hair wearing a striped beige and white shirt stretching against a plain light-colored wall.
Person with hair in braided pigtails balancing two pink juggling balls on their head, facing away from the camera, wearing a striped shirt, with tattoos visible on their neck and arms.
A person with long hair is lying on a wooden floor with their head resting on the floor and arms extended behind their head, wearing a black long-sleeve shirt and black pants.
A person standing on one leg, wearing beige pants and a beige top, against a plain beige background.
Person with wavy blonde hair, wearing black clothing, posing with arms raised and to the side against a plain off-white wall.
A person sitting on a yoga mat with one leg extended, showing tattoos on their foot and lower leg, near a corner of a room with wooden flooring and plain white walls.
A person with shoulder-length hair performing a yoga pose using a wooden half-circle yoga tool, on a mat against a plain white wall.

“This is my wish: that you feel less pull toward your screen and more pull toward your life.”

―Cody Cook-Parrott, The Practice of Attention (→ Pre-order)