Call him a rebel, call him a child advocate. When it comes down to it, award-winning independent filmmaker, author, Harvard University fellow, and father, Cevin Soling, is against the American education system because he believes learning should be autonomous. “People learn best [study after study after study shows] when they get to pursue their interest,” The Student Resistance Handbook author told So Booking Cool.
“And … Read the rest
When Julian Winters reflects on how he has grown as a writer since his award-winning debut, Running With Lions (Interlude Press, 2018), he acknowledges both personal and professional improvements. One of the challenges he initially faced when penning his sophomore novel, How to Be Remy Cameron, released earlier this month by the same parent publisher, were his doubts about telling a story in the first-person.
“Running With … Read the rest
American game show competitor and multi-champion Jonathan Corbblah has graduated from contestant to expert. He is among the three trivia experts (as well as fan-favorite) on the new Game Show Network original series, Best Ever Trivia Show, hosted by Sherri Shepherd. It is his favorite game show experience to date. “This show I’m on right now is fantastic,” Corbblah tells So Booking Cool. “I’m there for good. … Read the rest
He’s written hits for the likes of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Pointer Sisters, Reba McEntire, and Billy “Crash” Craddock (whose “Rub it In” song inspired the “Plug it In” jingle) to name a few. He wrote an essay about his marriage of 54 years for the New York Times Modern Love column that moved the world. Now, he has written his debut bestseller, Permission to Fly: A Memoir … Read the rest
Though it is never too late, filmmaker Chris Kenneally originally thought he would be an author. Instead of writing screenplays, he’d be writing short stories. His passion for developing stories for screens began during his days as a bartender when one of his co-workers, a film student, had to write a script. Kenneally took over the task. He wrote and helped make the movie.
“I was like ‘wow, this is … Read the rest
It’s no revelation that many people are unhappy with their jobs. In fact, the whole miserable-on-the-job, making-it-to-Friday, and barely-enjoying-Sunday-because- tomorrow-is-Monday culture has been normalized. This mass dissatisfaction is what Kyle Grappone observed in his ten years of working various roles in corporate America. He was compelled to research this trend and even surveyed college graduates who revealed regrets about how their lives turned out. Well, Grappone is hoping to help … Read the rest
Last week, entertainment news buzzed with reports of actress and rapper Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians) starring in the film adaption of the fantasy novel, The Last Adventure of Constance Verity (Simon and Schuster). The man behind the trilogy, A. Lee Martinez, chatted with So Booking Cool on a Monday afternoon about the announcement. “A big part of this business is just waiting and seeing,” he … Read the rest
Chances are you or someone you know is familiar with boy band BTS, who rock award shows and the Billboard charts. New York Times bestselling author and biographer Marc Shapiro recently participated in a Q&A with us about his book, Burn the Stage: The Rise of BTS and Korean Boy Bands (Riverdale Avenue Books, December 2018).
So Booking Cool: When and how did the idea to write a BTS … Read the rest
“Writing and storytelling is such a powerful tool for building confidence in young people,” novelist Mariama J. Lockington tells So Booking Cool in part two of our conversation. This statement arrives when we ask the “For Black Girls Like Me” author about the story behind her passion for leading youth. Lockington, who noted in part one that her work with middle schoolers contributed to the dialogue for … Read the rest
Books can help people escape the world they are living in. Books can also help people navigate their world. It is just as powerful to have refuge as it is to have something or someone you can relate to. When she was a young girl, Mariama J. Lockington couldn’t find books about black female youth adoptees like herself. Her forthcoming novel For Black Girls Like Me, the book she … Read the rest
