Poet Adrian Matejka found out that he was a National Book Award finalist when he was in the shower.

So how did Matejka feel when he learned the news?

Check out the video with poet Adrian Matejka

"I was stunned and humbled and really honored," said Matejka. "It's amazing. It's has very little to do with me, it's all about Jack Johnson. The book is about the boxer and it's his story and I am just sort of taking care of it."

In the video, Matejka makes a plea to President Barack Obama to pardon Jack Johnson.

What's next for Matejka?

"I'm working on a book about astronomy," responded Matejka.

However, every time Matejka sits down to write a book about astronomy, he winds up writing a book about HUD housing that he grew up in.

So perhaps the book may be a book about HUD housing.

HBO is developing a comedy, Bros, from writer Ben Cory Jones (Hand of God) and Hemingway Taylor Productions. The story centers on three African-American brothers — two straight, one gay and all very different — looking for love and happiness in Los Angeles. Bros is based on Hemingway Taylor's 12-minute presentation of Bros.

The project is the first sale for director Anthony Hemingway and his producing partner Mark Taylor's banner, Hemingway Taylor Productions. Hemingway is set to direct and both he and Taylor are expected to executive produce. Also in the mix is Lena Waithe (Dear White People) as co-executive producer.

The move by HBO appears to be part of a bandwagon effect. ABC is seeing major success with Scandal, Black-ish, and How to Get Away with Murder, so HBO and other networks are getting on the diversity train.

Check out the Bros trailer below. Will it be a hit, miss, or needs work?

VIDEO: Trailer for Bros

Robert L. Johnson's RLJ Entertainment Inc. today announced the launch of UMC -Urban Movie Channel, a digital channel that will feature "urban-themed" movies.

UMC can be found at: www.urbanmoviechannel.com.

Johnson is, by the way, the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET - at the time of its launch, the first cable television network aimed at African Americans), which he sold to Viacom many years ago for a tidy sum, making him one of a tiny handful of black billionaires in the USA.

Johnson, now the Chairman of RLJ Entertainment, said on UMC's launch, "As founder of BET, I have gained a deep understanding and knowledge about the African American and urban consumer and the entertainment content that appeals to them. UMC was designed so that the African American and urban creative community could directly reach consumers in a way that removes many of the restrictions associated with the legacy content development and distribution models. As more video is consumed over broadband, we believe that we can quickly become the preeminent provider of quality urban entertainment to what has largely been an underserved, yet highly engaged audience. I am convinced that urban consumers will gravitate to the economic and entertainment value proposition of UMC and that the creative community will embrace UMC as the best way to reach their loyal fans and benefit financially from showcasing their outstanding work product."

UMC will launch with a free trial period for subscribers through February 4, 2015, and with a suggested retail price of $4.99/month or $49.99/year thereafter, but with a special limited time introductory pricing of $2.99/month or $29.99/year to start.

Programs previously released by RLJE under the One Village brand will be incorporated into UMC's library, which will also include titles from RLJE's existing Image independent feature film line.

Miguel Penella, CEO of RLJE stated, "As one of the largest independent distributors of entertainment content with nascent propriety streaming channels like Acorn TV, we are uniquely positioned to fulfill the vision of our chairman and deliver to the urban audience an unprecedented library of high quality video content. We are confident in RLJE's ability to acquire, distribute, and monetize existing and original content that will appeal to the urban community across the growing number of distribution platforms."

Among the titles launching are live stand-up performances featuring Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx, and Charlie Murphy; documentaries "Dark Girls" and "I Ain't Scared of You: A Tribute to Bernie Mac;" the feature films "All Things Fall Apart" starring 50 Cent, Mario Van Peebles, and Ray Liotta; and "The Suspect" starring Mekhi Phifer. Bestsellers include the stage play production of "What My Husband Doesn't Know" by David E. Talbert.

Traci Otey Blunt joins RLJE as Corporate Executive Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs and will oversee the company's marketing, public relations and investor relations, as well as the promotion of the UMC channel.

"I am confident that with Traci joining the RLJE management team, her expertise will be beneficial to the company as a whole and help our strategic launch of UMC," said Penella. "She will promote the channel and grow its subscriber base by building new and cultivating existing relationships which will ultimately have a strong impact on RLJE's digital platforms," he concluded.

Among RLJ Entertainment's holdings are Acorn, Image, One Village, Acacia, Athena, and Madacy brands. The company owns, produces, and exploits intellectual property rights in various formats, including DVD, Blu-ray, digital, cable and satellite broadcast, VOD, streaming video, downloading, and sublicensing.

Actress/comedienne Kim Coles comes back for a third season on Bounce TV's popular, family-friendly original comedy series Off The Chain.

Featuring some of the most hilarious African-American comedians on the stand-up scene, for season three Bounce TV turns over the microphone to one comic per show and expands to an hour-long format. Actress/comedienne Kim Coles will be the first to headline the Off The Chain season three stage with Off The Chain: Kim Coles on Nov. 12.

Perhaps best known for her five-season turn as the unforgettable "Synclaire" on the ground-breaking FOX comedy series Living Single, Off The Chain: Kim Coles represents the comedienne's first-ever one-woman special, achieving a career milestone that she is excited to celebrate.

"I always wanted to do a comedy special and it feels wonderful that this amazing dream come-true opportunity has come as I enter my 30th anniversary as a standup comedian," says Coles.

In addition to Living Single, Coles has starred on other hit television shows including In Living Color, Frasier, One on One and the uproarious comedy series 10 Items Or Less as the villainous Mercy P. Jones. She was the co-host of the nationally syndicated daytime talk show, In the Loop with iVillage and has been a guest co-host for various shows, including The View. Coles is also known to reality audiences for having appeared on The Mole, VH1's Celebrity Fit Club and Coming to the Stage.

Other top comedians to be featured this season on Off The Chain include Michael Colyar (Premieres December 10), Rodney Perry, Cocoa Brown, Nore Davis, Jordan Carlos, Rudy Rush and Roy Jackson.

The new season premieres on Wednesday, November 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET.