Speaker: Peter Knobler I Entertainer: Julie Gold

SPEAKER: PETER KNOBLER

The rich and famous whose memoirs Peter Knobler has co-authored include basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Texas Governor Ann Richards, married political strategists James Carville and Mary Matalin, Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, fashion powerhouse Tommy Hilfiger, former New York City mayor David Dinkins, and former NYC and LA Police Commissioner Bill Bratton -- twice (their second collaboration, “The Profession,” was published last summer and comes out in paperback next month).

Friendly, but no “ghost,” Knobler’s name appears on the cover of each book. Come and learn how he plumbs the minds and hearts of his prominent subjects, and captures their distinctive voices to go deeper than all the press and promotion they have generated for years. He also writes songs and fiction.

"Being a collaborator is an intimate process,” Knobler says, “and my progression from a rock & roll magazine (as editor-in-chief of Crawdaddy, the first magazine to take that music seriously, I discovered Bruce Springsteen) to writing in the voice of many disparate and accomplished people is a good tale. There are names I can name and stories I can tell within my world of NDAs (Non Disclosure Agreements.)"

Come hear it all -- and maybe some hints about what’s coming next.

ENTERTAINER: JULIE GOLD

Julie  Gold is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her  musical composition "From a Distance," which became a hit for Bette  Midler and won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1991.

"From  a Distance" has millions of airplays. A wide range of recording artists  have covered it, including Jewel, Elaine Paige, Cliff Richard, the  African Children's Choir, Judy Collins, the Byrds, Fairport Convention,  Kathy Mattea and Donna Summer.

Nanci Griffith, the first to record "From a Distance", has also  recorded Gold's songs "Heaven", "Southbound Train", "Good Night New  York" and "Mountain of Sorrow". Other artists who performed Gold's songs  include Patti LaBelle, Patti LuPone, Lea Salonga, and Andrea  Marcovicci.