Have You Met Michelle the Machine and 11 other Types of Bosses?

Is it okay to have a bad boss?

Nigerian banker’s new book exposes 12 kinds of bosses


May 21, 2013, Victoria Island, Lagos — Darlington Onyeagoro’s thought provoking book on corporate ethics and politics “It’s OK To Have A Bad Boss” shows us how to handle every kind of boss in the office and the boardroom. Its definitely a must read for every worker and of course the BOSS.

The author says: “Its OK To Have A Bad Boss exposes you to the different kinds of bosses and outlines strategies on how to have a fulfilling relationship with them whilst arming you with the necessary tools needed to meander through the murky waters of the workplace. If you are an employer or a boss then this book was written for you”.

Several authors have written on how workers can get along with their bosses, but none has gone as far Onyeagoro has defined the critical characteristics of the different types of bosses in corporate competition from his own unique experiences of working under different bosses in corporate Nigeria and in particular as an employee in one of the top five leading banks in Nigeria.

In Onyeagoro’s “It’s OK To Have A Bad Boss”, you will meet Catherine the Clueless, Peter the Patronizer, Sally the Slacker, Ted Two Face, Matthew the Mystery, Patrice the Perfectionist, Shedrach the Screamer, Sandra the Sadist, Michelle the Machine, Margaret the Miracle, Marvin the Manipulator and Sammy the Social Director. These are the 12 different bosses identified by their peculiarities with their unique strengths and weaknesses and the practical strategies on how to work with them successfully in your career in every office not only in Nigeria, but anywhere in the world

“A lot of employees who do not understand the rules and principles of managing their bosses and colleagues end up in a tough spot all throughout their career. This book provides employees with simple, straight forward principles on how to understand and work with any boss,” said Emeka Onwuka, Chairman Enterprise Bank in Lagos.

​“In it’s okay to have a bad boss, Darlington tried to make us appreciate the fact that no matter the odds. Its okay to have a bad boss is indeed a great read and worthwhile for the reader,” commended Kafilat Araoye​, Group Head, Human Resources​, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc in Lagos.

The foreword is written by Mr. Alex Otti, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Diamond Bank Plc where the author works as a senior member of the management staff.


About the Author
Darlington Onyeagoro is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering department in Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State. He has spent the better part of his career as a banker, a motivational speaker, an upward mobility consultant and an entrepreneur. He strongly believes that everyday life in the workplace could be fun if the principles of unmasking and working with bosses and colleagues are understood and applied.

Media Contact
Email: info@itsoktohaveabadboss.com
Tel 08032532634
Website: http://www.itsoktohaveabadboss.com

Tweet

Covergirl Announces Exclusive New Beauty Partnership with Lionsgate's "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"

17 May 2013 16:00 Africa/Lagos


COVERGIRL ANNOUNCES EXCLUSIVE NEW BEAUTY PARTNERSHIP WITH LIONSGATE'S "THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE"
COVERGIRL creates striking new CAPITOL COLLECTION beauty campaign inspired by the film

HUNT VALLEY, Md., May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, COVERGIRL announced its first-ever major movie sponsorship of Lionsgate's highly anticipated The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, scheduled for release in North American theaters on November 22, 2013. COVERGIRL will launch a first-of-its-kind creative advertising campaign inspired by the film, featuring new products from the brand's upcoming Capitol Collection from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, to be announced at a later date.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130517/LA16050-a)
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130517/LA16050-b)
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130517/LA16050-c)
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110919/LA70620LOGO)

Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, and Josh Hutcherson lead an all-star cast in the second installment of The Hunger Games franchise, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The trailer, which debuted last month, has been viewed over 25 million times on YouTube. The film promises to illustrate the exquisite splendor in the world of the Capitol in rich detail, and the film's makeup department used COVERGIRL products on set to create the film's luxurious, high couture looks.

"With The Hunger Games: Catching Fire partnership, we wanted to redefine cosmetics' relationship to film with a fantasy-meets-reality beauty experience," said Esi Eggleston Bracey, VP and General Manager, Global P&G Cosmetics. "The film inspired COVERGIRL campaign coming out this fall truly will bring beauty transformation to life in an aspirational, dramatic fashion. All of us at COVERGIRL were captivated by Suzanne Collins' novels and the first film, so we're thrilled to collaborate with Lionsgate on such a bold beauty partnership with the release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire."

"We are excited to announce COVERGIRL as the exclusive makeup partner for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," said Paula Kupfer, Lionsgate's Vice President of Promotions and Consumer Products. "The exquisite beauty and style in the world of the Capitol is a focal point of this film. Partnering with an innovative brand like COVERGIRL to create an additional layer of beauty storytelling and inspiration for the fans is new territory that we're delighted to explore."

Over the past year, COVERGIRL has stood out in the beauty category with its addition of several new spokeswomen, including P!NK, Janelle Monae and NERVO, who, along with the brand, embrace beauty with a sense of authentic individuality and fearlessness. COVERGIRL's partnership with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the latest expression of the brand's passion and commitment to continue to break barriers in beauty.

Lionsgate and COVERGIRL will be celebrating the movie partnership at a Cannes Film Festival Gala on Saturday, May 18 th. Further news updates on this partnership will be released via facebook.com/covergirl, as well as on Twitter at twitter.com/covergirl and Instagram at instagram.com/covergirlofficial.

About P&G Beauty & Grooming
P&G serves approximately 4.6 billion people around the world with its brands. The Company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Fairy®, Gain®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun®, Fusion®, Ace®, Febreze®, Ambi Pur®, SK-II®, and Vicks®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 75 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. Lionsgate currently has 28 television shows on 20 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the new comedy Anger Management, the network series Nashville, the syndication successes Tyler Perry's House of Payne, its spinoff Meet the Browns, For Better Or Worse, The Wendy Williams Show, Are We There Yet? and the upcoming Orange Is The New Black, an original series for Netflix.

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first installment of The Hunger Games franchise, The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Tyler Perry's Temptation, Warm Bodies, Snitch, Texas Chainsaw 3D, The Expendables 2, The Possession, Sinister, The Cabin in the Woods and Arbitrage. Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 15,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

CONTACTS
Marina Maher Communications
Taline Kundakji: 212-485-6848; tkundakji@mahercomm.com
Sara Horowitz: 212-485-6804; shorowitz@mahercomm.com

SOURCE Lionsgate

Web Site: http://www.lionsgate.com

Tweet

Wole Soyinka's Child of the Forest Goes To Japan

Accomplished South African based Nigerian filmmaker Akin Omotoso's special documentary film "Wole Soyinka: Child of the Forest" is one of the selected films showing at the 2013 Cinema Africa Film Festival in Tokyo, Japan.

This year's event runs from May 18 - 23, and the lineup of features, docs and shorts, includes several titles previously covered on this blog, like 2 films by Kunle Afolayan: romantic comedy Phone Swap, as well thriller The Figurine. Also docs on Ousmane Sembene and Wole Soyinka, amongst others. And shorts films like Wanuri Kanuri's sci-fi Pumzi.



CINEMA AFRICA is a nonprofit organization in Tokyo, Japan, established in 2006. Our mission is to develop
understanding and appreciation of Africa in Japan through African films made by African filmmakers or
producers. For this purpose, we have organized Cinema Africa in Tokyo, the only one African film festival in
Asia and the Pacific region.



We also recently started distribution of the films to non-profit organizations,
non-governmental organizations, and municipalities.



2 CONCEPT OF CINEMA AFRICA



 [1] “AFRICA THROUGH AFRICAN EYES” 



Today, we can see many films focusing on Africa, or filmed in Africa. But what we want to bring to you is the true voice of Africa, and not the films about Africa made in Hollywood or western media.
Therefore, we basically introduce African films made by African filmmakers/producers through their own perspectives, which is the only way for us to learn about them. 



[2] “DIRECT FLIGHT FROM AFRICA” 



We cannot just sit and wait in front of our desks, or play with Google to capture the REAL Africa today. Or, we cannot just wait for major film festivals in Europe or US to make their own pick of ‘best’ African films.
We would like to tell Japanese people what WE found in Africa. We try to go as many times as possible to Africa to attend African film festivals, held in such places as Burkina Faso, South Africa,
Zanzibar, Rwanda, etc, to see with our own eyes and collect the latest films.

Tweet

"Star Trek into Darkness" is the #1 Most Anticipated Movie This Weekend

May 15 - Director J.J. Abrams leads the cast of ''Star Trek Into Darkness'' at the sci-fi film's Hollywood premiere. John Russell reports.


16 May 2013 16:09 Africa/Lagos

"Star Trek into Darkness" Beams Up Fandango's Fanticipation Buzz Indicator as the #1 Most Anticipated Movie This Weekend

LOS ANGELES, May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Fandango, the nation's leading moviegoer destination, reported today that J.J. Abrams' highly anticipated "Star Trek Into Darkness" garnered a 96 out of 100 score on the company's Fanticipation movie buzz indicator that measures fan sentiment around the weekend box office line-up. The sci-fi thriller outshone "Iron Man 3" and "The Great Gatsby," which are still top-of-mind with moviegoers, scoring 85 and 83, respectively. Fanticipation scores are calculated based a proprietary analysis of Fandango's advance ticket sales, website and mobile traffic, and social media engagement.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130516/LA15601)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061016/LAM046LOGO-b)

Flying at maximum warp speed, "Star Trek" also represents 80% of today's ticket sales on Fandango, selling out hundreds of show times across the country, from New York to San Francisco, and Atlanta to Austin.

More than 1,000 "Star Trek" ticket-buyers participated in a survey on Fandango and excitement for the film and the franchise is running high:

89% said they had seen the previous J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" on the big screen;
76% have avoided reading any online spoilers, saying they want to be completely surprised;
71% said that co-star Benedict Cumberbatch, star of TV's "Sherlock," increased their interest in seeing the movie;
62% will attend the movie with a group of fellow "Star Trek" fans;
56% said the secrecy surrounding the film made them even more excited to see the film;
55% already plan to see the movie more than once;
15% will be dressed in "Star Trek" attire at the theater.

On this week's episode of "Weekend Ticket," Fandango's weekly digital video series, Fandango Chief Correspondent and Host Dave Karger interviews the film's stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto and challenges them to a "Star Trek" trivia face-off. Fans can see which of the two leading men is the master at "Trek" trivia at fandango.com/weekendticket.

About Fandango
Fandango, the nation's leading moviegoer destination and an NBCUniversal company, sells tickets to more than 21,000 screens nationwide. Fandango entertains and informs consumers with reviews, commentary, celebrity interviews and trailers, and offers the ability to quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and conveniently buy tickets in advance. For many theaters, fans can print their tickets at home or receive them as a paperless Mobile Ticket on their smartphones. Fandango's top-ranking movie ticketing apps, with 33 million downloads, are available on the iPhone and iPad, Android, and many other platforms. Fandango is enjoyed by more than 41 million online and mobile visitors per month. Film fans find Fandango on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fandango and on Twitter @Fandango.

Contacts:


Dana Henry Benson


Elizabeth Schmidt

dbenson@fandango.com


eschmidt@fandango.com

310-954-0278 x300


212-413-5574

SOURCE Fandango

Web Site: http://www.fandango.com

Tweet

Read NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® in the World's Most Advanced 7" Tablet

Yes. You can have an amazing display of the new NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® in the Kindle Fire HD Tablet, the world's most advanced 7" tablet and makes NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® the first Nigerian magazine to be delivered in this awesome mobile device that everyone who loves tablets is falling in love with.
Seeing is believing!

Massive Book Selection Shop the Kindle Store for over 1.2 million of the most popular books, or explore millions of free, public domain books such as Pride and Prejudice. Vibrant Magazines Enjoy over 400 magazines in brilliant HD display, with beautifully detailed illustrations and glossy full-color layouts. Double tap an article for easier reading view and starting next month, tap the cover to go directly to an article and bookmark your favorite articles for future reference. Magazines include favorites such as Vogue, National Geographic, Maxim, Cosmopolitan, ESPN and Better Homes and Gardens.

Lowest Book Prices Over 600,000 books are less than $4.99, over a million are less than $9.99. Read for Free with Prime Amazon Prime members can borrow over 180,000 titles for free with the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. Exclusive Kindle Titles Over 180,000 Kindle exclusive titles from best-selling authors including Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen Covey, Andy Borowitz and Karen McQuestion.

World's most advanced 7" tablet

1280x800 HD display with polarizing filter and anti-glare technology for rich color and deep contrast from any viewing angle Exclusive Dolby audio and dual-driver stereo speakers for immersive, virtual surround sound World's first tablet with dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi for over 35% faster downloads and streaming (compared to the iPad mini) High performance 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor with Imagination PowerVR 3D graphics core for fast and fluid performance Over 23 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, books, audiobooks, and popular apps and games such as Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, HBO GO, Pandora, and Angry Birds Space Integrated support for Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! and more, as well as Exchange calendar, contacts, and email Front-facing HD camera for taking photos or making video calls using Skype, Facebook, and other apps Free unlimited cloud storage for all your Amazon content Kindle FreeTime — a free, personalized tablet experience just for kids on the Kindle Fire HD. Set daily screen limits, and give access to appropriate content for each child Kindle FreeTime Unlimited — just for kids. Unlimited access to books, games, apps, movies and TV shows. Learn more Prime Instant Video — unlimited, instant streaming of thousands of popular movies and TV shows Kindle Owners' Lending Library — Kindle owners can choose from more than 270,000 books to borrow for free with no due dates, including over 100 current and former New York Times best sellers NEW: Kindle Fire owners get 500 Amazon Coins (a $5 value) to spend on Kindle Fire apps and games. Learn more

Tweet

Nollywood Diva, Ibinabo Fiberesima

Ibinabo Fiberesima is one of the leading divas in Nollywood, also elected as the first female President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria.

Tweet

Class of 2013 - Graduation Gift Ideas

Shop Amazon - Class of 2013 - Graduation Gift Ideas








Tweet

Chinelo Okparanta and three other Nigerians Lead 2013 Caine Prize Shortlist

Chinelo Okparanta, the author of the highly rated Happiness Like Water and three other Nigerian writers have made four of the five writers shortlisted for the 2013 Caine Prize for African fiction.

Chinelo's entry "America" from Granta, Issue 118 (London, 2012) is highly favoured to win the coveted Caine Prize.

The other Nigerians on the shortlist are Elnathan John for "Bayan Layi" from Per Contra, Issue 25 (USA, 2012), Tope Folarin for "Miracle" from Transition, Issue 109 (Bloomington, 2012) and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim for "The Whispering Trees" from "The Whispering Trees", published by Parrésia Publishers (Lagos, 2012).

The fifth writer is Pede Hollist from Sierra Leone for "Foreign Aid" from Journal of Progressive Human Services, Vol. 23.3 (Philadelphia, 2012).

The Chair of judges, art historian and broadcaster, Gus Casely-Hayford said:

“The shortlist was selected from 96 entries from 16 African countries. They are all outstanding African stories that were drawn from an extraordinary body of high quality
submissions.”

Gus described the shortlist saying, “The five contrasting titles interrogate aspects of things that we might feel we know of Africa – violence, religion, corruption, family, community – but these are subjects that are deconstructed and beautifully
remade. These are challenging, arresting, provocative stories of a continent and its
descendants captured at a time of burgeoning change.”

Alongside Gus on the panel of judges this year are award-winning Nigerian-born artist, Sokari Douglas Camp; author, columnist and Lord Northcliffe Emeritus Professor at UCL, John Sutherland; Assistant Professor at Georgetown University, Nathan Hensley and the winner of the Caine Prize in its inaugural year, Leila Aboulela.

Once again, the winner of the £10,000 Caine Prize will be given the opportunity of taking up a month’s residence at Georgetown University, as a Writer-in-Residence at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice. The award will cover all travel and living expenses. The winner will also be invited to take part in the Open Book Festival in Cape Town in September 2013. Last year the Caine Prize was won by Nigerian
writer Rotimi Babatunde. He has subsequently co- authored a play "Feast" for the Young Vic and the Royal Court Theatres in London.

The winner of the £10,000 prize is to be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on Monday the 8th of July.

The first Nigerian to win the Caine Prize is the popular multiple awards winning novelist Helon Habila in 2001. Previous shortlisted Nigerian writers include the famous Nigerian authors Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in 2002; Chika Unigwe in 2004, was also shortlisted in 2006 for the Dutch equivalent of the Orange Prize for her novel translated into Dutch, "de fenicks". She won the 2003 BBC Short Story Competition for her story "Borrowed Smile", a Commonwealth Short Story Award for "Weathered Smiles" and a Flemish literary prize for "De Smaak van Sneeuw". Her second novel, On Black Sisters’ Street, first published in Dutch, was published in Chika’s own English version by Jonathan Cape in 2009 and Random House in 2011 won the 2012 Nigeria Prize for Literature endowed by the Nigeria LNG Limited.. Her new novel is Night Dancer published in June 2012 by Jonathan Cape; Ike Okonta in 2005; Sefi Atta in 2006, is famous for her Everything Good Will Come and Swallow and the short story collection News From Home. Winner of the PEN International 2004/5 David T.K. Wong Prize, she also won the first Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa in 2006 for Everything Good Will Come, and the final NOMA Award for Publishing in Africa in 2009 for Lawless and other stories, now published as "News From Home". Her publishers include Interlink Books in the USA, AAA Press in Nigeria and Jacana Media in South Africa; Uwem Akpan in 2007 and his book Say You're One of Them (Oprah's Book Club) published by Little Brown won the Best First Book award in the Africa region of the Commonwealth Literature Prize and was critically acclaimed by Oprah Winfrey on Oprah’s Book Club in 2009 prompting it to reach the top of the New York Times bestseller list; Ada Udechukwu in 2007 and Uzor Maxim Uzoatu in 2008.

The previous winners include the following.

• 2011: Noviolet Bulawayo
• 2010: Olufemi Terry
• 2009: E C Osondu
• 2008: Henrietta Rose-Innes
• 2007: Monica Arac de Nyeko
• 2006: Mary Watson
• 2005: SA Afolabi
• 2004: Brian Chikwava
• 2003: Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
• 2002: Binyavanga Wainaina
• 2001: Helon Habila
• 2000: Leila Aboulela

Chinelo Okparanta was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. She received her BS from Pennsylvania State University, her MA from Rutgers University and her MFA from Iowa Writers' Workshop. She teaches at the University of Iowa.

 

 Her novel "Happiness Like Water" made the exclusive list of Best Books Of 2013?: Our Picks For The Year's Biggest Reads by the highly esteemed Huffington Post.
See the report on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/20/best-books-2013-our-picks_n_2344874.html?ref=topbar#slide=1910286 and also the latest New Voice in a series on GRANTA.
Read her interview on http://www.granta.com/New-Writing/Interview-Chinelo-Okparanta

"Chinelo Okparanta’s debut collection is astonishing. Her narrators render their stories with such strength and intimacy, such lucidity and composure, that in each and every case the truths of their lives detonate deep inside the reader’s heart, with the power and force of revelation."

 —Paul Harding, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Tinkers.

 "Okparanta's prose is tender, beautiful and evocative. These powerful stories of contemporary Nigeria are told with compassion and a certain sense of humour. What a remarkable new talent."

—Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters Street, winner of the 2012 Nigeria Prize for Literature sponsored by the Nigeria LNG Limited.

"Intricate, graceful prose propels Okparanta’s profoundly moving and illuminating book. I devoured these stories and immediately wanted more. This is an arrival."

 —NoViolet Bulawayo, author of We Need New Names.

"A haunting and startlingly original collection of short stories about the lives of Nigerians both at home and in America. Okparanta’s characters are forced to make difficult, often impossible choices—a university student decides to go to work as an escort to pay for her mother’s medical bills, a high school teacher is asked to come home to care for her dying, abusive father—and yet they manage to prevail through quiet and sometimes surprising acts of defiance. Okparanta’s prose is elegant and precise, fueled by a strong undercurrent of rage that surfaces at unexpected moments. Happiness, Like Water is a deeply affecting literary debut, the work of a sure and gifted new writer."
—Julie Otsuka, author of The Buddha in the Attic

 "Without bluster, Chinelo Okparanta writes stories that are brave and devastating."

 —Mohsin Hamid, author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

 



See more by Nigerian Writers  and click on any of the book covers to order for the bestselling Nigerian novels and short stories collections.

 











Tweet

 





 

 

"Anything Can Happen" As BET Announces Nominees for 2013 BET Awards

"Anything Can Happen" As The Line-Up Of Talent And Nominees Are Announced For This Year's BET Awards '13

HOSTED BY BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE STAR AND COMEDIAN CHRIS TUCKER

Hip-Hop Artist Drake Takes Command with 12 Nominations while Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz Are Tied with 8 Nominations

An Unprecedented 10 Nominees Rival For The Coveted "Video of the Year Award"

Chris Brown and R. Kelly Confirmed As the First Performers For This Year's Awards Show

Legendary R&B Singer Charlie Wilson To Be Honored with the 2013 "Cadillac Lifetime Achievement Award"

LIVE from Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles Sunday, June 30, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. * ET/PT on BET Networks

The BET Experience at L.A. Live, a Three-Day Event Including Concerts, Comedy Shows, a Film Festival and a Fan Fest and Seminars, June 28-30, Culminates with the BET AWARDS '13

LOS ANGELES, May 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier today, nominees were announced at the official BET Awards '13 press conference in Los Angeles, by BET's President of Music Programming and Specials, Stephen G. Hill ; this year's BET Awards '13 host, blockbuster movie star and comedian Chris Tucker ; R&B artist Chris Brown ; hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar; and singer and television personality Tamar Braxton .

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO )
Leading the pack of A-list nominees include, hip hop artist Drake, with an impressive 12 nominations including Best Male Hip Hop Artist and Video of the Year; close behind is breakthrough hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar and rapper 2 Chainz tied with 8 nominations; A$AP Rocky with 5 nominations; while Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake and Miguel face off with 4 nominations each in the categories of Best Collaboration, Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice Award and Video of the Year.

In what is sure to be a showdown of epic proportions, this year's Video of the Year Award has a phenomenal line-up of 10 nominees including Kanye West , Justin Timberlake , Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, 2 Chainz, A$AP Rocky, Miguel and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis , all vying to get their hands on the sought-after trophy.

During the press conference, Chris Brown was exclusively announced as the first confirmed performer.  As an added bonus, R. Kelly is closing the BET Awards '13 and will head over to the Staples Center immediately after to open the BET Experience concert. In addition, a living legend, Charlie Wilson was announced as the recipient of the prestigious Cadillac Lifetime Achievement Award, to honor his four decades in the entertainment industry.

"This year's line-up of nominees and performers is reflective of the variety of fantastic talent that's rocking the world right now," says Stephen G. Hill, President of Music Programming and Specials. "We are especially excited as we move on up to the Nokia Theatre at LA Live. You know how we do. Big thangs shall indeed be poppin'. The BET Awards. Anything Can Happen…and most likely will."

The nominees for the BET Awards '13 include:
 
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
Beyonce
Tamar Braxton
Alicia Keys
Rihanna
Elle Varner
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
Chris Brown
Bruno Mars
Miguel
Justin Timberlake
Usher
Best Group
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Mary Mary
Mindless Behavior
Slaughterhouse
The Throne (Kanye West & Jay-Z)
Best Collaboration
2 Chainz f/ Drake – No Lie
A$AP Rocky f/ Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – Problems
French Montana f/ Rick Ross, Drake and Lil Wayne – Pop That
Kendrick Lamar f/ Drake – Poetic Justice
Justin Timberlake f/ Jay-Z – Suit & Tie
Kanye West f/ Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz – Mercy
Best Male Hip Hop Artist
2 Chainz
A$AP Rocky
Drake
Future
Kendrick Lamar
Best Female Hip Hop Artist
Azealia Banks
Eve
Nicki Minaj
Rasheeda
Rye Rye
Video of the Year
2 Chainz f/ Drake – No Lie
A$AP Rocky f/ Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – Problems
Drake – Started From The Bottom
Drake f/ Lil Wayne – HYFR
Kendrick Lamar f/ Drake – Poetic Justice
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis f/ Wanz – Thrift Shop
Miguel – Adorn
Rihanna – Diamonds
Justin Timberlake f/ Jay-Z – Suit & Tie
Kanye West f/ Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz – Mercy
Video Director of the Year
A$AP Rocky & Sam Lecca
Benny Boom
Director X
Dre Films
Hype Williams
Best New Artist
Azealia Banks
Joey Bada$$
Kendrick Lamar
Trinidad Jame$
The Weeknd
Best Gospel Artist
Deitrick Haddon
Lecrae
Tamela Mann
Mary Mary
Marvin Sapp
Best Actress
Angela Bassett
Halle Berry
Taraji P. Henson
Gabrielle Union
Kerry Washington
Best Actor
Don Cheadle
Common
Jamie Foxx
Samuel L. Jackson
Denzel Washington
YoungStars Award
Gabrielle Douglas
Jacob Latimore
Keke Palmer
Jaden Smith
Quvenzhane Wallis
Best Movie
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
Sparkle
Think Like A Man
Subway Sportswoman of the Year
Gabrielle Douglas
Brittney Griner
Candace Parker
Serena Williams
Venus Williams
Subway Sportsman of the Year
Victor Cruz
Kevin Durant
Robert Griffin III
LeBron James
Ray Lewis
Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice Award
A$AP Rocky f/ Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – Problems
Drake – Started From The Bottom
Kendrick Lamar – Swimming Pools (Drank)
Miguel – Adorn
Rihanna – Diamonds
Justin Timberlake f/ Jay-Z – Suit & Tie
Centric Award
Tamar Braxton – Love and War
Fantasia – Lose To Win
Miguel – Adorn
Nas – Daughters
Charlie Wilson – My Love Is All I Have
Best International Act: Africa
2Face Idibia (Nigeria)
Toya Delazy (South Africa)
Donald (South Africa)
Ice Prince (Nigeria)
R2Bees (Ghana)
Radio and Weasel (Uganda)
Best International Act: UK
Marsha Ambrosius
Estelle
Labrinth
Rita Ora
Emeli Sande
Wiley

This year for the first time, the general public can purchase tickets to the BET Awards with a BET Experience VIP Package, which also includes 3-day tickets to nightly concerts at the Staples Center.
For 12 years, BET Networks has drawn music's biggest talent to be part of the biggest night in music; the BET Awards.  This year, the activity and excitement expands with the first ever BET EXPERIENCE AT LA. LIVE!  This three-day festival filled with comedy, gospel and soulful music concerts, seminars, film screenings, "106 & PARK" tapings and so much more will build anticipation for the finest BET Awards show yet.

BET.com/BETAwards ( http://www.bet.com/shows/bet-awards.html ) is the official site for the BET Awards '13 and features content on nominees and award recipients. The microsite will feature exciting interactive consumer elements and include information for ticket purchase, events, schedules and registration.

BET Mobile will return on June 3 ^rd with the official BET AWARDS app on iPhone and Android devices with exclusive photo, video and interactive content.

Join the conversation on social media by following BET's multiple social media platforms, dedicated to the BET Awards:

Follow us on Twitter & Instagram : @BETAwards, Use hashtag: #BETAwards
On Facebook: facebook.com/TheBETAwards
On Tumblr: betawards.tumblr.com
*All times are ET/PT
The BET AWARDS '13 will premiere Sunday, June 30, 2013 at 8:00PM BST across BET's international platforms in the UK and Africa.

Stephen G. Hill, BET's President of Music Programming and Specials, Lynne Harris Taylor , BET's Vice President of Specials, will serve as Executive Producers for the BET AWARDS '13, in conjunction with Jesse Collins , CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment.

About BET Awards:
Established in 2001, the BET AWARDS continues to be one of the most watched awards shows on cable television according to the Nielsen Company reaching an average of 7.5 million viewers annually. The franchise remains the #1 program in cable television history, among African-Americans. Each year, the BET AWARDS recognizes the distinguished achievements of artists, entertainers and athletes in a number of diverse categories, including film, sports and music.

About Jesse Collins Entertainment
Jesse Collins Entertainment is a full service film and television production company founded by entertainment industry veteran Jesse Collins.  Over the past decade, Collins, the company's CEO, has played an integral role in producing some of television's most memorable moments in the music entertainment arena.  Formerly Executive Producer/Executive Vice President of Cossette Productions, Collins has produced award winning television programming including the Grammy Awards, the BET Awards, BET Honors and BET's Rip the Runway and has worked with superstar talent such as Will Smith, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, Kid Rock, Lil Wayne and many more.

About BET Experience at L.A. LIVE:
The BET Experience at L.A. Live is an exciting weekend consisting of concerts from A-list talent at STAPLES Center, Nokia Theatre at L.A. LIVE and Club Nokia, the BET Film Festival, fan festival, live tapings of "106 & Park," The BET GRAMMY® Museum exhibit, Music Matter stage, BET Revealed seminars and the BET Awards.  For the first time ever, tickets to the BET Awards show are available to the public through VIP ticket packages.  For more information and to purchase tickets to the events, visit www.BETExperience.com.

About BET Networks
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET operates in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

Follow us on Twitter @BET_PR and @BETAwards

SOURCE BET Networks

CONTACT: Marcy Polanco, BET Networks, Marcy.polanco@bet.net, 212.975.4048, or Zabrina Horton, BET Networks, Zabrina.horton@bet.net, 310.481.3737; or Simone Smalls / Danny Astoria, Simone Smalls PR, Inc., Simone@simonesmallspr.com / danny@simonesmallspr.com, 917.388.3890; or Michelle Huff / Kelley Jackson, Huff Events & PR, michelle@huffent.com / Kelley@huffent.com, 212.239.1732
Web Site: http://www.bet.com

Tweet

Kate Hudson for Ann Taylor Exclusive Collection Arrives In Stores and Online Next Week

Kate Hudson wearing Premiere Dress from Kate Hudson for Ann Taylor limited-edition collection.

KATE HUDSON FOR ANN TAYLOR EXCLUSIVE COLLECTION ARRIVES IN STORES AND ONLINE NEXT WEEK



NEW YORK, NEW YORK, MAY 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Ann Taylor is thrilled to announce the debut of the Kate Hudson for Ann Taylor exclusive collection for summer 2013. The limited-edition collection of chic, white summer pieces and rose gold accessories was inspired by Hudson’s red-carpet glamour and her love for fashion. To celebrate Hudson’s first fashion collaboration, Ann Taylor will host a White Party at Ann Taylor stores nationwide on Wednesday, May 22 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. where guests will be invited to shop the collection. The first clients to purchase a piece from the capsule collection during the in-store event will receive an Ann Taylor gift card, courtesy of InStyle.


Kate Hudson wearing Elegant Tank and Entrance Skirt from the Kate Hudson for Ann Taylor collection on set in Malibu.


“I’m so excited about the capsule collection and working with Ann Taylor. It was such an honor when they asked me to come back for the campaign and to work on a collection inspired by my personal style. We have a great relationship – it’s really fun. I love how Lisa Axelson, Ann Taylor Creative Director, picked up on my style and helped turned it into a very chic, incredibly wearable collection!” Hudson said.

The collection includes ready-to-wear and accessories and is available May 22 at Ann Taylor stores nationwide and on www.anntaylor.com.

Ready-to-wear (Dresses and Skirts up to $128; Tops up to $78)
Premiere Dress
Constellation Dress
Entrance Skirt
Elegant Tank
Delicate Halter Top
Whisper Top
Accessories (Heels $158; Jewelry up to $58)
Shimmer Platform Heels
Moonlight Necklace
Endless Loop Necklace and Earrings
Starlet Necklace, Earrings and Bracelet

For images of the Kate Hudson for Ann Taylor Exclusive Collection visit:
http://blog.anntaylor.com/gallery

For more information on Ann Taylor visit:
www.anntaylor.com
www.facebook.com/anntaylor
www.twitter.com/anntaylor
www.pinterest.com/anntaylorstyle
www.youtube.com/anntaylorstyle

# # #

About Ann Taylor
Ann Taylor defines what it means to be chic, smart and sophisticated. Always relevant, always stylish—Ann Taylor offers beautiful, refined, wear-now pieces designed for how women live today. Ann Taylor operates 275 stores across the United States, as well as an e-commerce website at www.anntaylor.com. Ann Taylor is a division of ANN INC (NYSE: ANN).


Media Contact:

Lauren Kucerak, Kucerak & Co.
Lauren@kucerakandco.com
212.510.8591


Tweet