Drummer, DJ, producer, culinary entrepreneur,
New York Times best-selling author, and member of The Roots – Questlove, is the unmistakable heartbeat of Philadelphia’s most influential hip-hop group. He is the Musical Director for
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where his beloved Roots crew serves as house band.
Drummer, DJ, producer, culinary entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, and member of The Roots – Questlove, is the unmistakable heartbeat of Philadelphia’s most influential hip-hop group. He is the Musical Director for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where his beloved Roots crew serves as house band. Beyond that, this 4-time GRAMMY Award winning musician’s indisputable reputation has landed him musical directing positions with everyone from D’Angelo to Eminem to Jay-Z. Questlove has also released two books including the New York Times Bestseller Mo’ Meta Blues and Soul Train: The Music, Dance and Style of a Generation. One of this latest endeavors includes scoring Chris Rock’s new film, Top Five, and also working as the music supervisor. Questlove is the Executive Producer of VH1’s Soundclash, hosted by Diplo and Executive Producer of VH1’s Philly 4th of July Jam.
Questlove made his way into the culinary world with his signature “Love’s Drumstick.” Currently, Questlove is hosting a series of Food Salons with world-renowned and innovative chefs at his Financial District apartment in the NY by Gehry building. Questlove has appeared as a Guest Judge on Top Chef Season 11, his food and culinary endeavors have been featured on the cover of New York Magazine, in Food & Wine Magazine, Bon Appetit, and seen on The View, Watch What Happens Live, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He is a Celebrity Ambassador for The Food Bank NYC, is on the City Harvest Food Council, a board member of Edible Schoolyard, and the first Artist-in-Residence at the Made in NY Media Center.
LeVar Burton, multi-award winning actor, director and education advocate, is best known to television audiences around the world for his portrayals of two iconic characters—Kunte Kinte in “Roots” and Geordi LaForge in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”—and for his 23 years as producer and host of the beloved PBS series “Reading Rainbow.”
LeVar Burton, multi-award winning actor, director and education advocate, is best known to television audiences around the world for his portrayals of two iconic characters—Kunte Kinte in “Roots” and Geordi LaForge in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”—and for his 23 years as producer and host of the beloved PBS series “Reading Rainbow.” Burton is co-founder of the award-winning Reading Rainbow digital library, which has produced the #1 educational app and has just introduced SKYBRARY, the next generation of innovative children’s educational media on the web. He is co-Executive Producer of the upcoming multi-part remake of “Roots” and has received the Eliot-Pearson Award for Excellence in Children’s Media from Tufts University, the 2014 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes Innovator’s Award, and the 2015 Chicago Tribune Young Adult Literary Award. Burton is also the author of the new children’s book, The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm.
B.J. Novak is perhaps best known for his work on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning comedy series
The Office as an actor, writer, director, and executive producer. Novak’s acclaimed collection of short stories,
One More Thing, was an immediate New York Times Best Seller in 2014, and was excerpted in
The New Yorker and on This American Life.
B.J. Novak is perhaps best known for his work on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning comedy series The Office as an actor, writer, director, and executive producer. He is also known for his work as a standup comedian and for his performances in programs such as HBO’s The Newsroom and films such as Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks. He will next appear in The Founder alongside Michael Keaton.
Novak’s acclaimed collection of short stories, One More Thing, was an immediate New York Times Best Seller in 2014, and was excerpted in The New Yorker and on This American Life. His children’s book, The Book with No Pictures, has spent over one hundred weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers list, including 35 weeks at #1, and currently has over a million copies in print in 26 languages.
Novak is also the co-founder and chairman of li.st, which launched in October 2015.
50th Anniversary Gold Medal Recipient, presented at the 1999 National Book Awards
Through the power of media, Oprah Winfrey has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world. As host and supervising producer of the top-rated, award-winning
The Oprah Winfrey Show, she entertained, enlightened, and uplifted millions of viewers for twenty-five years. Her accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist have established her as one of the most respected and admired public figures today.
50th Anniversary Gold Medal Recipient, presented at the 1999 National Book Awards
Through the power of media, Oprah Winfrey has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world. As host and supervising producer of the top-rated, award-winning The Oprah Winfrey Show, she entertained, enlightened, and uplifted millions of viewers for twenty-five years. Her accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist have established her as one of the most respected and admired public figures today.
Ben Greenman is a New York Times-bestselling author who has written both fiction and nonfiction. He is the author of several acclaimed works of fiction, including the short story collections What He’s Poised to Doand Superbad and the novels Please Step Back and The Slippage. He is the co-author of Mo’ Meta Blues (with Questlove), Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard on You? (with George Clinton), I Am Brian Wilson (with Brian Wilson), and more. His last book was Emotional Rescue, a collection of music essays; his next will be Dig If You Will The Picture, a meditation on the life and career of Prince.
Thomas Sayers Ellis was born and raised in Washington, DC.
The Maverick Room was awarded the John C. Zacharis First Book Award. Ellis teaches in the Lesley University low-residency MFA program, and he is a faculty member of Cave Canem.
Thomas Sayers Ellis was born and raised in Washington, DC. The Maverick Room was awarded the John C. Zacharis First Book Award. Ellis teaches in the Lesley University low-residency MFA program, and he is a faculty member of Cave Canem. A photographer and poet, he currently divides his time between Brooklyn, New York, and Washington, DC. His most recent collection, Skin, Inc.: Identity Repair Poems, was published by Graywolf Press, and he recently accepted the position of Poetry Editor at The Baffler.
