COCA Hosts Evening with Author Daniel Woodrell

On Friday evening, more 100 people congregated at the in University City to hear .

"We could not be more thrilled to have Mr. Woodrell here," said Catherine Wermert, COCA's director of administration.

Before reading the short story "Uncle" from his latest book, "The Outlaw Album," Woodrell was introduced by fellow Missouri author Scott Phillips ("The Ice Harvest," "Cottonwood").

"It's a great pleasure to be associated with Mr. Woodrell," Phillips said. "After a long time, he's geting some of the attention he deserves."

Woodrell has had various books and short stories published over the last 25 years, most notably "Winter's Bone" (the basis for the 2010 Academy Award-nominated film of the same name) and the award-winning "Tomato Red," which the author indicated were his two personal favorites during his talk at COCA.

"Certain things seemed to come together with 'Winter's Bone,'" Woodrell said.

In addition to the reading of "Uncle," attendees were invited to participate in a question-and-answer session with Woodrell, which covered everything from his writing process to anecdotes about life in the Ozarks and the whirlwind experience of the success of "Winter's Bone" (both the film and the book).

"I found a cultural richness," Woodrell said of the Ozarks, a recurring setting for the author's stories and novels. "Once I began to write about it, I haven't really been able to stop."

The Q&A was followed by a book signing and a screening of the film "Winter's Bone." As the evening married literature and movies, the event was co-sponsored by Cinema St. Louis and .

"Having the Q&A and film screening all bound into one event is pretty cool," said Kelly von Plonski, owner of Subterranean. "It seems like all the die-hard fans are here."

The fans, including Terri Loeffler, were definitely excited about the event.

"I love his books," Loeffler said. "The books are so intense but you can't stop reading."

Loeffler attended the event with friend Chris Cole, who has a more personal connection with Woodrell.

"I knew him in eighth grade," Cole said. "I had a huge crush on him."

Whether the fans had personal connections or just felt connected to Woodrell through his writing, everyone seemed to enjoy the evening.

If you missed the event, Subterranean has a few extra signed copies of "The Outlaw Album" available for purchase.