Award winning playwright, actress and best selling novelist, Jewelene Banks is a trailblazer who happens to be the first African American female in the city of Akron, Ohio to write, direct, produce and bring her works to stage. She is the Executive Director of Jewel Box Creations Productions Company. She is a prolific playwright, novelist, freelance writer, musician and stage play director. Her works have been enthusiastically accepted in Northeastern Ohio and beyond. Her talents were not learned or manufactured, but came to this planet with her through Almighty God. Blessed with style, substance and mad skills, Jewelene has blossomed into a one-woman entertainment conglomerate, heralded by the press and the industry as a force to be reckoned with and a talent in demand. She has quite simply, done it all and shows no sign of slowing down. Banks was born in Dallas, Texas, to the Seward family. She was raised and educated in Akron, Ohio. She studied performing arts at the University of Akron and the Karamu House of Cleveland, Ohio. Her imagination and creative prowess has been a part of her persona for as long as she can remember. She has written six explosive and dynamic novels: ZEOLA, SPIDER WEB, SATAN IN HIGH HEELS, BOYS PULL YOUR PANTS UP, DON’T GIVE THAT BOY NO GUN, and BLIND BUT NOW I SEE. Amazedly, Jewelene’s writing genres focus on health, family, African American culture, urban street life, and community awareness. When she’s not writing, she spends her time perfecting her screenplay, BOY’S PULL YOUR PANTS UP, or on the internet completing research or updating her blog. She’s not the typical author. Her authentic writings awaken the spirits of our young. They are the epitome of reality and focus on issues concerning mankind in its present state. She unapologetically ministers lessons of determination, hope and faith without standing in a pulpit or proverbial soapbox. She writes what is required to gain the attention of the future generation in times like these. It doesn’t matter whether her genres are mainstream, urban lit or hip-hop…in finality she delivers the Word of God to those who will not hear it in a traditional setting. Jewelene resides in Ohio. Her awards include the NAACP Living Legend Award, Women’s History Project Creativity Award, Akron Legends 2008 Phenomenal Woman award, City of Akron Proclamation, and many others. She was inducted into the 2008 South High Performing Arts Hall of Fame. Recently Banks received the Daisy Bates lifetime achievement award for her phenomenal novel and hit stage play BOYS PULL YOUR PANTS UP!