Authors of teen books have Carolina on their mind - and not in a good way

A LARGE group of people who create books for children and teenagers are hoping to send a message to adults in North Carolina.

Nearly 270 authors and illustrators have signed a letter calling on the state to repeal a new law preventing specific anti-discrimination rules for LGBT people for public accommodations and restroom use.

The letter, which was posted on the School Library Journal website, said the 269 signees are "disappointed and angered by the reprehensible legislation" signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory. They called for repeal of what they called a "hateful piece of legislation."

"As even the youngest among you recognize, a law that promotes, enables, or encourages discrimination of any kind is wrong," the letter said.

"Know that in time, and with hard work, hope will triumph over fear. Know that acceptance will prevail over intolerance," the letter continued. "Know that respect-for all our differences - will always unite us."

Among the names on the list are Rick Riordan, author of the "Percy Jackson" series, Jeff Kinney, who wrote Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Veronica Roth, author of the "Divergent" series.

The big joke in Hollywood is that everybody wants to direct.

It might also be true in politics.

The Washington Post reports that former Long Island congressman Bob Mrazek is returning to Washington next week to screen his directorial debut, an upcoming small-budget movie he also wrote.

It's called The Congressman.

Mrazek says he wanted to make movies since the 1960s and even went to film school but was pulled into politics follwing the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.

The Congressman, which stars Treat Williams and George Hamilton, is a nonpartisan political comedy.

*

Kathleen Battle

is returning to the Metropolitan Opera, 22 years after the company fired her and publicly accused her of "unprofessional actions."

Battle, who will be 68 in August, is scheduled to sing a recital on Nov. 13 titled, "Underground Railroad-A Spiritual Journey," the company said Monday. The soprano will be accompanied by pianist Joel Martin and by a choir under the direction of James Davis Jr., director of music ministries and fine arts at New York's Abyssinian Baptist Church.

"I don't believe there's any ill will towards her at all, but I wasn't here 20 years ago," Met general manager Peter Gelb said. "I think everyone at the Met likes to hear great artists."

Besides, there's no shame in being canned by The Met. The famed opera house also fired legendary soprano Maria Callas.

* Soul Train is on track for acquisition by BET Networks, the company announced Monday.

Include in the purchase will be one of the largest libraries of African-American, music-oriented content in the world, including over 1,100 television episodes and 40 television specials, the company said.

Owning Soul Train's intellectual property will allow BET to further build on the success of the Soul Train Awards, which BET re-launched in 2009, and strengthens the network's commitment to original content. Soul Train was created in 1971 by the late Don Cornelius in 1971.

Richard Gay, BET's executive vice president of strategy and operations, pointed to a Broadway play and a concert tour as examples of Soul Train-related opportunities ahead.

* Reuters reports that Hong Kong designer Ricky Ma has spent more than $50,000 to build a moving, talking robot with a 3-D printer.

He now has his own life-like Scarlett Johansson with the boring, robot name of Mark 1.

Ma hopes an investment will allow him to build more robots.

The World Economic Forum says increased robotic abilities will lead to a net loss of 5.1 million jobs over the next five years.

Our guess, however, is that the real Scarlett Johansson will still be able to find work. Although we could see an army of Scarlett robots cleaning bachelors' apartments.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

gensleh@phillynews.com

215-854-5678 @DNTattle