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| Levar Burton | |
Actor, education advocate, and author LeVar Burton will host the National Book Awards on November 15. He replaces Drew Barrymore, whose invitation to host was rescinded last month after The Drew Barrymore Show resumed production while the Hollywood writers strike was still going on.
Burton, who was the honorary chair of Banned Books Week earlier this month and hosted the National Book Awards in 2019, said: "I'm a big believer in the power of the written word, and am proud to stand alongside the National Book Foundation to celebrate exceptional storytelling and the Foundation's mission to make books accessible to everyone, everywhere. It's an honor to return as host of the biggest night for books, especially in a moment when the freedom to read is at risk and literature both needs and deserves our recognition and support."
A lifelong literacy advocate, Burton was the host of the PBS children's series Reading Rainbow; hosts the LeVar Burton Reads podcast; and was executive producer of The Right to Read, a documentary that frames the literary crisis in the U.S. a civil rights issue. He is also the author of Aftermath, The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, and A Kids Book About Imagination. Burton is also well-known for his roles as chief engineer Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV and film series and as the young Kunta Kinte in the original TV miniseries of Roots.