CAP D'ANTIBES, France — Janet Jackson may have joined the ranks of diet plan celebrity spokeswomen Jennifer Hudson and Mariah Carrey, but she insists there's absolutely no competition among the slimmed-down singers.Nationally renowned poet Maya Angelou is recovering from a brief illness that forced her to cancel a planned speech in Texas.
Angelou’s lecture agent David LaCamera said Tuesday the 83-year-old poet was set to speak today but came down with an illness that left her in the hospital for three days.
LaCamera says Angelou is resting at home in Winston-Salem, N.C. LaCamera declined to describe the nature of the illness that kept Angelou hospitalized until her release Saturday.
Celebrity books due
•Stephen Colbert is releasing a children’s book.
Grand Central Publishing said Tuesday that it will publish “I Am a Pole (And So Can You!)” on May 8.
The story is about a flagpole’s quest for identity.
After a two-episode hiatus because of his ailing mother, Colbert returned to “The Report” on Monday.
•He’s only 17, but pop sensation Justin Bieber is back with his second book.
HarperCollins announced Tuesday that it will publish “Justin Bieber: Just Getting Started.” The book is described as “the second official photographic book” from the superstar.
The company says it will be released in September.
Adele on streak
Soulful songstress Adele followed her Grammy Awards triumph with a win at the U.K.’s Brit music awards Tuesday, taking the prizes for best British female artist and album of the year at an energetic ceremony in London.
Adele beat an eclectic shortlist of female stars that also included Florence and the Machine, Jessie J, Laura Marling and Kate Bush.
The 23-year-old singer lost out on the British single prize to boy band One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.”
Summer camps
The Journal Gazette is compiling its annual summer camp guide, a free listing of regional day and sleepover camps that will be published March 11.
Email details of your camp’s programs – description, dates, location, fees, ages and registration information – by Friday to Terri Richardson at trich@jg.net or fax to 461-8893.
Happy birthday
Among celebrity birthdays today: Actor Paul Dooley is 84. Actress Ellen Greene is 61. Actor Kyle MacLachlan is 53. Comedian Rachel Dratch is 46. Actor Paul Lieberstein is 45. Actress Jeri Ryan is 44. Actor Thomas Jane is 43. Actress Drew Barrymore is 37. Singer James Blunt is 35.
