On Sunday, December 4, from 11:30 am-5:30 pm, African Voices will present a forum on writing memoirs and biographies at the 6th Annual Cultural Circle Conference. The Circle's theme "Telling Your Story to the World: Memoir Writing & Self Portraits in Art" will offer writers a chance to explore the art of creating intimate portraits and historical works. Authors Herb Boyd (Pound for Pound: A Biography of Sugar Ray Robinson), asha bandele (The Prisoner's Wife), Sharon Robinson (Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America) and Malaika Adero, the editor of Atria Books, will share their writing and publishing experiences. The conference will include a memoir writing workshop, art exhibition and book signing reception for asha bandele, the author of The Subtle Art of Breathing. The program will be held at the National Black Theater, 2031 Fifth Ave. (125th Street & 5th Ave.). To register call (212) 865-2982 or visit www.africanvoices.com. The forum is sponsored by WABC-TV, NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs and BeSSA (Bedford Stuyvesant Artists Association).

The Circle will kick-off at 12 noon with a special art exhibition and panel hosted by visual Artists from BeSSA. The artists will discuss self-portraits and the importance of such historical masterpieces as Jacob Lawrence's migration series. Writer/editor Angeli Rasbury, who teaches memoir writing at the Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center, will lead an interactive workshop for writers wishing to begin or share their journey in writing a biography. Writers are encouraged to bring journals, pens and paper for this fun session, which will offer several methods for dealing with writers block and freeing the artist's creative spirit.

Some of the guests joining this year's schedule are:

Sharon Robinson, daughter of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, is the author of Stealing Home (a memoir), Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By (Scholastic, 2001) and Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America (Scholastic Press, 2004), a photographic biography. As an educational consultant for Major League Baseball, she oversees school and community-based educational programs, including Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life, baseball's core program designed to empower students with strategies to help them face obstacles in their lives.

Malaika Adero, a senior editor at Atria Books, acquires narrative nonfiction and fiction, working with authors such as Wendy Williams, Wanda Sykes, Kevin Liles, Gordon Parks, Victor Rivers, Blair Underwood, Dr. Price Cobbs, Zane, Shannon Holmes, Vickie Stringer, Maryse Conde, Daniel Chacon, and many more. She has worked in the book publishing industry for more than 20 years. Malaika has also enjoyed a secondary career in the arts, performing poetry and dance across the United States, in Canada and Europe. Her worked has been published by various magazines, journals and anthologies including Essence, Heart & Soul, Black Southern Voices edited by John O. Killens and Mending the World by Rosemary Robotham (Civitas/Basic Books).

asha bandele served as features editor and writer for Essence magazine, and is currently a Revson Fellow at Columbia University. She is the author of the memoir The Prisoner's Wife and The Subtle Art of Breathing, a collection of poetry. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her daughter.

Herb Boyd, the author of Pound for Pound: A biography of Sugar Ray Robinson, is an award-winning author and journalist who has published eleven books and countless articles for national magazines and newspapers. Boyd is also the author of Race and Resistance: African Americans in the 21st Century, The Harlem Reader and Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America-An Anthology, co-edited with Robert Allen, won the American Book Award for nonfiction. He is the National Editor of The Black World Today, one of the leading publications on the Internet, and he teaches African and African American History at the College of New Rochelle in Manhattan.

For a complete listing of bios and the conference schedule please visit www.africanvoices.com.