Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Quvenzhane Wallis, whose portrayal of Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern
Wild earned her an Oscar nomination at age 9, is launching a new career path: The 14-year-old is adding author to her resume. Today, through Simon and Schuster, Wallis is releasing two children’s books: Shai & Emmie Star in Break an
Egg, which chronicles the lives of two best friends at a performing arts school, and A Night Out with Mama, a picture book inspired by her experience at the Oscars. Wallis said writing is a natural extension of her love for reading. “Reading is one of my favorite things to do,” she said during a recent appearance in New Orleans at the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, a trade association representing over 300 bookstores in 11 states, including Arkansas. “It’s something I would want everyone to do, especially teenagers my age. I don’t think we read as much as we should.” Wallis said she doesn’t have a favorite author and usually reads all genres. She said she especially enjoyed coming up with the concepts and working through them with co-author Nancy Ohlin. “The stories have a few things that I like and enjoy. For instance, there’s a part in the first one where a character is talking about her book bag and it’s turquoise, my favorite color. So there are small details in there that come specifically from me,” she said. “I definitely see myself doing more of this in the future.” As for acting, Wallis said there’s nothing currently on the horizon. “Just the books and school and sports,” she said.
■ The refunds promised to fans of rapper Lil Wayne, who skipped a concert after he refused to pass through a security check to enter a South Carolina arena, have been thrown into question. In a statement about why Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., wasn’t admitted into Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C., officials said, “The safety of its patrons, its performers, and its staff members is and continues to be the number one priority for Colonial Life Arena.” News outlets reported that Ben Hated LLC and Victory Promotions sent a letter to arena officials on Sunday saying they had collectively decided not to offer refunds for Saturday’s 2nd annual Fall Ball 2017. Colonial Life Arena had previously said that refunds would be issued Monday. The arena said that while it’s negotiating with the promoters, refunds wouldn’t be available at the originally scheduled time. Promoters said they decided not to issue refunds because Lil Wayne wasn’t the event’s headliner. Featured acts Cardi B, 2 Chainz and Tory Lanes performed as scheduled.