PHILIPSBURG–The seventeenth annual St. Martin Book Fair opens in Marigot on Thursday, June 6, with “celebrity and business leader Peter Bailey as the keynote speaker,” addressing the theme of “New Grounds,” said coordinator Shujah Reiph on Sunday.
The opening ceremony of the island-wide book fair starts at 8:00am “under the literary big tent” at Lazy Bay fair grounds, popularly called Lazy Bay parking lot, which faces Rue de la République, the main street of Marigot.
“I think Peter Bailey is a great match as a main speaker with how the ‘literary big tent’ will transform Lazy Bay parking lot, and in the way he is breaking new ground as a media executive and with his celebrity experiences in the USA,” said Reiph.
Bailey is also an award-winning author who penned Trick Daddy’s hip hop memoir Magic City: Trials of a Native Son, a book the New York Times called “one of the pop music gems.”
Bailey founded Miami’s NiteCap Media (nitecapmedia.com) following his work as a journalist with Time, Newsweek, and The Miami Herald. NiteCap’s docu-series is “routinely featured on BET, The Huffington Post, Vibe and other outlets in the USA, said Bailey, who is also the company’s chief executive officer.
As NiteCap’s host, Bailey has interviewed the likes of Mike Tyson, Fantasia, 50 Cent, Janelle Monae, T.I., and billionaire developer Don Peebles.
Bailey’s celebrity experiences include his own acting debut, said Reiph. Bailey appeared alongside Lynn Whitfield, Clifton Powell, and Keith David in the US civil war movie “The North Star.”
In St. Martin, Bailey will screen his own film, “Paradise Discovered,” at John Larmonie Centre today, Monday at 8:00pm. As a pre-book fair activity, admission is free to this movie about Hurricanes Irma and Maria, said Reiph.
The documentary, which focuses on the people of Anguilla telling about their hurricane experiences, also reflects Bailey’s New York Times op ed “Has America Forgotten the Virgin Islands” on Caribbean hurricane survivors. Bailey was born in the Virgin Islands and lives in Miami, where he has been honoured as one of the city’s “most powerful and influential black business leaders of 2019” by Legacy Miami.
Bailey will also conduct the free St. Martin Book Fair Journalism Master Class at University of St. Martin (USM), Friday, June 7, starting at 9:00am, said Reiph.
The opening ceremony of the St. Martin Book Fair alternates between the two parts of the island each year as “a symbol of the historic unity of the St. Martin people,” said Reiph.
The 17th edition of the literature festival is organised by Conscious Lyrics Foundation in collaboration with the book fair’s strategic partner St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, University of St. Martin, L.C. Fleming Foundation, Motorworld, NAGICO, and SOS 95.9FM, said Reiph.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/87966-guest-celebrity-peter-bailey-to-open-book-fair-thursday
View comments
Hide comments