{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Lit Chat Interview with Bestselling Author & Emmy-Winning Director Jeffrey Blount","description":"Jeffrey Blount is the award-winning author of four novels, including Almost Snow White, Hating Heidi Foster, The Emancipation of Evan Walls, and Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way. He is also an Emmy award-winning television director and a 2016 inductee to the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. During a 34-year career at NBC News, Jeffrey directed a decade of Meet The Press, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and major special events. He is the first African American to direct The Today Show. He was a contributor for HuffPost and has been published in The Washington Post, The Grio.com and other publications, commenting on issues of race, social justice, and writing. Interviewer Fati D. Ashley is a Ghanaian-American literary and visual artist who resides in Florida. She holds a Master of Arts in English (Rhetoric and Composition) from the University of North Florida. Her poem \u201cCape Coast\u201d was performed in Echoes of Us, a series of curated monologues, directed by Tony Award nominee Michele Shay in 2022. She is the Editor-in-Chief for The Banyan Review, a 2023 Best of the Net nominee, and a 2023 Fellow of The Craft Institute, "a non-profit organization dedicated to curating culturally inclusive ecosystems throughout the world of arts and entertainment..." Ashley consults and facilitates workshops for Authors Roundtable of North Florida and teaches creative writing at Jacksonville Arts and Music School.  READ Check out Jeffrey's work from the library: https:\/\/jkpl.ent.sirsi.net\/client\/en_US\/default\/search\/results?qu=%22jeffrey+blount%22&te=  THE LIBRARY RECOMMENDS More books about finding yourself and your community: The Gone Dead, by Chanelle Benz The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, by Honor\u00e9e Fanonne Jeffers --- Never miss an event! Sign up for email newsletters at https:\/\/bit.ly\/JaxLibraryUpdates  Jacksonville Public LibraryWebsite: https:\/\/jaxpubliclibrary.org\/ Twitter: https:\/\/twitter.com\/jaxlibrary Facebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JaxLibrary\/ Instagram: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jaxlibrary\/ YouTube: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/jaxpubliclibraryfl Contact Us: jplpromotions@coj.net  ","author_name":"Completely Booked - Official Podcast of the Jacksonville Public Library","author_url":"http:\/\/completelybooked.libsyn.com\/website","html":"