Who knew Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen (or their assistants) were so charitable? NYC-based charity bookstore Housing Works blogged about (and Gawker alerted us to) one of their latest donations: two copies of Tyra Banks’ “fantasy novel” Modelland. But not just any copies. These were signed by the author and include handwritten post-it notes inside- Read more →
Tyra Banks paid a visit to Chicago-based YouTube Sensation Keenan Cahill and they shot this amazing video in his room, in which they dance and lip-sync to “Walk Like Tyra” by Peter Kaze. We’re not sure what’s better: Tyra’s dancing skills or the excellent use of smizes (which exist in Tyra’s fantasy novel, Modelland). It Read more →
Tyra Banks is officially a New York Times bestselling author–Modelland snagged the number two spot this week on the Times‘ besteller’s list for children’s chapter books–adding to her growing list of successful non-modelling ventures, which include 17 cycles of America’s Next Top Model , a talk show, and completing her final year at Harvard Business School. Thus, the Wall Street Journal has dubbed Banks a “Model Mogul” and chatted with her about the process of writing her young adult fantasy trilogy, her book tour and growing empire.
From bouts of alopecia to emotional bonding over large foreheads, here are the five most fascinating things we learned from the interview:
1. Tyra reads lots of young adult fiction, knew that was the audience she wanted to target:
Have you read Tyra Banks‘ debut novel, Modelland yet? Did it make you want to see the characters and story lines brought to life? If so, there’s a good chance you will. This first installment in Tyra’s Lord of the Rings-meets-Harry Potter-meets ANTM fantasy trilogy is now in stores. And like the aforementioned series, to which Modelland is only vaguely similar, Tyra’s tome could already be Hollywood-bound.
The book just hit shelves this month and, according to the AP, Tyra has already been approached by “a successful film producer.” “I would love to open up the `Modelland’ casting to the world,” she said. “I’m looking for an Everygirl to possibly play one of the characters in the story.”
We’re not entirely sure what that means, but there you have it.
In case you haven’t heard, Tyra Banks has penned a fantasy novel about modeling called Modelland. In fact, it’s going to be a trilogy! The release date for Modelland (Part I) is set for September 13, so she’s started promoting it in New York City and it sounds just as nutty and awesome as we’d hoped.
On Tuesday, Tyra took to the streets of New York dressed in a pink catsuit with words like “persimmon,” “bravo” and “unica” inexplicably written all over it with black suede knee-high boots. She was dressed up as Modelland’s protagonist, Tookie De La Crème.
Modelland, which is loosely based on Tyra’s life, basically sounds like a cross between Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, where models replace wizards and smizes replace rings. Yes, in Modelland Tyra turned “smize” (a term she coined for her signature modeling trick: smiling with your eyes), into a real thing that you can wear on your face.
It’s a gold sparkly feather-shaped eye mask. Tyra wore one on Good Morning America yesterday and was thrilled when Robin Roberts asked her what the hell was going on with her face. Here was her explanation:
“…[Tyra] has promised that the tome will be filled with ‘fierceness and magic.’ Which, to be fair, is exactly how Philip Roth described his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel American Pastoral.”-Entertainment Weekly on Tyra Bank’s first novel, Modelland
