In this conversation, Troy Johnson, President, AALBC, talks with Ruth J. Morrison, CEO and Executive Producer, What's The 411TV, about the upcoming book and literary events in New York City during the latter part of April and May 2017:

• PEN World’s Festival a week-long celebration of authors from all over the world
• Queens Book Festival
• Bronx Book Festival
• BookExpo America, North America’s largest book industry event, May 31 – June 2, 2017
• BookCon immediately follows BEA in New York City on June 3-4, 2017. Kevin Hart is one of the headlining authors scheduled to attend BookCon 2017.

Celebrating African-American 2017 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Troy Johnson, President, African-American Literature Book Club (AALBC.com), one of the largest repositories of Black books, literature, book news, authors, partnered with What’s The 411TV to bring information about Black books, authors, events, and book news from the United States and globally, to the What’s The 411TV audience via its media properties of television, websites, podcasts, social media, and online video distribution platforms. The relationship will be an opportunity to be a platform for sharing stories, celebrating, and uplifting the Black community via Black Literature.

In this first segment, Johnson recognizes this year’s African-American Pulitzer Prize winners. The Pulitzer Prize dates back to 1917. Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize, which she won in 1950 for her book of poems, Annie Allen. James Alan McPherson became the second African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize and the first to win for fiction, when he won in 1978, for Elbow Room.

Fast-forward to this year (2017), four African-American writers won Pulitzer Prizes in their respective areas. Tyehimba Jess, who teaches at the College of Staten Island (CUNY), won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry for Olio, a collection of his sonnets, songs, and narratives that highlight the lives of "unrecorded African-American performers" before the Civil War up to World War I.

Colson Whitehead won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his 2016 novel, The Underground Railroad. The novel tells the story of a teenage heroine, Cora, in 1850s Georgia who tries to escape a cotton plantation and start her journey toward freedom. Whitehead also won a 2016 National Book Award for fiction for The Underground Railroad.

Lynn Nottage joins the ranks of writers like August Wilson, who have won multiple Pulitzer Prizes. Nottage won the Pulitzer Prize for drama for her Broadway show Sweat. According to Playbill, Nottage is the first female playwright to win the Pulitzer Prize twice. On the day of this taping, Nottage also received a Tony nomination for Sweat, which is her Broadway debut.

Hilton Als, a theater critic for the New Yorker, won a Pulitzer Prize in criticism. Als’ work often focuses on the intersections of theater, race, identity, sexuality and class in the United States.

Celebrity and Entertainment P.R. Guru Angelo Ellerbee Tops What’s The 411TV’s list of 25 People to Watch in 2017

Click Photo Below for Visual Presentation of 25 People to Watch in 2017

Brooklyn, NY; January 9, 2016—What’s The 411TV, a Brooklyn-based media company, today, announced its list of 25 People to Watch in 2017; and 46-year veteran of celebrity and entertainment public relations, Angelo Ellerbee, president and CEO of Double XXPosure Media Relations and author of the new book Ask Angelo, tops the list.

A designer by training, Angelo Ellerbee started his business focused on entertainment 46 years ago, and his life is a clear example that relationships matter. Angelo got his start in entertainment publicity working on the film, Native Son, which starred Oprah Winfrey. The Native Son gig came about because of his association with James Mtume, a Grammy Award-winning R&B musician, songwriter, and radio personality, who created the music for the film. Angelo met James Mtume, because Mtume's wife, also a designer, often attended Angelo's shows. From film publicity to recording artist publicity, Angelo’s business took off. He became the “go to” publicity firm for record companies’ Black music divisions, particularly from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

"For the fifth consecutive year, What’s The 411TV has brought great stories to the public," said Ruth J. Morrison, CEO and Executive Producer, What's The 411TV. “I never get tired of listening to the backstories of how people and things evolve. It is incredibly inspiring and moving to listen to Angelo Ellerbee, Vera Moore, and Eustace Greaves, entrepreneurs with businesses that are more than 25-years-old, as well as the millennial entrepreneurs Lisette Ffolkes; Cylla Senii; Brandon Brathwaite; and Asha Boston who are on an entrepreneurial startup journey. Our list also includes founders of nonprofits, the phenomenal Marian Wright Edelman and Carl Clay, each seeking to solve problems within their communities. On the sport side, athletes Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler, Sean Kilpatrick, Brook Lopez, and Jeremy Lin make the list, along with Dr. Riley J. Williams III, an Orthopedic Surgeon, Medical Director and Head Team Orthopedic Surgeon for the Brooklyn Nets (NBA) professional basketball team. And, it warms my heart to watch and listen to DJ Annie Red, an eight-year-old inspirational kid rapper, athlete, painter, and musician.”

As in years past, the eclectic list consists of people interviewed by What's The 411TV reporters primarily as exclusives.

Below is What's The 411TV's list of 25 People to Watch in 2017:

 1. Angelo Ellerbee; CEO, Double XXPosure Media Relations
 2. Marian Wright Edelman; an advocate for the rights of disadvantaged children
 3. Dr. Riley Williams; an Orthopedic Surgeon, Medical Director and Head Team Orthopedic Surgeon for the Brooklyn Nets (NBA)
 4. Carl Clay; writer, producer, filmmaker, visionary, and founder of the Black Spectrum Theatre
 5. LaTanya Richardson Jackson; actress, producer, and philanthropist
 6. Vera Moore; CEO, Vera Moore Cosmetics, owner a 37-year-old cosmetics company created for women with darker skin tones
 7. Carmelo Anthony; Forward, NY Knicks (NBA) professional basketball team
 8. Jimmy Butler; Shooting Guard/Small Forward, Chicago Bulls (NBA) professional basketball team
 9. Sean Kilpatrick; Guard, Brooklyn Nets (NBA) professional basketball team
10. Brook Lopez; Center, Brooklyn Nets (NBA) professional basketball team
11. Jeremy Lin; Guard, Brooklyn Nets (NBA) professional basketball team
12. June Ambrose; celebrity stylist and fashion designer dressing some of the biggest Hollywood stars in the business
13. Paulina Porizkova; a Czechoslovakian model, actress, author, and philanthropist
14. Eustace L. Greaves Jr.; LUTCF, the owner of Greaves Financial Services and The Bridge Insurance Agency
15. Paul D. Jones, financial wiz and author of several money management books including, I Quit Being Broke
16. Asha Boston; journalist and documentarian; widely recognized for the documentaries, The Dinner Table, and A Time Before Kale
17. Cylla Senii and Brandon Brathwaite; the producing team for the web series, Situationships
18. Lisette Ffolkes; millennial entrepreneur and President, Jam+Rico, a jewelry and apparel design firm
19. Blushhh Music; a harmonically blended hip-hop and R&B trio from the man and company that brought us Destiny’s Child
20. Terrell "T-Rex" Simon; singer, and artist management
21. Sean C. Turner and Douglas Wade; actors and principal actors in the Black Spectrum Theatre’s production of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running
22. DJ Annie Red; the seven-year-old dynamo athlete, painter, and musician
23. Roxanne Persaud, New York State Senator representing New York's 19th Senatorial District
24. Mercedes Narcisse; community activist, and former candidate for the New York state Senate
25. Natasha Leath; a Motivational Spiritualist, who has a gift to read people's past, present, and future

A special note:

Congratulations to Courtney Rashon!

Courtney Rashon is a celebrity makeup artist and beauty consultant; owner of Pretty Girl Gang Cosmetics; television host with the award-winning television show, What’s The 411; and now, Courtney is the author of the new book, Giving Face: The Art To Looking Flawless For Every Occasion.

Past Honorees:

Past personalities on What's The 411TV's list previously named 25 Most Interesting People include: Harry Belafonte; documentary photographer Steven Somerstein; the late Maya Angelou; Serena Williams; NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan; authors James Paterson and Ta-Nehisi Coates; breast cancer survivor and founder of Beating Cancer in Heels CEO, Marlena Ortiz; Motown Founder, Berry Gordy; Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov; New York Knicks great and Basketball Hall of Famer Willis Reed; Basketball Hall of Famer and entrepreneur Earvin "Magic" Johnson; NFL player Richard Sherman; former heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson; former WNBC-TV news anchor Sue Simmons; and more.

About What's The 411TV

Based in Brooklyn, New York, What's The 411TV connects sophisticated multi-cultural audiences with its content through its distribution platforms of television, online, and mobile.

What's The 411TV produces two weekly television shows, What's The 411, an award-winning entertainment and lifestyle television show and What's The 411Sports, a sports news and commentary television show. The company covers the Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, New York Giants, US OPEN, and other sports events.

What's The 411TV's celebrity portfolio consists of interviews with Magic Johnson, Beyonce, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Danny Glover, Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Hudson, and many, many more.

About Ruth J. Morrison

Ruth J. Morrison is the CEO and Founder of What's The 411 Networks, an integrated media, marketing, and events, company, which produces the award-winning weekly news and information television show, What's The 411; What's The 411Sports, and the soon-to-be, What's The 411Business.

A video streaming pioneer, Ms. Morrison developed and launched from conception the City of New York's multi-channel cable television network and served as a Communications Director and Legislative Advisor to a New York member of the U.S. Congress. She is the first African-American independent television producer to have a weekly television show on WNYC-TV and for three years, she worked in Brasil as an entertainment and television licensing consultant for an American company.

Ms. Morrison earned a master's degree in Interactive Telecommunications from the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and she was a Communications Fellow at the Annenberg Washington Program of Northwestern University. She taught courses in telecommunications at Fordham University and she completed her coursework towards a Ph.D. in Political Science at Columbia University.

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Taking her love and passion for art to another medium, Barbara Bullard is an entertainment and lifestyle correspondent with What's The 411, an award-winning television show for news and information.

For Barbara Bullard, art and business work hand and hand. Ms. Bullard is the specialist that bridges the gap, ranging from developing presentations at the United Nations to forming programming that enhances non-profit collaborations. She has fulfilled needs as an entrepreneur, business advisor, overall marketing professional and writer.

As Managing Consultant for the Arthur Ashe Foundation, Ms. Bullard was responsible for the day-to-day functions of the foundation and served as liaison to programs that support Arthur Ashe's legacy. As Production Manager, she coordinated the internationally broadcasted development and installation of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm's portrait installed in Brooklyn Borough Hall. She has also served as Consultant to the Safe Passage Foundation as facilitator with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), New York Junior Tennis League, and The Fortune Society, to name a few.

During the 2010-2011 seasons, Ms. Bullard provided visual art presentations at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, developed art exhibitions for the United Nations Ad Hoc Unit, Human Affects and art mentoring collaborations with the Non Governmental Organization (NGO), Intersections International. Currently, Ms. Bullard is serving as Co-Curator for the exhibition Reflections created by fashion photographer, Terrence Reese (TAR), which will open at the DuSable Museum in Chicago in January 2013. She also lends her advisory skills providing management support to corporations.

Ms. Bullard's passion is to develop vehicles that inspire. She creates art mentoring programming for nonprofit organizations focused on healing; art and lifestyle networking projects entitled DeZign Intervention; and mentors Parsons School of Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, and High School of Art and Design students in the business of art in New York City. By remaining connected to the pulse of our environment, her goal is to use the experience she has acquired as a resource for profit and nonprofit organizations.

Not one to color inside the lines, Ruth J. Morrison is the CEO and Founder of What’s The 411 Networks, a celebrity-driven integrated media, marketing, and lifestyle events company. She provides marketing and public relations advice to corporations, nonprofits, small businesses, authors, and political candidates. Her company is credentialed to cover the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Knicks, NY Giants, boxing, NBA, and NFL events. She is the author of an upcoming book focused on being an entrepreneur in the sports and entertainment industry. A video streaming pioneer, she developed and launched from conception the City of New York's multi-channel cable television network (NYC TV), which included licensing content for the network. Ms. Morrison is a former Communications Director and Legislative Advisor to a New York Member of the U.S. Congress. As the creator and executive producer of What’s The 411, an award-winning entertainment news and information television show, she became the first African-American independent television producer to distribute a weekly television show on a broadcast channel, WNYC-TV. She also licensed What’s The 411 to a broadcaster in South Africa. With the creation of What’s The 411Sports, she is now one of the very few women in the country to own a sports news media company. She was a public relations consultant for the largest football game held at Giants Stadium; the first African-American woman journalist to cover the New York Knicks as a beat reporter; and, for three years, she worked in Brasil as an entertainment and television licensing consultant for an American company.

Ms. Morrison was also the first Executive Director of the Brooklyn International Trade Development Center (BITDC), New York City’s first and only small business development center whose sole mission was to assist small businesses with selling their products and services to foreign markets. In this capacity, she partnered with the US Commercial Service and the International Trade Administration’s Western Hemisphere Unit. She signed Memorandums of Understanding with the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency. She developed a partnership with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and helped to launch the Allied African Nations Chamber of Commerce. She was an active member of committees implementing the U.S. – Brasil Joint Action Plan, which is under the auspices of the U.S. State Department and the government of Brasil.

Under Ms. Morrison’s leadership, BITDC promoted and recruited companies to participate in business opportunity missions to many countries around the world, most notably Dubai, Abu Dhabi, the Canary Islands, the UK, Brasil, and Haiti following the earthquake. She also created an Emerging Market Seminar Series.

Ms. Morrison earned a master's degree in Interactive Telecommunications from the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, completed her coursework towards a Ph.D. in political science at Columbia University and she was a Communications Fellow at the Annenberg Washington Program of Northwestern University. Ms. Morrison is a member of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the MIT Enterprise Forum of NYC, and the New York Association of Black Journalists. She has served on many non-profit boards and she has received numerous honors including awards from the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners at an event in London, and Nation to Nation Networking for her work in building bridges among cultures. Ms. Morrison is available to speak at events.

Gregory Alcala is a host on the What's The 411Sports, a weekly sports news and commentary television show. Gregory is very passionate about sports and welcomes the challenge of speaking about a variety of sports including his main interest in professional basketball and baseball.

Greg has gained his initial career experience at St. Francis College. At SFC, Greg is one of the founding members of the TSN (Terriers Sports Network) responsible shooting live sporting events, reporting news for packages and broadcast production duties. Greg is also a member of the school's student newspaper, SFC Today, serving as a senior sports columnist. Additionally, Greg maintains his own sports blog entitled, "Sports N' Thoughts," where he develops sports related articles and post video content for public consumption. Through his course study, Greg has produced two physical newspapers, one magazine and has had three articles selected to be featured in the school's newspapers print edition. Greg will be obtaining his Bachelors of Arts degree in Communications: Film & Broadcast Production in fall 2014.

What's The 411TV's List of 25 Most Interesting People of 2012 was developed from interviews conducted by What's The 411TV correspondents during 2012

BROOKLYN, NY; December 20, 2012 - What's The 411, an entertainment and lifestyle television show, released today its list of 25 Most Interesting People of 2012.

What's The 411's 25 Most Interesting People of 2012 was developed from interviews conducted by What's The 411 reporters from January 1, 2012 through November 30, 2012. The list consists of celebrated personalities to ordinary people doing extraordinary things to the American people rallying for justice in the case of Trayvon Martin. Many people are local to the New York City metro area, while others are global figures.

"Throughout the years, What's The 411 has interviewed so many interesting people," said Ruth J. Morrison, CEO and Founder, Whats The 411 Networks. "This year, we decided to create our list of 25 Most Interesting People. It wasn't easy, but the reporters and producers narrowed What's The 411's Most Interesting People of 2012 to a list of 25. Some are known to almost everyone and some will be names heard for the first time."

"After developing and releasing our list of 25 Most interesting People of 2012, we learned that the Brooklyn Nets fired head coach Avery Johnson. Coach Johnson's firing was shocking and What's The 411 still stands by its decision to include Coach Johnson on its list. In our interview, we saw excitement, conviction, a warrior's attitude, and a commitment to bringing a competitive basketball team to Brooklyn," Ms. Morrison added.

The people making up What's The 411's 25 Most Interesting People of 2012 fall into the categories of entrepreneurs; kids doing great things; sports; fashion and beauty; health; non-profits; media and public relations; and even a former mob wife. The list also includes the winners of What's The 411's Jay Z Concert Ticket Giveaway, a couple so engaging they should have their own reality TV show.

Below is a list of What's The 411's 25 Most Interesting People of 2012 with hotlinks to their respective video interviews:

1. Marlena Ortiz - a 28-year-old breast cancer survivor who created the non-profit Beating Cancer in Heels to help women keep their self-esteem while undergoing cancer treatment
2. Trayvon Martin Vigil in Union Square, New York City - representing Americans standing up against racism
3. Hal Jackson (Posthumously) - legendary radio pioneer who broke many color barriers in radio broadcasting. Hal Jackson died on May 23, 2012 at age 96.
4. Danny Jacobs - a boxer who survived cancer and is now back in the boxing ring with two wins in two months
5. Magic Johnson - because he's Magic
6. David Stern - NBA Commissioner who bucked the prevailing sentiment at the time and developed a salary system which created many young black millionaires, a rising tide floats all boats
7. Sue Simmons - An iconic newswoman; anchor of WNBC-TV News for 32 years
8. Avery Johnson - the goody two-shoes head coach of the Brooklyn Nets; who knew he had so much fight
9. Billie Jean King - an iconic tennis champion and advocate for gender equality
10. Helen Shelton - an African-American woman who rose to executive ranks within a global public relations agency by providing value to her clients
11. Allan Houston - Assistant General Manager, New York Knicks and a former NBA player now leading the way advocating and demonstrating the importance of fathers through hisFather Knows Best initiative
12. Beauty/Fashion Trifecta: Vera Moore, Sofia Davis and Thomas Lavone: - Vera Moore is a beauty entrepreneur of 34 years in the competitive cosmetic business and now making a huge breakthrough with national distribution through Walgreen's; Sofia Davis, Editor, Fashion Avenue News Magazine; and Thomas Lavonne, an award winning New Jersey based fashion designer and entrepreneur with a celebrity following; known for his exceptional talent in Ready To Wear gowns, suits and fine apparel
13. Leslie Allen - a retired professional tennis player and keeper of the legacy of tennis champion Arthur Ashe through the Arthur Ashe Foundation
14. Alia Jones-Harvey - a Broadway theatre producer putting a new spin on classic Broadway theatre productions, thus creating diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity on Broadway
15. Dr. Devra Davis - an environmental health scientist ringing the cell phone environmental alarm bell16. Cheryl Wills - author and 20 years of making a difference in TV news in New York City
17. Constance CR White - a multi-dimensional fashionista running a magazine for Black women (no disrespect to Susan Taylor)
18. Dionne Williams - a fashion entrepreneur providing a professional platform for emerging fashion designers during New York Fashion Week
19. Alfred Edmond Jr. and Windsor Neckwear - creators of the Alfred Edmond Jr. Bow Tie Collection and other men's accessories; helping men everywhere to stand out while fitting in
20. Terrie Williams - CEO and Founder, The Terrie Williams Agency; author; mental health advocate; and mentor; for her honesty about depression and for mentoring young men
21. Leslie Chang, Scholarship Winner of Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health's Health Science Academy and Winners of Arthur Ashe Kids Day Essay and Art Contest - these kids are definitely going places
22. Pamela Quinzi - a fabulously sensational shoe designer with savvy marketing skills
23. Saffiyah Rodgers and Valerie Morrison - owners of My Girlfriend's Closet - making a business out of a childhood passion
24. Kim Benson and Qadir Muhammad - winners of What's The 411's Jay-Z Concert Ticket Contest - a comedic, smart and sassy couple; they should have their own reality TV show
25. Toni Marie Ricci - survived being married to the mob and now an author and mentor to other women

About What's The 411TV

Based in Brooklyn, New York, What's The 411TV is a division of What's The 411 Networks, a media/news and information company connecting sophisticated multi-cultural audiences through its distribution platforms of television, online, mobile, and social media.

What's The 411TV's celebrity portfolio consists of interviews with Magic Johnson, Beyonce, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Danny Glover, Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson and many, many more.

What's The 411 Networks has the largest video celebrity interview portfolio of any Brooklyn-based independent media company.