FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 2, 2020 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 45
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Queens author encourages others to
value their dreams with new novel
BY BENJAMIN MANDILE
Anthony Sciarratta, a Queens-based
novelist, didn’t enjoy English until he
attended college. But now he is set to
release his second novel, “Th e Letter.”
“Th e Letter,” set to be released April
28 through Post Hill Press, focuses on
Victor Esposito, a writer who falls into
a coma, and his love aff air Eva Abram.
Aft er Abram hears the news over a television
broadcast, she recounts memories
from her love aff air with Esposito a
decade earlier.
Sciarratta drew inspiration for his latest
novel from re-watching the hit television
show “Th e Sopranos,” a show he
says he’s an “avid fan” of, in which one
of the characters falls into a coma and
lives out another world inside their mind.
Sciarratta also drew inspiration for his
novel from the movie “What Dreams May
Come.”
“It was kind of like a little bit of a supernatural
thing,” said Sciarratta of the scene
from “Th e Sopranos.” “And I really like
the idea of that device.”
He also draws inspiration from his own
life in Queens and his Italian heritage,
which he has included in his work as far
back as he remembers. In both his fi rst
novel “Finding Forever: a 1970s Love
Story” and “Th e Letter,” Queens neighborhoods
are included in the prose.
Being an Italian-American is a badge
he wears proudly, looking up to famous
Italian-Americans such as Martin
Scorsese and Sylvester Stallone.
“My goal is to make the reader feel like
they’re not alone,” he said.
One trademark of his work is to always
include an Italian male protagonist and a
female protagonist who is not Italian.
Sciarratta said he was never much of a
writer or a reader — just ask his fourthgrade
teacher, he added.
But once he started his higher education
at Queens College he pursued sports
journalism and scored internships with
SportsNet New York and the New York
Jets.
He eventually retreated from sports
journalism when he started to notice it
took the fun out of football.
He tried his hand at the entertainment
business, but eventually took his screenplay
and turned it into his fi rst book.
“Th e Letter” started taking form before
his fi rst book was even published, the second
novel of the 24-year-old’s career is
described as a more bold and dark story
that allowed him to stretch his writing
abilities.
It also includes a central theme of his
work — to never settle for anything less
than your dreams, whether that be in one’s
career or personal ambitions. He said that
as time goes on, he feels people are devaluing
this virtue.
“We are thrilled to be working with
such a talented young rising star,” said a
representative from Post Hill Press. “‘Th e
Letter’ is a timeless story of forbidden love
that will appeal to fans of the romance
genre at any age.”
His work includes references to mental
health and supports speech and language
organizations. Sciarratta has lived
his own experiences with the two, being
diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder
and a stutter.
Sciarratta said growing up with the
two added diffi culty to his life because in
school people did not always understand.
He previously tried to hide these aspects
Photo courtesy of Anthony Sciarratta.
of himself, but as he grew older he realized
they are strengths of his, not weaknesses.
He hopes to work with charities that
advance advocacy for these groups as his
career continues to blossom.
He said being an author is one of the
greatest feelings in the world, but that
authors must have a thick skin to deal
with the criticism that comes with the territory.
While it can be scary in some regards,
Sciarratta wouldn’t trade the position he
is in now as a young writer in a fi eld that
does not have a paved path or a yellow
brick road. He urges writers out there to
take a chance on themselves.
“Th e Letter,” which is set to be released
later this spring, will be available in all
forms, including audio, and can be found
online and wherever books are sold.
The QNS Podcast wants to hear how you
are dealing with the coronavirus crisis
BY JACOB KAYE
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Send the audio fi le in an email to Jacob
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