|
 Tanya Kersey is one of Hollywood's most respected and well-regarded entertainment journalists and commentators. As the founder and editor-in-chief of Black Talent News, the leading trade publication for Blacks in the entertainment industry, and the founder and executive director of the Hollywood Black Film Festival, Kersey has an enviable reputation for having her finger on the pulse of what’s happening in Hollywood. "She is the most logical choice to bring aboard in celebration of Houston's 1st Black Film Festival. I've always admired her talent and business savvy," says Vanessa Morman, Executive Director, Houston Black Film Festival and founder of the Book to Film Screenplay Search. "There is nothing like hearing and learning from the leadership of a woman of her caliber and self initiative, especially in the field of festivals and screenplays worthy of people of african decent."
Among the countless radio and television programs, print and internet publications Tanya has provided commentary for are: the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly, Black Enterprise, the Miami Herald, Upscale Magazine, Diversity Magazine, American Legacy Magazine, Turning Points Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety, CNN and "BET Tonight". Her many essays and articles about the entertainment industry have appeared in Upscale Magazine, BRE Magazine, EUR, Raw Story, L.A. Sentinel, The Portland Observer, The Westside Gazette, Columbus Post, Black Journalist and Los Angeles Times, among other publications.
Tanya is the author of the popular career guide Black State of the Arts: A Guide to Developing a Successful Career as a Black Performing Artist, the BTN Resource Directory, and The Black Film Report, which presents a Black perspective on Black box office clout.
Her awards and activities include being named a “Living History Maker” by the prestigious Turning Point Magazine in recognition for her accomplishments in publishing. Most recently Tanya was named as one of Hollywood's 'Urban Movers and Shakers' by Daily Variety for her work as publisher/editor-in-chief of Black Talent News and founder/executive director of the Hollywood Black Film Festival.
Tanya is a member of Media Industry Advisory Board at West Los Angeles College; on the Marketing Advisory Board of the Independent Feature Project/West, and on the Advisory Board of the FESPACO Paul Robeson Award Initiative. Tanya is an active member of the Black Entertainment Telecommunications Association, a Washington, DC-based lobbying group. She also serves on the Nominating Committee for the NAACP Image Awards, a distinguished position she has served with other industry professionals and National NAACP leaders since 1999. A frequent keynote speaker and lecturer, Tanya gave the keynote speech at the 16th Annual Howard E. Mitchell Memorial Conference Luncheon for the Black Wharton Undergraduate Association at the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School. Upcoming speaking engagements include an entertainment issues forum at the annual Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference in September of 2004, and moderating a panel FESPACO, the Pan African Film Festival in Burkina Faso, Africa in February of 2005.
Her latest venture is as the host and executive producer of the online entertainment newsmagazine show, "Inside Urban Hollywood with Tanya Kersey," which will begin airing on EUR-TV in the fall of 2004. She is also a consulting producer on “African American Filmmakers,” a four-hour special focusing on African Americans behind-the-scenes in Hollywood.
For more information:
Tanya Kersey, 310.365.9102, email: tanya@tanyakersey.com
|
