Judge Stone

About the Author

Viola Davis is an internationally acclaimed actress, producer, New York Times bestselling author, and EGOT winner—only the fourth person to do so exclusively via performance-based awards. She is the cofounder of JVL Media, a full-service production/media packaging firm and independent publisher.

In 2025, the Golden Globes honored her with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.”

Davis is known for her exceptional performances, such as her Emmy-winning role in television’s How to Get Away with Murder; her Academy Award–nominated movies Doubt, The Help, and Fences (for which she received the Oscar); her Screen Actors Guild Award–winning role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; her two Tony Awards (for Fences and King Hedley II); and as a Grammy winner for best audiobook narration and storytelling recording for her bestselling memoir, Finding Me.

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton. He has told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.