SPEAKER: KATE MANNING | ENTERTAINER: ALEXIS COLE

SPEAKER: KATE MANNING

Kate Manning is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Gilded Mountain, My Notorious Life, and Whitegirl. A former documentary television producer and winner of two Emmy Awards, she has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times Book Review, Time, Glamour, and The Guardian, among other publications.

Of Gilded Mountain, Elizabeth Egan of The NY Times wrote, "Kate Manning’s fat, immersive novel transfixed me over the course of three days.There are views to admire, mysteries to be solved and love stories to escape into... awe-inspiring."

katemanningauthor.com

ENTERTAINER: ALEXIS COLE

A dozen albums into her career, vocalist Alexis Cole is hitting her stride. As a sought after international performer, she’s appeared with her trio, with whom she both plays piano and sings, and is a frequent guest with big bands and pops orchestras. She’s the director of the Jazz Vocal program at SUNY Purchase College and William Paterson University, and the founder and director of the online educational community JazzVoice.com, and the cofounder and artistic director of the Virginia Beach Vocal Jazz Summit. Her latest album Sky Blossom: Songs from My Tour of Duty was released on Zoho in Nov 2021 and features a 20 piece big band.