
On April 2, Queens College hosted a publishing round table as part of their Writers at Queens Reading Series, where five authors shared their experiences in the publishing industry. Professor Nicole Cooley, director of the Writers at Queens Series, led the event, and started with a set of questions she asked the writers, and later opened it up to the audience.
One of the authors present at the event was Zakia Henderson-Brown. Brown is the author of forthcoming book The Body Losing its Borders, a poetry collection that is the winner of the 2025 Alice James Editors Choice Award. She said, “I’ve always loved writing. You find places to be creative even when there’s a lack of creativity there. Coming back to the people and expressing yourself is the best part of the job.”
The speakers all came from different genres of writing and have published work in various places, including The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Soho Press, and Slate’s podcast channel.
Author and Breaking News Chief for The Wall Street Journal Jenna Telesca said “When I was a student in Queens, it was beautiful to see the completely different walks of life everyone came from. The experiences they were allowed to bring into the classroom made it an amazing environment to learn in.”
Jasper Lo, Senior Fact Checker for The New Yorker, also participated. He emphasized the importance of structural storytelling in journalism: “Queens taught me to take the existing things and turn it into a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. Queens just has this air that just makes everything seem possible.”
The event had a focus on the ins-and-outs of working in publishing. Rob Gunther, head of Slate’s daily news podcast, shared the stage with Mr. Lo. Mr. Gunther said that the publishing industry is “fast-paced…I love it because I am never bored. If you get your work done well and on time, it is very flexible. It really is what you make of it.” Mr. Lo shared a very different sentiment, specifically about the editing side of publishing: “As you learn the perspectives of other authors through their writing, it can be hard to determine what’s your own.”
Alexa Wejko was another writer who spoke at the roundtable. She serves as the Senior Editor for the Soho Press, a publication specializing in literary fiction. Ms. Wejko gave valuable insight to young writers hoping to improve: “The best way to get better is to just keep doing it. Keep reading. Find what resonates with you and apply it to your writing.”
Professor Cooley said, “Learning about publishing and being a journalist is more important than ever. To be able to express oneself with language and tell the truth is really a great thing.”