Leimert Park Village Book Fair Names Actress Jenifer Lewis As Ambassador
The Leimert Park Village Book Fair (LPVBF) is excited to announce award-winning actress and author Jenifer Lewis as its 2022 Book Fair Ambassador. Lewis is the author of two books
The Leimert Park Village Book Fair (LPVBF) is excited to announce award-winning actress and author Jenifer Lewis as its 2022 Book Fair Ambassador.
Lewis is the author of two books – that is, “THE MOTHER OF BLACK HOLLYWOOD,” and her latest release, “WALKING IN MY JOY!”
Dubbed a national reasure and a force to be reckoned with, the award-winning actress starred on ABC’s “Black-ish” as the hilarious grandmother, Ruby Johnson.
Read More: https://www.leimertparkbookfair.com
Lewis has appeared in more than 400 episodic television shows, 68 movies, 40 animations, and four Broadway shows. In July, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!
“We are so excited we have the dynamic Jenifer Lewis as this year’s celebrity book fair ambassador. She’s a tour de force and we love the energy she brings in promoting literacy and encouraging our audience to stay socially conscious.”
Cynthia E. Exum, founder and executive producer of the LPVBF.
Lewis leads a lineup of best-selling authors, crowd pleasers, and fan favorites as well as a Pulitzer Prize winner, too! On the heels of National Book Month, the special virtual event of the 15th anniversary of the Leimert Park Village Book Fair (LPVBF) will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It will be hosted by Jasmine Sanders, co-host of the nationally syndicated “D.L. Hughley Radio Show.”
The family-oriented event is based in the heart of Leimert Park, which is considered the center of the African American arts/intellectual scene in LA.
Voted One of LA’s Five Best Annual Book Festivals,” the LPVBF has become a much-anticipated cultural tradition in the African American community. It provides authors an opportunity to promote their newest work as well as meet some of their fans up close and personal.
The virtual event includes a lineup of a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, a New York Times best-selling author, plus, book club picks, crowd pleasers, and fan favorites. With a virtual event, the book fair is creating a literary broadcast experience, where through technology, fans can engage with their favorite authors with a touch of a button.
FEATURING PULITZER PRIZE WINNER NIKOLE HANNAH JONES
Along with Lewis, Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of THE 1619 PROJECT and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, will talk about her groundbreaking work on race, social injustice, and reparations. THE 1619 PROJECT helps to explain not only the persistence of anti-Black racism and inequality in American life today; but its roots and what makes the country unique. As a follow-up, the book THE 1619 PROJECT: A NEW ORIGIN STORY continues the conversation as a definitive account of how racism and Black resistance have shaped the nation.
Jones has spent her career investigating racial inequality and injustice, and her reporting has earned her many awards including a MacArthur Fellowship, also known as the Genius grant, a Peabody Award, and as well as being named Journalist of the Year by the National Black Association of Journalist (NABJ).
She was named one of the Most Influential People in 2021 by Time Magazine. Currently, Jones is the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she founded the Center for Journalism & Democracy.
BEST SELLERS, CROWD PLEASERS & FAN FAVORITES
Actress and social media sensation Tabitha Brown, the #1 Best Selling author of FEEDING THE SOUL, presents her first cookbook, COOKING FROM THE SPIRIT, full of easy, family-friendly vegan recipes and stories from the spirit, inspired by her health journey and love of delicious food.
In addition, best-selling acclaimed author, and historian Vanessa Riley, of the award-winning book, “ISLAND QUEEN,” which made many “Best Lists,” discusses her latest offering—that is, “MURDER IN WESTMINSTER,” the first book in The Lady Worthing Mysteries.
Always a crowd pleaser, Jenifer Lewis will have viewers laughing as she sings and reads excerpts from “THE MOTHER OF BLACK HOLLYWOOD” and her latest, “WALKING IN MY JOY.”
“WALKING IN MY JOY” is Lewis’ encouragement to readers to recognize the importance of fully living to your greatest ambition and taking time to admire the universe’s natural gifts along the way.
Plus, debut author Kai Harris chats about her highly praised novel, “WHAT THE FIREFLIES KNEW,” which grabbed the attention of the publishing world. The stunning debut novel shows the nuance, trauma, and joy of Black girlhood through a simple and poignant tale of a girl’s summer—the summer after she lost her father, and the summer before she found herself.
And Adiba Nelson brings a fresh, witty perspective to motherhood in her new tome, AIN’T THAT A MOTHER. No one told her motherhood would be easy and with full transparency, she speaks honestly to viewers about parenting a child with medical needs as well as all the ups and downs. From pasties to postpartum depression, “AIN’T THAT A MOTHER,” is not your average motherhood memoir, and Nelson is not your average mother.
Read More: https://voiceofblackla.com/visit-malik-books-second-location-in-culver-city-at-the-fox-hills-mall/
Furthermore, fan-favorite mystery writer Gary Phillips, tells us about his latest book in the Akashic Noir Series, “SOUTH CENTRAL NOIR,” an anthology of 14 stories set in South-Central Los Angeles. Phillips says the settings of SOUTH-CENTRAL NOIR reflect either “the South Central today or chronicle its colorful past, such as the days of the jazz joints along Central Avenue …. From South Park to East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, from the borderlands of Watts to the one-time Southern Pacific railroad tracks paralleling Slauson Avenue, take a tour of a section of Los Angeles that may be unfamiliar to you, but you will get to know, at least a little, by the time you finish reading this entertaining and engaging anthology.”
And Devyn Bakewell, a romance novelist and managing editor of The Los Angeles Sentinel, steps away from the family business to discuss her second novel, “GREATER LIFE.” In the sequel to her debut book, “GREATER LOVE,” readers are introduced to young lovers Ryan McKnight and Devyn Baker. As the couple faces the end of their freshman year at Truth University with no idea of what to do with their summer vacations. They are forced to go their separate ways. Both find themselves in stressful situations that they must navigate to succeed on their own. With their relationship being put to a new test, can
Ryan and Devyn survive several months apart? How far will they go not to lose the love of a lifetime? Also, Cassandra Lane, the managing editor of LA Parent magazine, will enchant audiences with the reading and discussion of her award-winning memoir, “WE ARE BRIDGES.”
It weaves the story of her great-grandfather’s lynching with Lane’s experience of becoming a mother, attempting to unearth the lives of her ancestors and provide her child with a family record.
FOR THE CHILDREN
Hosted by Books and Cookies and LA Parent Magazine, the children’s story time hour offers a lineup of award-winning children’s authors and musical /dance performances, including Newbery and Coretta Scott King award-winning author Renee Watson (MAYA’S SONG).
Reality star Kristen Scott, from VH-1’s “Basketball Wives,” with a special appearance by her husband, Thomas Scott, and baby girl Karsyn make it a family affair, reading from her debut book, “BROCOLLI HAIR.”
Plus, did you know that former football player and actor Terry Crews is now a children’s author? Well, he reads from his new children’s book, “TERRY’S CREW.”
For a special feature on the LPVBF’s website, award-winning children’s author Andrea J. Looney “CURVE AND FLOW” and illustrator Gordon C. James (JUST LIKE JESSE OWENS) speak about the importance of diversity in children’s literature during a round table discussion, titled “I Read to See Me,” moderated by Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati, founder of the non-profit, African American Children’s Book Project.
To view the children’s schedule visit: http://www.leimertparkbookfair.com/2022-childrens-hour
ABOUT THE LEIMERT PARK VILLAGE BOOK FAIR
The LPVBF is produced by Exum and Associates in collaboration with Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell (2nd District), the office of LA City Councilwoman Heather Hutt (District 10), Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall, Los Angeles County of Arts and Culture, the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, Malik Books and the Southern California Gas Company.
The mission of LPVBF is to promote, encourage and advocate literacy, education, and the love of reading throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. LPVBF is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to producing year-round educational programming, as well as to the presentation of events in collaboration with our partners, in addition to the annual summer fair for which the organization is named.
ABOUT MALIK BOOKS | The Official Book Seller of Leimert Park Village Book Fair (LPVBF)
Malik Books is a black-owned, independent bookstore that specializes in books, calendars, cards, and gifts full of cultural diversity. This bookstore is a rare gem and offers a unique experience to its customers. Find all the hottest and best sellers of today, as well as hard-to-find books; or upon request, special order more than 12 million book titles. Malik Books offer two locations – that is, the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza and Westfield Culver City.
Visit http://www.MalikBooks.com.
For the free virtual broadcast, book lovers can register at: https://leimertparkvillagebookfair.regfox.com/2022-leimert-park-village-virtual-book-fair
