James Earl Jones – Live!
10:00 am – Library Auditorium
Verizon Presents – An Inspirational Message with James Earl Jones
Jones, an Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor of film and stage, is well known in the literary world as the voice of King Mufasa in Walt Disney Pictures, The Lion King, and to Star Wars fans as the voice of Darth Vader. He will share his inspiring story profiled in his 1993 autobiography, Voices and Silences, of how he conquered a childhood speech defect to become one of the world's most recognized voices and the spokesperson for Verizon.
11:10 am – 11:25 am – Library Children’s room
Special Presentation -- James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones, the voice of King Mufasa, reads from The Lion King
12:40 pm – 12:55 pm – ThinkBright Children’s Main Stage – Lafayette Square
Encore Performance – James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones reads from The Lion King
Library Presentations – Auditorium, Ring of Knowledge, West Room
Auditorium
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
An American Crisis: The Movement to Improve Literacy
Illiteracy rates are unacceptably high, particularly in Buffalo, and impacts children and adults alike. Discover where we are and learn about the new City-wide Strategic Plan for Literacy implemented to tackle this national and local crisis.
Panel: Dr. James Williams, Buffalo Schools Superintendent; Dr. Odele, Tracy Diina, Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers; Helene Kramer, Executive Director of Good Schools for All; Antoine Thompson, New York State Senator; Dr. Pamela Johnson, WNED Vice President for Education and Outreach
12:45 pm – 1:45 pm
Historic Profile: Debate Between the Founder of the Niagara Movement and Booker T. Washington (a dramatization)
W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington debate their individual approaches to achieve civil rights.
Introduction by Sarah O’Neal Rush, great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington and author of Timeless Treasures: Reflections of God’s Words in the Wisdom of Booker T. Washington.
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
The Hip-Hop Culture in America: The Legacy
Hip-Hop culture is everywhere in America, from music to clothing to attitudes – embraced by celebrities to the kid next door. How has the Hip-Hop influence impacted society today and what does it hold for the future?
Panel: Cora Daniels, author of Ghettonation: A Journey into the Land of the Bling and the Home of the Shameless; Flores Alexander Forbes, author of Will You Die for Me?: My Lilfe and the Black Panther Party; Sofia Quintera, author of Diva’s Don’t Yield and Explicit Content (written under the pen name Black Artemis for her Hip-Hop fiction); Eisa Nefertari Ulen, author of Crystelle Mourning. Moderator: TBA
3:15 pm – 4:15 pm
Journalists Who Write: There is a Story to Tell
Come listen to these accomplished journalists discuss how to transform investigative research into an informed and enlightening story.
Panel: Esther Armah, International award nominated journalist and author of Can I Be me; Kevin Merida, Associate Editor of the Washington Post and co-author of Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas; Michael Fletcher, White House Reporter for the Washington Post and co-author of Supreme Discomfort
Moderator: Les Trent, Senior correspondent for Inside Edition
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Buffalo Book Fair Biography: Rick James
Roundtable discussion – Friends and family of Rick James, The King of Funk, discuss his posthumous autobiography The Confessions of Rick James: Memoirs of a Super Freak. Rick James has written the ultimate tell-all confessional, with the emphasis on the “all!”
Ring of Knowledge
11:15 am – 11:45 am
Kevin Merida & Michael Fletcher
Washington Post reporters, Merida and Fletcher, discuss their book Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas. The authors track the personal odyssey of perhaps the least understood man in Washington, from his poor childhood in Pin Point and Savannah, Georgia, to his educational experiences in a Catholic seminary and Holy Cross, to his law school years at Yale during the black power era, to his rise within the Republican political establishment.
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Meet Quincy Troupe (Author, Poet and Screen Writer)
A prolific poet who writes about jazz, sports, and the streets of St. Louis, Mr. Troupe has published 17 books and won two American Book Awards, including one for Miles: The Autobiography, written with the jazzman Miles Davis, and The Pursuit of Happyness, written with Chris Gardner.
Guest Interviewer: Les Trent, Senior Correspondent for Inside Edition
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm
A Conversation with Ishmael Reed
Buffalo’s own Ishmael Reed discusses his writing career and his latest book New and Collected Poems, 1966-2006. Mr. Reed is one of the most prolific black writers of the latter half of the 20th century and one of the founding fathers of multi-cultural studies. He was twice nominated for the National Book Award, once a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, branded a "genius" by the MacArthur Foundation, and has many other interests and accomplishments that many do not know. Join the discussion.
Guest Interviewer: Lorna C. Hill, founder and Executive Director of Ujima Company, Inc.
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
A Discussion with Robert O. Swados
Want to know about the history of the Sabres in Buffalo? Join Robert Swados, author of Counsel in the Crease: A Big League Player in the Hockey Wars, as he discusses his good-humored memoir. Swados offers many behind-the-scenes insights into the players, coaches, executives, and owners who have created today’s sports entertainment industry. He describes his early involvement in professional sports through his efforts in the 1960s to bring a Major League Baseball franchise to his hometown of Buffalo, NY. But things really got interesting when in 1969 Swados helped Seymour Knox III and Northrup Knox to establish the Buffalo Sabres. Thus began an exciting thirty-year journey through the ups and downs of the National Hockey League.
Guest Interviewer: TBA
3:45 pm – 4:30 pm
Wendy Corsi Staub AKA Wendy Markham
New York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub is the award-winning author of more than sixty published novels. Under her own name, Ms. Staub achieved New York Times bestselling status with the psychological suspense novels she writes for Zebra Books. Those novels and the women's fiction she writes under the pseudonym Wendy Markham have also frequently appeared on the USA Today, Barnes and Noble, and Bookscan bestseller lists
5:15 pm – 5:45 pm
Peggy Brooks-Bertram, Ph.D. Introduces Wonderful Ethiopians of the Cushite Empire, Book II Origin of Civilization from the Cushites
Co-founder of the Uncrowned Queens Institute and scholar in African American women’s history, Dr. Brooks-Bertram will introduce us to Drusilla Dunjee Houston (1876 – 1941), a multi-talented African American woman whose major efforts were directed toward the redemption of the role of Africans in the development of world civilization. Her poem, America's Uncrowned Queens inspired the name for the Uncrowned Queens project.
West Room
11:15 am – 12:00 pm
Fiction Writing from Soup to Nuts – How to write a riveting story from the moment of inspiration to
the final edits
Linda Lavid, author of Composition: A Fiction Writer’s Guide for the 21st Century, will discuss all aspects of writing fiction, from a germ of an idea to publishing your finished masterpiece. Ms. Lavid is an award-winning author from Buffalo, NY. By day she works as a school social worker in the Buffalo City Schools and by night she writes and rewrites. She has published two short story collections, Rented Rooms and Thirst, and a novel, Paloma. Her most recent book, Composition, is a nonfiction book on creative writing and self-publishing. Her teaching venues include the Chautauqua Institution, Buffalo and Erie County Public Libraries, and Just Buffalo Literary Center.
12:15 pm – 12:45 pm
Meet Todd Mitchell
Todd Mitchell is the author of the young adult novel The Traitor King. He has also published several short stories, essays, and poems in national and international journals.Join him to find out what happens in The Traitor King.
A Big Family Secret . . . Darren and Jackie Mananann have always known there was something a little bit strange about their family, but it isn't until an unexpected presence propels them into a fantastical mystery that they discover how truly unusual and eerily powerful the Mananann family is. Things that once seemed ordinary —flowerpots, librarians, plates of cookies— suddenly have extraordinary meanings. And places that once seemed safe —trees in the forest, a fireplace in the den, a secret passage— are suddenly no longer safe.
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Rafe Martin – Storytelling
Award winning author of children’s books will lead a workshop in the art of storytelling.
Join Rafe Martin, author and story teller, as he talks about language and about stories in words, the only technology that gives us--even today in this age of computers--our own inner images. He shares insights in his writing and rewriting process and show how words create images. And then, through the dramatic performance of a story, he illustrates how spoken stories can differ entirely from written stories.
2:15 pm – 2:45 pm
Meet Lee Welles – Children’s Author
Creator of the Gaia Girls Series -- Lee Welles is a freelance writer who lives and works in upstate New York. The Gaia Girls series was inspired by her personal experience as a summer camp director, her love of the outdoors, and reading about James Lovelock’s Gaia Theory. Ms.Welles regularly appears on television and radio as a wellness expert and writes a weekly wellness column.
The Gaia Girls Series: What would you do if you could hear the Earth asking for help? That is what happens to four girls, each from a different region of the world. They are approached by Gaia, the living organism of the Earth. Each is endowed with powers over one of the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. They must learn to use their powers to help Gaia survive the effects of modern humanity. Visit www.gaiagirls.com for more information.
4:15 pm – 5:15 pm
So You Want to Write a Book: Things to Know from Idea to the First Sale
Roundtable discussion -- authors and a representative from a publishing company discuss the steps to get published.
Authors, Publishing Editor and Moderator – TBA
Literary Pavilions / Tents – Lafayette Square
Living Well Pavilion
Sponsors: Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Wegmans
2:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Our Children – Keeping Them Healthy
Roundtable discussion featuring author Susan Gugliuzza, author of Growing a Healthy Baby, One Spoonful at a Time.
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Take Charge of Your Health
Discussion with author Mary C. Ricotta, Ph.D., author of A Consumer’s Guide to Laboratory Tests
Moderator: Tom McNulty, President of Success Stories, Inc. and Host of Spotlight on Health, WECK-am 1230
5:15 pm – 6:15 pm
Our Stories – Our Lives: Memoirs
Join authors in a roundtable discussion as they share their personal journeys and their insight in the art of autobiography writing.
Quincy Troupe, author of Miles and Me, Flores Alexander Forbes, author of Will You Die for Me?, My Life and the Black Panther Party, Fred Bonisch, a resident of West Seneca and author of Children of Our Own War, A Boy's Journey, and Catherine Gildiner, author of Too Close to the Falls.
Moderator: TBA
Verizon Reads Pavilion
11:45 am – 12:15 pm
An All About Buffalo Presentation: Mark Goldman
Join author and entrepreneur Mark Goldman as he discusses with Dr. Taylor his new book City on the Edge, a narrative about the life and times of a city over a one hundred year period. An overview of the history of Buffalo from the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 to the ice storm of October 2006, it is a broad, sweeping historical narrative that leaves little out.
Guest host: Dr. Henry Taylor, Professor, University at Buffalo Urban Studies
12:30 pm – 1:00 pm
Diane Noto – It’s a Wing Thing…Buffalo Style
Love Buffalo wings? Thought you knew every way to prepare this delicious Buffalo signature food? Meet author Diane Noto as she talks about her new book, It's a Wing Thing...Buffalo Style. The book contains over 120 chicken wing type recipes such as chicken wing fajitas, enchiladas, pizza and dips.
Guest Interviewer: TBA
1:15 pm – 1:45 pm
Fred Bonisch – Children in Our Own War
War, the effects, the legacy – Fred Bonisch has written a book that opens our eyes to the affect war has on the most innocence. In his book, Children of Our Own War, A Boy’s Journey, Fred Bonisch shares his own experience about growing up in war torn Germany. Raised in northern Germany, he recalls the frequent air raids on nearby cities, the American occupation on his home town, and the influence this period had on him personally.
2:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Karolyn Smardz Frost – Presents an Underground Railroad Story
Karolyn Smardz Frost shares with us in I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land the fascinating story of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn, two fugitive slaves from Kentucky who made a daring daylight escape from slavery in 1831. I've Got a Home in Glory Land is the fruit of more than twenty years of historical detective work into this fugitive slave couple’s dramatic escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad. The book tells of the couple’s extraordinary life and their struggle for freedom – the choices they made, the dangers they faced, and the courage they had to forge ahead and create new lives for themselves.
3:15 pm – 3:45 pm
Kayla Perrin – We’ll Never Tell
Join Kayla as she discusses her newest book, a suspense novel set at the University at Buffalo entitled We’ll Never Tell, and three other books to be released this summer. There’s something for everyone, intrigue, romance and erotica.
5:30 pm – 6:00 pm
Brenda Lacy – Feet Don’t Fail Me Now: Devastating Divas in Drill and Step
With the success of such blockbuster movies as Stomp, Brenda Lacy has written Feet Don't Fail Me Now: Devastating Divas in Drill and Step, a book that examines the creation and dedication of young girls that participate in drill team performances. The author explains that it is a phenomenal expression of African American rhythmic dance performance created exclusively by African American youth. The book documents what young African American females say about their dance creativity through their self-evaluation of how and why they perform on drill teams in urban public schools.
* The presentation will be followed by a drill performance.
Literary Café
11:15 am – 12:15 pm
Romance Writer’s Coffee Break
Enjoy a cup of coffee and join writers Kayla Perrin and Wendy Markham (AKA Wendy Corsi Staub) as they discuss issues such as:
- As readers are we in love with the Idea of that everlasting love?
- Why the growing popularity of Erotica? What is the difference between the two genres?
Moderator: TBA
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm
Jill Nelson Reads
Love the beauty and serenity of Martha’s Vineyard? You are invited to hear about Martha Vineyard through the eyes and words of award winning journalist and author, Jill Nelson. In her latest book, the non-fiction Finding Martha’s Vineyard: African Americans at Home on an Island, Nelson offers a lively, intimate portrait of a place that has provided respite and rejuvenation, community and contemplation for generations of African Americans. Part memoir, part history, Finding Martha's Vineyard describes the various groups who settled in Oak Bluffs and established a haven for themselves and their descendants.
2:15 pm – 2:55 pm
Meet Catherine Gildiner
Meet Catherine Gildiner, Buffalo News Book Club Selection Author, as she shares stories about growing up in Lewiston, New York.
Too Close To The Falls is a childhood memoir about a girl growing up in Lewiston, New York in the 1950's. The story is a coming of age tale of a little girl who grows up on the road making deliveries all over the Niagara Frontier. She finds out when she is 'on the road' with Roy, the delivery car driver, that all she learned in Catholic school and from her parents is only part of what makes Lewiston tick. Beneath those whirlpools Cathy finds a Lewiston that is never mentioned in 1950's America.
3:00 pm – 3:45 pm
Quincy Troupe – Reading and Q & A
Quincy Troupe is the winner of two American Book Awards for Snake-back Solos and Miles: The Autobiography, the recipient of a Peabody Award for the Miles Davis Radio Project and the author of six internationally acclaimed volumes of poetry. However, he is most known for his poetry performances.
Quincy Troupe is considered one of the pioneers of performance poetry. His energetic style dates back to the late ’60s and early ’70s, when he read poems at the Black Panther rallies of Huey Newton, Rap Brown, and Stokely Carmichael.
4:00 pm – 4:45 pm
Celebrity /Fame (Interactive discussion) * Teen focus event
Tim O’Shei is the author of nearly 40 books for young readers. His latest book, Live… Starring You!, takes young readers on a trip through show business and the realities of fame. The reader becomes the main character, spending a day in the life of a young star. Amidst the interviews, autographs and camera flashes, the reader also experiences the underside of Hollywood glamour: early wake-up calls, hard and sweaty days, lost friendships and promises broken. Through the storyline and the insights of real-life celebrities – which are sprinkled throughout the book – the reader discovers what it truly takes to become a show biz success.
5:15 pm – 6:00 pm
Mystery Café
Love suspense, the challenge and thrill of solving a mystery? Join authors Wendy Corsi Staub, (Don’t Scream, Kiss Her Goodbye, In The Blink Of An Eye), Kayla Perrin, (We’ll Never Tell), Merritt Charles, (Fools Rush In – Where Angels…), and Sophia White, (Pitted Cherries) as they discuss their books and answer questions about the perfect thriller.
Moderator: TBA
6:15 pm
Special Guest Musician: – Noa Bursie –Meet Buffalo’s own singer, songwriter and Guitarist and enjoy selections from her CD Talk Story.
Reader’s Showcase Pavilion – Lafayette Square
12: 15 pm – 12:45 pm
Sofia Quintero
Sofia Quintero is an author, film producer, activist, and businesswoman, who has transformed her passion for social change into her fiction. Her newest book, Divas Don’t Yield is about a pilgrimage to a women’s conference that turns into an unexpected journey toward self-awareness for four dynamic, sexy women. As they make their way from town to town, laughing, fighting, crying, and bonding, they learn more about one another, and themselves than they ever bargained for – and turn plenty of heads along the way. . . . Touching on issues of class, race, sexism and sexual orientation, Quintero roots all these issues in the personalities of these bold women, who force their friends to confront often painful truths about themselves.
Join in the conversation and share your thoughts.
1:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Meet Eisa Nefertari Ulen
Eisa Nefertari Ulen is the author of Crystelle Mourning, a novel described by The Washington Post as “a call for healing in the African American community from generations of hurt and neglect.” This profound and intense debut novel is the story of a young African American woman from West Philadelphia who finds her path to a bright future in gentrified Brooklyn, New York, is blocked when she can't let go of the love she lost.
1:45 pm – 2:15 pm
Edith Johnson
Ever wondered where a specific quote originated from that your parent’s repeated when you were a child? Experience the world of author Edith Johnson as she shares stories from her warm and humorous book, Only the Cash Flow is Low. Only the Cash Flow is Low is a compilation of “Sayings” and Witty Wisdom, interpreted by her and further enhanced by the water-colored “Illustrations” of one of Western New York’s leading artists – William Yancy Cooper.
3:00 pm – 3:45pm
A Celebrity Scoop! (Interactive discussion)
*Teen focus event
Get a sneak peak at "Live...Starring You!," a celebrity book-in-progress by author Tim O'Shei. "Live..." takes readers through a day in the life of a young star and, when finished, will includes interviews with more than 50 celebrity performers. In this session, O'Shei - the author of nearly 40 books for young readers - will share a short passage from "Live.." and stories from the celebrities he has interviewed, which include stars from Disney's "High School Musical" and "Jump In!" Get the scoop on the realities of celebrity (hint: it's not all light-bulb-lined mirrors!), learn how a book is developed, and take the opportunity to give feedback that will help shape the finished product.
Tim O’Shei's book, Live… Starring You!, takes young readers on a trip through show business and the realities of fame.
4:45 – 5:45
Dating, Relationships and Reality
Panel: TBA
WNED’s ThinkBright Children’s Main Stage
ThinkBright Children’s Main Stage – Join WNED’s ThinkBright for special presentations for kids and families under the tent at the ThinkBright Children’s Main Stage! Hear from Children’s and Young Adult authors, learn the winners of our Share a Story Contest, see exciting demonstrations, enjoy story time with some of our favorite characters and personalities and join in the hands-on fun as we celebrate kids reading and writing.
12:40 pm – 12:55 pm
Encore Performance – James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones reads from The Lion King
Uncrowned Queens Pavilion
11:45 am – 12:00 pm
Illuminations (TV show produced by The Uncrowned Queens Institute and seen monthly on Buffalo, NY Cable Public Access Channel 20). Join hosts Drs. Barbara Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram and participate on the show by asking the guests questions after the interviews.
Guest – Cora Daniels
12:15 pm – 12:30m
Illuminations
Guest – Jill Nelson
1:00 pm
Introducing Queens in the Wings
A special presentation to the first all-girl, all-black team to make it to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Science Bowl. The team’s members - Sylvie Bizimungu, Kerris Sease, Bianca Coleman, Andrea Finley and Olivia Cox
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm
Illuminations
Guests – Jill Nelson and Sarah O’Neal Rush
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Interview: Uncrowned Queens Founders discuss their new book – Uncrowned Queens: African American Community Builders of Oklahoma, 1907-2007 and the Buffalo Connection
Interviewer: TBA
3:15 pm – 3:45 pm
Tell Us a Story
Karima Amin, Sharon Holley and Sandra Bush, representing The Tradition Keepers: Black Storytellers of Western NY, will provide stories and information about “storytelling in the African tradition.”
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Panel Discussion:
Black women and the historical images in America: Defining Ourselves: No Aunt Jemimas, Jezebels or Nappy-Headed Ho’s Here! No More
Listen to this lively discussion about a topic that was thrust to the surface when talk-show jock, Don Imus spun his own derogatory, modern-day version of black women denigration by calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team, “nappy headed hos”. Black women have been described by negative and stereotypic images since they landed on this continent. During the 19th century, two negative images were especially prevalent, “Jezebels”, loose, licentious, wanton women who enticed not only black men, but white men with their sexual charms or they were characterized as “Mammies”; mother-to-all, but especially to other women’s children. Mammies were characterized as good cooks and all-around good-natured, fat lady home-makers.
Moderator: Jill Nelson, author and journalist
5:30 – 6:00 pm
Ishmael Reed - Reading
Meet Ishmael Reed and hear from some of his favorite passages. New and Collected Poems, 1966-2006captures four decades of Reed's inimitable verse, a visionary journey from Chattanooga to New York, from Africa to Oakland. In language that is pointed, innovative, and profound, Reed weaves politics and war with Yoruba and Jazz, and takes on American culture, from prejudice to Pepsi to George W. Bush.
OTHER ACTIVITY TENTS
Buffalo Book Fair Activity
Create your own mixed-media arts journals! Fill your souvenir of summer 2007 with photos, poetry, quotes, sketches and mementos.
Buffalo Reads is a coalition of organizations dedicated to 100% literacy for all of Buffalo’s citizens Convener: Good Schools for All - Helene Kramer, Executive Director
What is Buffalo Reads?
Buffalo Reads is a literacy coalition, first convened by Good Schools for All (Good Schools) in 2003. Since then, it has grown to include more than 30 local organizations and agencies (see membership list), all committed to improving literacy in Buffalo. Working cooperatively, Buffalo Reads and Good Schools are spearheading an initiative to change the paradigm for literacy in Buffalo. They are laying the groundwork for a far-reaching citywide literacy.
Buffalo Public Schools will feature: