Author News and Book Reports
Ed Park hosts panel of emerging authors Peter Plate, T. Cooper, and John Cotrona
One of New York's best known book critics Ed Park hosted a panel of emerging authors before a packed audience at the Small Press Book Fair 2006. Beginning with John Cotrona (Lost Positives; Fractious Press), and followed by T. Cooper (Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes; Dutton/Plume) and Peter Plate (Soon the Rest Will Fall; Seven Stories Press), Park asked each to talk about how they got started writing and publishing their first novel. Park then posed the question to Cooper and Cotrona of how much music influences their writing. Park then steered the discussion into working with book editors (Cooper, Cotrona, Plate); a lively discussion of strong female characters (Cotrona, Plate, Cooper) in fiction, which Plate welcomed as the 'return of the repressed'; the publishing process (Plate, Cotrona); and whether it is necessary to have likeable characters (Cotrona, Cooper, Plate) with comparisons to the work of Nelson Algren. Prompted by a question from the audience about what he meant by 'return of the repressed,' Peter Plate delivered his manifesto of sorts on writing and the personal responsibilities of authorship. The panel wrapped up with a discussion of the subject on most young writer's minds these days--the pros and cons of self-publishing (Cotrona, Cooper, Plate).
