Award-winning novelist and poet Chris Campanioni will read and sign copies of In Conversation and Going Down at The Bookplate at 6 p.m., Friday September 26.
Campanioni became the youngest author to be selected for the International Latino Book Award (Best First Book) in June. The novel is the first in a series that explores communication and language, commodities and media, tourism and terrorism. Since its September 1 release, Going Down has received glowing reviews by newspapers, magazines, and radio stations, including the New York Post, RealClear, Manhattan Times, Bronx Free Press, Brooklyn Eagle, Fjords Review, Nuestras Palabra, and The Michigan Business Network. It is being taught in universities ranging from Texas to Michigan.
Campanioni, a first-generation Cuban- and Polish American, is a journalist, professor, and model, and winner of the 2013 Academy of American Poets Prize for poetry from his collection In Conversation. His work has appeared in the Star-Ledger, San Francisco Chronicle, Bergen Record, The Brooklyn Rail, Fjords Review, the NewerYork, Vending Machine Press, Quiddity International Literary Journal, Blunderbuss, Rosebud Magazine, Lime Hawk, Literary Orphans, La Pluma y La Tinta, Squawk Back, Across the Margin, and elsewhere. He has also worked as an actor with a number of recurring roles on All My Children and One Life to Live, and has been a guest on The Today Show and The View. Campanioni has been photographed for international magazines, books, and catalogues spanning North America and Milan, Paris and Melbourne, including the cover of DNA, along with runway shows in Manhattan, Miami, and Rio de Janeiro. He teaches literature and fiction writing at the City University of New York, Staten Island and Baruch College. Find him in space here: www.chriscampanioni.com
Praise for Going Down, In Conversation, and Chris Campanioni:
“Following his novel, Going Down, a tour de force of metafiction and genre-bending, Chris Campanioni continues to embrace the avant-garde strain, this time in poetry, with these complex, yet very accessible pieces that pop on the page with a mix of self-reflection, game-playing, and pop culture in conversation with each other, with the author, and with the reader. Read one, and you’ll want to read them all–again and again.” — John J. Trause, author of Eye Candy for Andy; Seriously Serial; and Inside Out, Upside Down, and Round and Round
“A writer, teacher, actor and model, in his debut novel, Campanioni draws from his experiences to bring readers along for a ride … a must-read book.” — New York Post
“Campanioni’s life experiences give him a unique perspective. Rather than writing about fashion or journalism as an outsider looking in, he draws from a rich array of personal stories. The inquisitiveness and attention to detail he needed as a reporter has fueled Campanioni’s fiction writing.” — Manhattan Times
“Engaging. Captivating. Exciting.” — The Latina Book Club
“If Gatsby is considered the last great ‘New York Novel’ … then Going Down by Chris
Campanioni is like Muhammad Ali in the Fight of the Century. The writing style is like a child of Martin Amis and Reinaldo Arenas, full of linguistic poise and observational quips.” — The Banner
“He’s an author. A model. A college professor. Is Chris Campanioni the most interesting man in the world? He debuts with Going Down, an equally interesting coming-of-age novel.” — Brooklyn Eagle
In addition to achieving the New York Post’s “must-read” list, the novel has also been named as one of the best books of 2013 by the Latina Book Club. Readers and critics have likened the work to a combination of pop art and avant-garde, and publications, like the Manhattan Times, have praised the work for its realistic portrayal of the newsroom and the runway, particularly from the Latino perspective.
From the author:
“I started writing Going Down over six years ago, when I began modeling during the day and working as a copy editor at night at the Star-Ledger. In 2007, I was mainly exploring the issue of “growing up,” especially in today’s society in which the sociological parameters of adulthood have become increasingly outdated. But as the writing progressed, I realized the stakes were also rising. The novel became more than just a coming-of-age story and an exploration of my generation. It also explores the fashion industry and the everyday activities of a Cuban-American journalist and male model from that singular perspective, so there is quite a bit about being in the newsroom and the runway, a ticket backstage. At the same time, I wanted to give a voice to a very unseen and under-represented individual—a Latino model—underlying a culture’s lack of representation that reflects a larger void in the world. Earlier this month, the New York Times reported on the disquieting lack of diversity in the fashion industry in its article,“Fashion’s Blind Spot” (August 8, 2013), so the trend toward an awareness of some of these issues is progressing.”
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