2009 BWC Bio:
Valerie L. Coleman founded the Pen to Paper Literary Symposium in 2004. In 2005, Coleman co-founded Write On! Workshops. These workshops are geared towards the novice writer. In May 2006, Coleman took her writing and publishing curriculum to the prisons. In addition, she developed a writing program for high school students. Under her tutelage, students learn the art and business of writing with the objective of completing a novella. Coleman hopes to incorporate scholarships from accredited institutions as the pinnacle of the Passionate Pens program.
Eager to invest in joint collaborations, Coleman is a founding member of the Soul of the Pen Tour. The objective of the six Christian authors is to use the written word to develop healthy relationships and strengthen families. Partnering with Dr. Vivi Monroe Congress, Coleman formed Queen V Publishing to transform manuscripts into polished works of art. Her newest ventures are manager of the gospel trio, Christopher, promoter for the World Movement Evolution Tour and the director of Dayton sales for the Praise Reporter Magazine.
Coleman has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from GMI Engineering & Management Institute and an MBA from the University of Dayton. She is a college mathematics instructor. A mother of five, she resides in Dayton, Ohio with her husband. They worship at Revival Center Ministries, International.
Pen of the Writer, LLC- PenoftheWriter.com; QueenVPublishing.net; info@PenoftheWriter.com
Bio:
Creator, Producer, Narrator & Musician:
Richard McKeown is founder & President of KoolKidz Television & Publishing LLC which to date has garnered over 40 Film Festival selections & awards! KoolKidz brings fresh, intelligent programming to today’s sophisticated children. Our mission is to instill pride & knowledge of self, particularly for children of color, with high quality programs, consisting of original music & artwork that both entertains and educates.
KoolKidz Television & Publishing produces work appealing to both children and adults. We teach important life lessons with exciting characters, terrific stories and amazing music.
Patrick Oliver is founder of the Say It Loud! Readers and Writers Series a literary arts program dedicated to promoting reading and writing as tools of empowerment. Mr. Oliver is co-founder of the Black Male Development Symposium along with award-winning author Haki R. Madhubuti and noted sociologist Useni Eugene Perkins. Mr. Oliver serves as consultant with the Princeton University State of the Black Male Conference and the Arcadia University Black Male Development Symposium. Mr. Oliver is co-founder of the Harlem Book Fair Children’s Pavilion and coordinator for the African Festival of the Arts Book Pavilion. Mr. Oliver was Director of Sales and Marketing at Third World Press. He was also Program Director for the Institute for Positive Living Open Book Program a citywide after-school reading program in Chicago.
His literary projects have been featured on CSPAN BookTV, NPR, BET, Comcast, NBC, Pacifica Radio and other major media.
Danny Broadway earned a degree in Fine Arts from The University of Memphis where his paintings were chosen two years in a row for the Black History Month posters.
He also taught art to junior high through high school students in the Memphis City School System and at the Memphis College of Art. Danny's goal is to provide youths with the same hope he found in disciplined creativity. He has traveled to Africa & Europe.
Mr. Broadway also extends his artistic ability to rally support for meaningful causes in which he believes. Those causes include: The Memphis Child Advocacy Center, The American Liver Foundation, SOCKS, The American Heart Association, The March of Dimes, Friends for Life, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Memphis.
His work has been displayed nationwide in galleries as well as major art shows like the Arts EXPO in New York, and he has been named by PBS Television as the Master Artist for 5 consecutive years. Several Fortune 500 companies including FedEx, as well as Black Enterprise, Memphis Grizzlies, Memphis Redbirds and the Major Baseball League, in New York have commissioned Danny Broadway original paintings. Currently, Danny's work is known throughout the U.S. Danny Broadway currently is the 'Artist in Residence' for a well known Episcopal School in Memphis, TN.
MEMPHIS BWC EXECUTIVE ADVISORY BOARD
www.miccolo.com or call 202-387-6525
Jason Miccolo Johnson is a self-taught freelance photographer based in Washington, DC who specializes in editorial, documentary, portraiture, and special event photography. His quiet shooting style and poignant images that focus on the subject's eyes and hands is his trademark. He is an internationally exhibited photographer with numerous book and magazine covers to his credit.
Exclusive photos have been taken by Mr. Johnson of some of the world's most recognizable persons including Princess Diana, Thurgood Marshall, Nelson Mandela, Colin Powell, Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, and Muhammad Ali. Some of his major assignments have included NATO at 50 Celebration, Justice Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, President Bill Clinton's 1993 and 1997 Inaugurations, and the Million Man March.
A "partial" list of his Fortune 500 clients include: Pepsi Cola, McDonald's, Anheuser-Busch, CBS, Fleishman-Hillard, and Daimler-Chrylser. Additionally, he has done work for The Freedom Forum, Spelman College, National Council of Negro Women, Howard University, and Newhouse News Service.
Janette Owens is founder and president of Oneswan Productions, a small publishing company dedicated to informing and inspiring amateur writers to explore their literary talents in unique, creative, and positive ways. She is a trainer, consultant, community activist, and self-published author of A Swan Song: An Intimate Collection of Poems and Short Stories. Owens lives in Memphis, Tennessee. She is currently hard at work on her first novel, Wednesday’s Blues.
Ms. Owens will receive the 2007 Best On-Line Literary Award from the Memphis Black Writers Conference Saturday night April 28 during the Literary & Artistic Awards Banquet @ Isaac Hayes Nightclub.
Phyllis R. Dixon is the author of Let the Brother Go If… which was published in 1999 by Pines One Publications. The book appeared on the Emerge magazine Best Seller list. She has also written for the Memphis Commercial Appeal. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She has been employed by the U.S. Treasury Department for twenty years. She has previously lived in Houston, Texas and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She currently resides in Memphis, Tennessee with her husband and three children. Forty Acres is her first novel.
http://www.phyllisrdixon.com/
http://www.pageturner.net/authorplace/phyllisdixon/index.html
WAYNE, LAWRENCE. author, producer, screenwriter, conference director.
'How To Encourage Young African American Children To Read...A Black Reader's Guide."
(Black House Press 1996) $12.95 ISBN#= 0-00000000-000-00
Lawrence Wayne is a writer, producer, president and festival director of the Memphis Black Writers Conference & Southern Film Festrival. He founded the conference in 1996 to portray the positive aspects and cultural achievements of African American authors, artists, and communicators. He is the author of the book, "How To Encourage Young African American Children To Read- A Black Reader's Guide."
He hosted a panel at the 2001 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, TN. He also lead a panel discussion on Black Writing and Publishing in at The African Street Festival in Jackson, TN. He is a member of the Board of the It's Time To Read program in conjunction with Time Warner Communications and the Assissi Foundation.
He was one of the Founding Board of Director Members of the African Diaspora Film Festival Directors of New York. This prestigious membership includes the Urbanworld, Black Hollywood, FESPACO, New York African, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit and over 20 Film Festivals worldwide.
Lawrence and met and interviewed hundreds of super stars including Angela Bassett, Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Mekhi Phifer, Nia Long, Larenz Tate, Melvin Van Peebles, Ilyana Vanzant, Lisa Raye, Billy Dee Williams, John Singleton, Halle Berry and Vivica A. Fox just to name a few.
To order: lwayne7@yahoo.com or 901-680-2018 $12.95 plus shipping.