Keegan-Michael Key, along with his partner Elle Key, will give the closing keynote for the adult books program at the U.S. Book Show.

Renowned comedian and Emmy-winning actor Keegan-Michael Key, along with his partner Elle Key, will give the closing keynote for the adult books program at the U.S. Book Show. The duo will interview each other about their forthcoming debut nonfiction book, The History of Sketch Comedy: A Journey Through the Art and Craft of Humor, which was inspired by their award-winning podcast of the same name. The event, which is set to take place on May 24, 2023, at NYU’s Kimmel Center, will also include a live Q&A session with the audience and will be available via live stream.

The forthcoming book, published by Chronicle Books, promises to be "part masterclass, part memoir," as it delves into the long and venerable history of sketch comedy with personal interviews from the virtuosos of the form, including John Oliver, Mel Brooks, and Carol Burnett. Elle Key, who co-wrote and directed the 10-episode Audible podcast, won the People’s Voice Webby Award for Best Writing in 2022. The New York Times called the podcast "a lighthearted but earnest attempt to demonstrate the enduring power and understated complexity of the [sketch comedy] art form."

Keegan-Michael Key, whose career spans television, film, and stage, is well-known for his Emmy Award-winning Comedy Central variety show Key & Peele, which he co-created and co-starred with actor Jordan Peele. The show aired from 2012 to 2015 and won two Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award. Key's partner, Elle Key, is a film and television producer and director.

The U.S. Book Show, presented by Publishers Weekly and hosted by the NYU School of Professional Studies Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts, will feature a host of keynote speakers, including Sarah Jessica Parker in conversation with Kim Coleman Foote, bestselling author Lauren Groff, The New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast, and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and Newbery medalist Meg Medina.

Registration is now open for the U.S. Book Show, with early-bird rates currently in effect. Members of the media can apply for complimentary in-person and/or virtual press passes on the press page. High-resolution headshots of the authors and logos are also available for download under the Images and Logos tab on the U.S. Book Show website.

Publishers Weekly, the international news platform of the book publishing industry, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The magazine boasts 1.23 million social media followers and reaches 14 million unique visitors annually through its website. It also publishes 10 e-newsletters, BookLife (a website and semimonthly supplement), Publishers Weekly en Español (in partnership with Lantia), two blogs, podcasts, a mobile edition, digital editions, and apps. In conjunction with the Sharjah Book Fair, the magazine is also published in an Arabic edition.

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