*The fifth annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair (LPVBF) will take place in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 25, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Leimert Park on the Vision Theatre Back lot, located at 43rd Street and Degnan Boulevard.
A mix of authors, scholars, poets, spoken-word artists, entertainment and television personalities will be on hand for the event, including EUR’s Lee Bailey conducting a Q&A with actor Todd Bridges and providing the introduction for special guest Sugar Ray Leonard.
More than 5,000 enthusiastic book lovers, families and fans will be treated to celebrity readings, book-signings, writing workshops, panel discussions, poetry readings, stage performances, and musical entertainment for the whole family – all encouraging reading, writing and literacy in the African American community.
Plus, in the Children’s Village, sponsored by Nestle USA, kids will enjoy a crafts pavilion, celebrity storytelling, face-painting, book give-aways and more. A Healthy Food culinary stage sponsored by the Gas Company will feature cooking demonstrations as well as an appearance by celebrity chef Govind Armstrong, the visionary behind the Table 8 restaurants in Los Angeles and Miami,
“We are pleased to welcome back this wonderful literary event,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember Bernard C. Parks, 8th District. “Each year the fair continues to bring together great writers in the community, as well as attract some of the nation’s most pre-eminent and highly-regarded authors, poets, and spoken word artists — all for the celebration and love of books and reading. And just like last year — this will be another great opportunity to meet some of your favorite authors as well as discover new ones.”
Below is the lineup:
ON THE MAIN STAGE
The Intelligentsia
• In the Spirit With Susan L. Taylor – Taylor’s name is synonymous with Essence magazine, the brand she built — first, as its fashion and beauty editor to editor-in-chief in 1981 and the publications director in 2000, a position she held until her departure in 2008. As editor-in-chief of Essence magazine, Taylor penned a monthly inspirational column called, In the Spirit, a popular feature of the magazine. In 1993, a collection of her columns was published for her first book, In the Spirit. Today, she is the force behind the National Cares Mentoring Movement, a mentoring movement to recruit one million able adults to help secure African American children who are in peril and losing ground.
• Dr. Julianne Malveaux – Dr. Malveaux is the 15th president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, NC. Recognized for her progressive and insightful observations, Dr. Malveaux is also an economist, author and commentator, and has been described by Dr. Cornel West as “the most iconoclastic public intellectual in the country.” Her contributions to the public dialogue on issues such as race, culture, gender, and its economic impacts, are shaping public opinion in 21st century America. She is the author of “Striving and Surviving: 365 Days in Black Economic History” (Last Word Productions).
• Dr. Robin D.G. Kelley – Dr. Kelley is the newly-appointed Gary B. Nash Professor of American History at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His books include the prize-winning, “Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original,” “Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression,” and “Race Rebels: Culture Politics and the Black Working Class.” For his most recent book, “Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original” (Free Press), Kelley received several honors, including Best Book on Jazz from the Jazz Journalists Association and the Ambassador Award for Book of Special Distinction from the English Speaking Union. It was a finalist for PEN USA Literary Award. The Monk family, notably Thelonious Monk Jr., granted Kelley access to rare historical documents for his biography. No other scholar has ever had such access and support from the Monk family.
• Dr. Maulana Karenga –Dr. Maulana Karenga is professor of Africana Studies at California State University, Long Beach. An activist-scholar of national and international recognition, Dr. Karenga has played a major role in Black intellectual and political culture since the 60’s, especially in Black Studies and social movements, and as executive director of the African American Cultural Center (Us) and Kawaida Institute of Pan-African Studies. Also, he is the creator of the pan-African cultural holiday Kwanzaa and author of numerous scholarly articles and books, including: “Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture;” “Introduction to Black Studies;” “Odu Ifa: The Ethical Teachings;” “Maat, The Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt: A Study in Classical African Ethics,” and “Kawaida and Questions of Life and Struggle.” Currently he is writing a book on the social and ethical philosophy of Malcolm X titled, “The Liberation Ethics of Malcolm X: Consciousness, Cultural Grounding and Struggle.”
• The Kinseys – Married for more than 40 years, Bernard and Shirley Kinsey are known for their incredible collection of African-American art, books and manuscripts that document and tell the remarkable story of African Americans triumphs and struggles from 1632 to the present. They are the authors of “The Kinsey Collection,” a 155-page coffee-table book that showcases the couple’s incredible art collection, reflecting a rich cultural and historical heritage.