"These works reinforce the many layers and the complex nature of the issues
of race and diversity in our history ," says Jury Chair Henry Louis Gates
Jr.

Ward is the co-author of a number of recent bestsellers , including
"Baseball," "The Civil War" and "Jazz," the latter two written with Ken
Burns. The agreement
reflects Lions Gate's overall strategy of allying itself with world-class,
brand name partners in all of its businesses. I am appreciative of Lions Gate's support and feel lucky to
have them working with me to deliver my message to a broader audience through
our continued partnership .com
310-255-3726

This category includes contemporary playwrights.

fugard walkin

The vision of the award's creator, Edith Anisfield Wolf,
was to recognize books that explore racial prejudice and celebrate human
diversity.

For additional information, including a complete list of winners , visit
www. The plays include: "Madea's Class
Reunion," "I Can Do Bad All By Myself," "Madea 's Family Reunion," "Meet the
Browns," "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and "Madea Goes to Jail. Tyler 's work, which has already made him an icon
among African-American theatregoers, embodies universal themes that we are
confident will resonate with consumers of all ages and backgrounds.com

Contact:
Sarah Greenberg / Lions Gate
310-255-3856 / sgreenberg@lgf.

The site should have information about the playwright.

weatherman walkin

"

"As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Anisfield -Wolf Book Awards, we
are continually inspired by the variety of rich voices telling these
poignant stories. At her death, the girl who wanted to be a doctor was
described as "a cleaning woman, a grandmother and 'the best damn maid in
town. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wilson felt his parents
withheld the true hardships they had faced to spare their children."
Beeks noted that Peter Block, Lions Gate President of Acquisitions,
Television and Co-productions, "has played his usual integral role in bringing
the Tyler Perry franchise to Lions Gate overall and negotiating this DVD deal
in particular.

goulding walkin

Cleveland Foundation Web Site


In "M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A," Jordan tells the story of MacNolia Cox, who, at 13
was the first African-American student to reach the finals of the 1936
National Spelling Bee Competition.
Ward, a historian, screenwriter and former editor of American Heritage, won
the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1989 for "A First-Class
Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt ., and NORTH VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Lions Gate Home Entertainment, a division of Lions
Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF; Toronto), has acquired the home video
distribution rights for the works of Tyler Perry, it was announced today by
Lions Gate Entertainment President Steve Beeks. The seven -DVD deal comes on
the heels of the powerful $21.
The deal is designed to create long-term brand value for Mr. The Lions Gate brand name is synonymous with
original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.

playwrighting donaghy

Ward, "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and
Fall of Jack Johnson " (Knopf)
Fiction -- Edwidge Danticat, "The Dew Breaker" (Knopf) and A.W. Richard, president and CEO, The Cleveland
Foundation.anisfield-wolf. The Foundation has assets of $1.

The Tyler Perry Company is the parent corporation for Tyler Perry
properties encompassing theatrical, film and video production, theatrical tour
operations and in-house media product sales and distribution .

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Norton & Company)
Lifetime Achievement Award -- August Wilson, playwright

The Cleveland Foundation will honor the winners at a ceremony in Cleveland
on September 14.6 billion and last year awarded more
than $86 million in grants and low-cost loans to Cleveland area nonprofit
organizations and received $41 million in new gifts.
"Tyler Perry is a huge talent with an enormous grass roots following who,
until last weekend's release of our theatrical box office hit DIARY OF A MAD
BLACK WOMAN, was largely unknown outside the African-American community," said
Beeks.

weatherman rubbed

This year's winners are:

Non-Fiction -- Geoffrey C. Du Bois Professor of the Humanities, Harvard University. As a poet, she chose literature as a means to explore racial
prejudice and celebrate human diversity . Perry's works, DIARY OF A MAD
BLACK WOMAN, as well as Lions Gate Films' recent announcement to produce and
distribute Perry's second adaptation for the big screen, MADEA'S FAMILY
REUNION, slated for a February 2006 theatrical release.
The deal is part of Lions Gate's combined feature film and home video
initiative to bring the works of Tyler Perry, already established as the
leading force in American urban theatre, to a broader national audience.

phaedra warbride

B. Widely supposed to have been prevented
from winning because of her race, her short-lived celebrity forever changed
her life.

Now in its 70th year, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards is the only juried
American literary competition devoted to recognizing books that have made
an important contribution to society's understanding of racism and the
diversity of cultures.

Lions Gate Entertainment is the premier independent producer and
distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment,
family entertainment and video-on-demand content.

alumna pantomimes

com

For corporate inquiries, please contact:

Peter D.

cybele weatherman

org.

The Cleveland Foundation, a public charity dedicated to improving the
quality of life in Greater Cleveland, is the original and second largest
community foundation in the nation . Four of the DVD's in the agreement will
be released in conjunction with Lions Gate's early summer 2005 home video
release of DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN.

fugard donaghy

The deal was negotiated by Peter Block for Lions Gate, Matt Johnson and
Wendy Heller of Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca + Fischer LLP and Charles King of
the William Morris Agency for Tyler Perry.com

Jodie Magid / Lions Gate Home Entertainment
212-386-6885 / jmagid@lgf.

walkin venhaus

"

August Wilson has been a major force in American theatre since the
mid-1980s. He also won the Pulitzer Prize
for both "Fences" (1987) and "The Piano Lesson " (1990).

weatherman hristo

E. Her work and wishes continue to
be carried out through the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards , which are
administered by The Cleveland Foundation.

cybele weatherman

"The Dew Breaker," Danticat's third novel and a National Book Critics
Circle Award Finalist, explores the world of a "dew breaker " -- a torturer
-- from Haiti and how his crimes lie hidden beneath his new life in
America.

Lions Gate Home Entertainment Announces Seven-DVD Deal with Renowned Playwright Tyler Perry; Agreement Follows on Heels of #1 Box Office Debut of Lions Gate's

" One
additional title will be named later. Wilkes
pwilkes@lgf.

If your site is primarily about selling your work, rather than about you as a playwright , please consider whether another category might be appropriate.

warbride fugard

Van
Jordan, "M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A" (W. The story moves seamlessly between 1960s Haiti and present-day
New York City, taking the reader deep into the lives of those around the
dew breaker as he strives for redemption.

mattern subtleties

PRESS RELEASE 70th Annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards(R) Winners Announced

goulding phaedra

Jordan's poems explore how this traumatic event shattered her
dreams forever. This agreement, combined with Lions Gate's home
video release of DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN later this year, brings to the
retail DVD market for the first time a highly successful slate of plays that
will have generated more than $100 million in theatre box office and
merchandise sales by the end of 2005.

donaghy vleugels

, the W. Edith Anisfield Wolf was a published poet and civic
activist who became passionately committed to social justice as a young
girl."
Perry added, "While I am well aware of my core audience and how they want
me to tell a story, I have also always been mindful to keep each play
universal, so that no matter where you come from , or what your race is, you
can relate to it.

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The Cleveland Foundation today announced the
winners of the 2005 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards for outstanding works that
contribute to society's understanding of racism or appreciation of the rich
diversity of human cultures. Other Danticat works include
"Breath, Eyes, Memory" and "Krik? Krak!," a National Book Award finalist.
Lions Gate will continue to grow the Tyler Perry franchise with a
year-long celebration of Perry's incredibly popular plays, which have resulted
in a huge following among African-American theatre communities. With seven shows, beginning with the
landmark "I Know I've Been Changed," having successfully toured the nation,
Perry has made history, becoming the first urban theater actor to be nominated
for the prestigious Helen Hayes Award.

hristo fugard

"They make important contributions in helping us gain a greater
understanding of the need to respect both the humanity and individuality of
others. Its establishment in 1914 is cited as
one of 10 events that most heavily influenced the development of the
nonprofit sector in the 20th century and it continues to be a leader in its
field.9 million opening weekend gross of the
first-ever feature film adaptation of one of Mr. Perry's
works, which combine comedy and gospel music and take on the core issues in
the human condition portrayed within the rich context of African-American
cultures and experiences.

http://www .

veva subtleties

This year's selections open our minds and challenge us to
appreciate both our differences and the similarities that bind us
together," says Ronald B.Lions Gate to Market And Distribute Seven Perry Stage Productions - Including
'Madea's Class Reunion' and 'I Can Do Bad All By Myself' - Which Will Have
Generated More Than $100 Million in Theatre Box Office and Merchandise Sales
by Year-End

Four Tyler Perry DVD's to Be Released in Conjunction with the Early Summer
Home Video Release of DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN

SANTA MONICA, Calif.lgf.

goulding subtleties

His works have received rave reviews
and have sold out houses across the nation, including his most recent, "Madea
Goes to Jail" and "Madea's Class Reunion.

warbride cybele

The
indignities their generation suffered are the basis for his groundbreaking
series of plays -- "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom","Fences," "Joe Turner's Come
and Gone," "The Piano Lesson," "Two Trains Running" and "Seven Guitars" --
that shine a light on black issues in different decades in America.

deiss donaghy

"Unforgivable Blackness " tells the story of Jack Johnson, boxing's
first black heavyweight champion and a lightning rod for controversy.
Wilson's work has received Tony, Drama Desk Outstanding New Play and New
York Drama Critics Circle Best Play Awards. "We believe that the DVD releases of these seven plays will complement
our feature films in bringing Tyler Perry's humor, faith, compassion and
popularity to a greatly expanded national audience, building a remarkable new
franchise in the process. Its prestigious and
prolific library of approximately 8,000 titles is one of the largest in the
entertainment industry.

vleugels alumna

'" Jordan's previous work, "Rise," won the PEN/Oakland Josephine
Miles Award."
Thirty -five-year-old playwright, director, producer and actor Tyler Perry
is a New Orleans native who, within the span of only six years, went from
being homeless to selling out theaters with his seriocomic productions which
detail the African-American experience." Although Perry plays multiple
characters in many of his plays in addition to writing, producing and
directing, his most popular creation is Madea, the 68-year-old grandmother who
speaks her mind and doesn't hold back.

kohm cybele

---

- - kjjkjk

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