I’m very pleased to be involved in an exciting upcoming event, on Friday 2nd October.
Celebrity Culture Club is a dedicated space where Celebrity academics, media folks, and the public to analyse celebrity culture, and on October 2nd at 2pm, it will be hosting a book launch for Celebrity Memoir: from Ghostwriting to Gender Politics published by Palgrave Macmillan and written by Dr Hannah Yelin (Oxford Brookes University).
I’m thrilled to have been invited to be part of the panel speaking with Hannah about her fantastic book, alongside Dr Oline Eaton (Howard University, Washington DC) and Nels Abbey (media executive and author of Think Like a White Man)
Having received an advance copy I can say with authority that I think it is great. For me, the work around authenticity and celebrity was superb and really resonated with work I do around classic era stardom. Equally there’s some really sound work around class and cultural distinction, which I suspect is a frequently overlooked element of the reception (and often the rejection or even ridicule) of particular stars.
I didn’t think I’d be interested in Pamela Anderson’s auto biography, or indeed those of Jordan, or Paris Hilton but I really was!
I’ve always liked Hannah’s writing style. It’s lucid and rich and she uses great examples. Whilst her work is academic, certainly, it doesn’t feel hard work to read. That’s effective scholarship.
I remember inviting Hannah to come and talk to a group of my taught MA students about celebrity, one afternoon, when we both worked at the University of East Anglia and seeing how quickly and effectively she connected with students.
If you’d like to join us at the celebrity culture club book launch and hear Hannah talk about her work for herself, then sign up to attend this free event at eventbrite here . All welcome.
For more information about Hannah’s book, Celebrity Memoir: from Ghostwriting to Gender Politics, click here