Billy Porter

Billy Porter is an actor, singer, director, composer, and playwright from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is the winner of the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Pray Tell in Pose—the first openly gay Black man to be nominated and win in any lead acting category. Porter is the winner of the 2013 Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his groundbreaking performance as Lola in Kinky Boots. He is the author of Unprotected: A Memoir and a new picture book, Songbird in the Light, co-authored by rising star Chris Clarkson and award-winning illustrator Charly Palmer.

Songbird in the Light is a beautiful and empowering picture book about learning to love yourself. Mama says her little boy is a songbird with a voice bigger than his whole body. But at school, his classmates make fun of the way he walks and the way he talks—which makes him feel like a songbird too shy to sing. With the encouragement of his choir teacher, he embraces his talent, realizing that his voice is unique and distinct. When it's time for the school showcase, he's finally ready to embrace his joyful talent and share it with the world. As Billy Porter says in his powerful author's note: "I created this book to remind children of their own joy. Their own love…. A kind of love that the world can't take away."

A book signing will take place immediately following the session in the W375D Foyer, just outside the Main Stage Ballroom.