HOT AUTHORS SERIES // Part 4: Canteen Magazine Publisher Stephen Pierson Cashes In Poker Chips For Literary Gold
Sep 16, 2011
Pierson -- Courtesy: Canteen Mag
We said it once and we'll say it again:
Tonight from 7-11pm we're joining forces with Canteen Magazine to host a panel discussion and partyto celebrate their new issue, which pairs 16 amazing authors with 16 premier photographers. The event is part of the Brooklyn Book Festival, which culminates Sunday at Brooklyn Borough Hall with a bunch of great events.
Publisher Stephen Pierson used his online poker winnings to found Canteen. In the first two issues, the magazine boasted contributions from Salinger-bait Joyce Maynard, playwright Gina Gionfriddo, and novelist Andrew Sean Greer.
Now, for its seventh issue, Canteen has chosen a "Hot Authors" theme, trying to give writers the credit they deserve for their sexy similes and wanton word choice. To get you primed for the event, we asked Pierson some very intimate questions. Why don't you slip into something more comfortable and read on...
3W: So you're ahead of the curve. In this awful job market, many college graduates have been forced to neglect traditional templates of success and build their own path. But you did that before it was even cool (before the NYTimes wrote an article about it). Did you always know that your journey would be unconventional or did you once have a "life plan"?
SP: All this random meddling in the arts, and lack of a definable career arc, was quite compelling when I was in my 20's. Now, in my 30's, it casts a slightly ominous shadow. That said, I do feel blessed to not have to commute during rush our, or be chastised for taking a long lunch. And I also feel fortunate that, in my 20's, I backed into poker as a means to support all this meddling.
3W: You went to Brown, but can you tell us a little bit more about your background? Where'd you grew up?
SP: I grew up near Hartford, CT. Suburbs, malls, and non-ironic baseball caps everywhere. I engaged in every mod of menial labor imaginable in order to fund weekend trips to NYC.
3W: We're always impressed by people who have great ideas and then, instead of just talking about them, actually make them happen. What has been essential to the success of the magazine and what advice would you give to somebody trying to undertake a similar project?
SP: The key to any successful arts/literary joint venture is to know a lot of smart people who have too much free time. How is success measured in the world of arts/literary journals? Simply persisting, I guess, is a start. Which comes down to both effort and funding. Over the years I've seen so many worthwhile projects abandoned due to a lack of funding. We don't live in a pure world. Or Scandinavia. And I think many people launching projects forget to devote time to fundraising. We've worked hard at that aspect. And, as I mentioned, the poker thing put us in a very fortunate spot for a while.
3W: Kudos on spearheading the campaign for turning writers into rockstars with the "Hot Authors" theme. How did you choose the authors involved?
SP: We wanted a broad range of young -- under 40 (my definition of "young" keeps changing as I get older) -- writers whose work we like, and who might photograph well. We wanted to reflect NYC writers, but not be an exclusively New York-based project. So we commissioned photo shoots in San Francisco, Chicago, Virginia, Los Angeles, and even one in Mumbai. It's healthy to occasionally remind ourselves there exists a world outside of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
3W: What's the hottest thing you've ever read?
SP: There is a surprisingly hot scene in Gravity's Rainbow, involving a sexy double-agent dominatrix from Holland. It's so hot and well-written that the more disturbing aspects of the scene (some excruciatingly detailed Coprophilia) become turn-ons.
3W: If you weren't publishing Canteen, what would be doing?
SP: Either playing more poker, or slaving away as an underpaid, overworked, and unhealthily cynical editor at a large publishing house.
-- Margaux Weisman
