Nazario to Serve as Guest Speaker at the Billboard Latin Music Conference

It’ll be all about “me” for Ednita Nazario in April…

The 61-year-old Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and Latin Grammy-winning artist will be a guest speaker at the newly announced panel discussion “Me, Me, Me” at the 2017 Billboard Latin Music Conference.

Ednita Nazario

Other speakers on the panel, which will explore why Latin stars are a “hot commodity for memoirs and biopics,” include Creative Artists Agency agent Bruno del Granado, Luis Balaguer (CEO and co-founder — along with Sofía Vergara — of Latin World Entertainment), and executive producer and literary agent Raymond García (known for negotiating memoir deals for superstars like Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez).

Nazario is releasing her autobiography, Una Vida, on May 2, 2017 via Penguin/Random House.

“Many people will be surprised by some of the anecdotes,” Nazario tells People en Español. “Some were evident, others not. What I want to do with the book is let them discover that part that I kept private. “

The Billboard Latin Music Conference will kick off April 24 in Miami with other panels like “Superstar Q&A’s” and marquee sessions like the “Urban Music Panel,” the “Divas Panel” and “How I Wrote that Song, the New Generation.”

Colombian superstar Maluma was previously announced as a panelist taking center stage at the 2017 Billboard Latin Music Conference on the new panel, “Socializing Maluma.”

The chart-topping artist and also a seven-time 2017 Billboard Latin Music Awards finalist will give the audience an inside look on how he works his social media.

The Billboard Latin Music Awards are the culmination of the Billboard Latin Music Conference, taking place April 24-27 at the Ritz Carlton Miami Beach. To register, visit www.billboardlatinconference.com.

Palacio to Release “Wonder” Companion Book “365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne’s Book of Precepts”

R.J. Palacio is bringing a little more wonder to the world…

The Latina writer, whose real name is Raquel Jaramillo, will release a companion book to her hit kids’ novel Wonder, which centers on a fifth grader with a facial deformity.

R.J. Palacio

Random House will publish Palacio’s companion title, entitled 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne’s Book of Preceptson August 26.

The book is filled with precepts or principles to live by for each day of the year.

R.J. Palacio's Wonder

In Wonder, which is aimed at readers 8 to 12, the character Mr. Browne is a memorable teacher who loves precepts.

Palacio asked readers for ideas for a new book via Twitter and Tumblr, She ended up getting more than 1,200 responses in two weeks. She used about 100 of the readers’ suggestions the new book, which uses quotations from Anne FrankMartin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. It also includes letters and e-mails from the fictional characters in Wonder.

Palacio is also writing an e-book, The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story, about the bully in Wonder, to be released May 13.

In a statement, Palacio says of Julian: “I had always thought he was an interesting character worthy of further exploration, but I didn’t give him a voice in Wonder because he had nothing to add to [main character] Auggie’s narrative.”

Thorne’s Disney Channel Series “Shake It Up” Drawing to an End

Bella Thorne’s star-making days at the Disney Channel are coming to an end.

The network has announced that its original series Shake It Up, which stars the 15-year-old half-Cuban American actress, will wrap up its run after 78 episodes. The final round of shows will air this summer.

Bella Thorne

The move to wrap production on Shake It Up while it remains strong – it’s the No. 1 TV series year-to-date in the kids 6-11 and tweens 9-14 demos – is not uncommon of the network, which tends to cap its original series after a set time.

In June, the Disney Channel said it was ending Good Luck Charlie after four seasons, 100 episodes and a hit TV movie.

But Thorne won’t be out of work…

She has a recording deal with Disney’s Hollywood Records, a three-book deal with Random House, and was just cast in the indie thriller Home Invasion.

Additionally Thorne recently completed shooting on the Adam SandlerDrew Barrymore film Blended.

Michele to Pen “Brunette Ambition” Memoir

Lea Michele is on the write track…

The 26-year-old half-Spanish actress/singer and Glee Star, who just earned a Teen Choice Award nomination, has landed a book deal with the Harmony Books imprint of Random House’s Crown Publishing Group for her memoir Brunette Ambition.

Lea_Michele

“There wasn’t a guidebook when I was growing up, that detailed everything I would need to do, and know, to get where I am today. But I believe I can write one of sorts: not a how-to-make-it-in-show-business book, but a guide to harnessing tenacity, passion, enthusiasm, and hard work to make your dreams come true,” Michele said in a statement.

The book will be “part memoir, part how-to and part style-guide” which chronicles Michele’s life “from normal Bronx-born schoolgirl to Broadway child star to lead actress in one of the most popular shows on television.”

Michele’s Brunette Ambition is due to hit bookstores next spring.