In Conversation with Janelle Monáe
Global icon JANELLE MONAE is renowned as a musician, actor, New York Times bestselling author, and activist. Monáe is heralded for their artistry and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community and social movements toward justice and liberation. Drawing on her award-winning career as a musician and actor, her bestselling Afrofuturist short story collection The Memory Librarian, and her philosophy as an activist, Monáe shares profound insights that inspire and energize audiences of all kinds.
Janelle Monáe’s debut short story collection The Memory Librarian explores Afrofuturism and liberation
Award-winning musician and actor JANELLE MONAE is now a New York Times bestselling author, following the release of their debut queer Afrofuturist short story collection, The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer. The Memory Librarian explores what it’s like to live in a totalitarian existence – and what it takes to get out of it – drawing on the powerful themes and artistic genius that have made Monáe a global icon.
As a child, Monáe’s family recognized their creative gifts – as the multi-talented artist told to The New York Times, “I was probably in elementary school going into middle school when I wrote this story about my grandmother being abducted by aliens. That was the first time my family was like, OK, you have a very strong, interesting, scary-at-times imagination.” Now her co-written collection, which explores different threads of liberation – queerness, race, gender plurality, and love – has spent five weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and was heralded by Forbes as “a sexy, soulful, and dissident collection of tales.” Monáe is a highly sought-after speaker for her profound insights about creativity, activism, and liberation, which make an impact with audiences of all kinds.
JANELLE MONÁE is a multi-hyphenate, 10x Grammy®-nominated artist, New York Times’ best-selling author, actor, and fashion icon. She is known worldwide for her inimitable style and visionary sound, which celebrates the spectrum of identity. Following her critically acclaimed 2018 album DIRTY COMPUTER, Monáe recently released her album, THE AGE OF PLEASURE in June of 2023. Ever since the highly anticipated album has turned into the ultimate celebration. Beyond music, she was recently honored with Critics Choice’s 2023 SeeHer Award and recognized as Trevor Project’s Suicide Prevention Advocate of the Year. She serves as a co-chair to Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote, and has established her own initiative, Fem the Future, which aims to create opportunities for not just fellow creatives but society. In 2022, she published her first book titled, The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories from Dirty Computer, which debuted on the New York Times Best-Seller List. As an actor, she starred as “Cassandra Brand” in Netflix’s highly-awaited sequel, GLASS ONION: A Knives Out Mystery alongside Daniel Craig, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, and Leslie Odom Jr. She is also credited for her roles in Academy Award®-nominated film HIDDEN FIGURES and Academy Award®-winning film MOONLIGHT. Other previous acting credits include HARRIET and Disney’s LADY AND THE TRAMP in which she plays ‘Peg’, the wise-cracking pound dog.
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