A look at the revolution in game live streaming and esports broadcasting Every day thousands of people broadcast their gaming live to audiences over the internet using popular sites such as Twitch, which reaches more than one hundred million viewers a month. In these new platforms for interactive entertainment, big esports events featuring digital game competitors live stream globally, and audiences can interact with broadcasters—and each other—through chat in real time. What are the ramifications of this exploding online industry? Taking readers inside home studios and backstage at large esports events, Watch Me Play investigates the rise of game live streaming and how it is poised to alter how we understand media and audiences. Through extensive interviews and immersion in this gaming scene, T. L. Taylor delves into the inner workings of the live streaming platform Twitch. From branding to business practices, she shows the pleasures and work involved in this broadcasting activity, as well as the management and governance of game live streaming and its hosting communities. At a time when gaming is being reinvented through social media, the potential of an ever-growing audience is transforming user-generated content and alternative distribution methods. These changes will challenge the meaning of ownership and intellectual property and open the way to new forms of creativity. The first book to explore the online phenomenon Twitch and live streaming games, Watch Me Play offers a vibrant look at the melding of private play and public entertainment.

Throughout Doug Luffborough's young life, he found himself torn between two masters: the selfish and the spiritual. As one of four hardworking children born to a loving and hardworking-albeit disadvantaged-mother, Doug faced learning challenges, hunger, and homelessness, giving in to the temptations of drinking and gang life in order to survive. At the peak of his struggles, Doug recognized that an education would help pull him out of this cycle-for good. Watch Me Rise is a memoir of hope, determination, and eventually a graduate degree from Harvard-and all from someone who was told he was not "college material." "In this book, Doug Luffborough invites readers to share a remarkable and ultimately heartening journey. Prepare to experience a range of emotions as you read this book, including rage, shame, and humiliation as a precursor to compassion, pride, and joy. It is an account of growth and development, the result of which is the emergence of a good man. It is a book worth reading not just because of how it makes you feel, but also because of how it makes you want to be." -George Reed, PhD, Associate Dean, School of Leadership and Education Sciences, University of San Diego "From the moment Doug walks into a room, you can feel his energy and the strength of spirit that he exudes-it is captivating. He is the real deal. Present and action oriented, Doug possesses the ability to remain conscious of his past while not allowing it to define who he is as a person. His openness and honesty invite you in from the moment you meet him. Doug not only survived but also thrived, despite the obstacles that he encountered. Doug's willingness to share his vulnerabilities on a visceral level is one of the qualities that allow him to break down barriers and relate to others in a compassionate and genuine manner. His enthusiastic, caring, charismatic approach was contagious, and it is readily apparent that Doug is a man who holds high standards for himself and, in doing so, motivates others to aspire to be better. Doug not only epitomizes effective leadership, but he also transcends it." -Maria Olson, Former Resident Director, Office of Residential Life, Northeastern University "A message of hope, hard work, dedication, and never-ending faith ... For our youth today, and for those of us who work to guide and support them, Doug Luffborough's story provides both inspiration and wisdom. Doug's powerful ability to engage an audience-whether on stage, in a boardroom, or in text-is fully displayed as he shows us that anything is possible, and dreams do come true if you work hard and keep the faith!" -Kevin E. Baird, Chairman, Global Center for College and Career Readiness "Doug is the quintessential leader. To have arrived at the level of personal and professional success that he has achieved, given the myriad of obstacles that he had to overcome, makes him a true role model. Others who aspire to create better lives for themselves and their families, as Doug did, can look to him for inspiration. Doug has had the resiliency to persevere, build skills, and then use his innate talents to create positive change both close to home, as well in the greater community. In my thirty-four years of helping countless individuals realize their personal promise, Doug's story is the one that continues to inspire me. His is the success story at which we all marvel." -Pamela Boisvert, CEO, Massachusetts Education & Career Opportunities, Inc. (MassEDCO)

God Smiled On Me is a personal memoir that sheds light on the many struggles one can face and also overcome through faith, perseverance and God's grace.

"This stunning book is the story I've been waiting for my whole life; where girls rise up to claim their space with joy and power.” --Laurie Halse Anderson, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Speak "An extraordinary story of two indomitable spirits." --Brendan Kiely, New York Times bestselling co-author of All American Boys and Tradition "Timely, thought-provoking, and powerful." --Julie Murphy, New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin' Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Renée Watson teams up with poet Ellen Hagan in this YA feminist anthem about raising your voice. Jasmine and Chelsea are best friends on a mission--they're sick of the way women are treated even at their progressive NYC high school, so they decide to start a Women's Rights Club. They post their work online--poems, essays, videos of Chelsea performing her poetry, and Jasmine's response to the racial microaggressions she experiences--and soon they go viral. But with such positive support, the club is also targeted by trolls. When things escalate in real life, the principal shuts the club down. Not willing to be silenced, Jasmine and Chelsea will risk everything for their voices--and those of other young women--to be heard. These two dynamic, creative young women stand up and speak out in a novel that features their compelling art and poetry along with powerful personal journeys that will inspire readers and budding poets, feminists, and activists. Acclaim for Piecing Me Together 2018 Newbery Honor Book 2018 Coretta Scott King Author Award 2017 Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Young Adult Finalist "Timely and timeless." --Jacqueline Woodson, award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming "Watson, with rhythm and style, somehow gets at . . . the life-changing power of voice and opportunity." --Jason Reynolds, NYT-bestselling author of Long Way Down "Brilliant." --John Green, New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars * “Teeming with compassion and insight." --Publishers Weekly, starred review * "A timely, nuanced, and unforgettable story about the power of art, community, and friendship." --Kirkus , starred review * "A nuanced meditation on race, privilege, and intersectionality." --SLJ, starred review

From Ashima Shiraishi, one of the world's youngest and most skilled climbers, comes a true story of strength and perseverance--in rock climbing and in life. To a rock climber, a boulder is called a "problem," and you solve it by climbing to the top. There are twists and turns, falls and scrapes, and obstacles that seem insurmountable until you learn to see the possibilities within them. And then there is the moment of triumph, when there's nothing above you but sky and nothing below but a goal achieved. Ashima Shiraishi draws on her experience as a world-class climber in this story that challenges readers to tackle the problems in their own lives and rise to greater heights than they would have ever thought possible.

Maya Angelou’s unforgettable collection of poetry lends its name to the documentary film about her life, And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS’s American Masters. Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size But when I start to tell them, They think I’m telling lies. I say, It’s in the reach of my arms, The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me. Thus begins “Phenomenal Woman,” just one of the beloved poems collected here in Maya Angelou’s third book of verse. These poems are powerful, distinctive, and fresh—and, as always, full of the lifting rhythms of love and remembering. And Still I Rise is written from the heart, a celebration of life as only Maya Angelou has discovered it. “It is true poetry she is writing,” M.F.K. Fisher has observed, “not just rhythm, the beat, rhymes. I find it very moving and at times beautiful. It has an innate purity about it, unquenchable dignity. . . . It is astounding, flabbergasting, to recognize it, in all the words I read every day and night . . . it gives me heart, to hear so clearly the caged bird singing and to understand her notes.”

About life, from struggle to domestic violence and living in a cold world. And how you have to stay strong and thrive not letting anyone get in your way.