Kwame Alexander facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kwame Alexander
Kwame Alexander, photo by Rowan Daly
Born	Edward Curtis Kwame Alexander II (1968-08-21) August 21, 1968 (age 56) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Poet, educator, publisher, Emmy® Award-winning producer, and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 40 books
Alma mater	Virginia Tech
Genre	Poetry, Children's literature, Memoir
Notable awards	John Newbery Medal Coretta Scott King Author Honor The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Prize 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award
Spouse	Stephanie Stanley
Relatives	Sia Alexander (sister), Nataki Alexander (sister) and Ade’ Alexander (brother)

Kwame Alexander (born August 21, 1968) is American poet, educator, publisher, Emmy® Award-winning producer, and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 40 books, including poetry, memoir, and children's fiction. His mission is to change the world, one word at a time.

Personal life and education

Alexander was born in Manhattan, New York, but he spent his formative years in Virginia. His father was a scholar and book publisher and his mother was an educator. Raised in an environment saturated with knowledge, books became an integral part of his upbringing.

Alexander attended Virginia Tech, where he initially pursued premedical studies, until he took a writing class taught by with award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni, redirecting his path.

On May 11th, 2024, Alexander received an honorary doctorate degree from American University in Washington, DC [1].

Writing career

Alexander is a #1 New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of 40 books, including poetry, memoir, and children's literature. Titles include This is the Honey, Why Fathers Cry at Night, An American Story, The Door of No Return, Becoming Muhammad Ali (co-authored with James Patterson), Rebound, which was shortlisted for the prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, and The Undefeated, the National Book Award nominee, Newbery Medal Honor, and Caldecott Medal Award-winning picture book, illustrated by Kadir Nelson.

In 2023, Alexander was appointed as the Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts for Chautauqua Literary Arts at the Chautauqua Institution, and also serves as their Inaugural Writer-in-Residence.

Entertainment endeavors

Alexander is also the CEO of Big Sea Entertainment, co-founded with his longtime agent and business partner Arielle Eckstut. Big Sea Entertainment is dedicated to creating innovative, highly original children’s and family entertainment. The name was inspired by the autobiography of Langston Hughes and its epitaph:

Life is a big sea

full of many fish.

I let down my nets

and pull.

Among his most recent projects under Big Sea Entertainment, Alexander served as Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Writer of the Emmy Award-winning series The Crossover, based on his Newbery-Medal winning novel of the same name, which premiered on Disney+ in April 2023. The series was produced in partnership with LeBron James' SpringHill Company and Big Sea Entertainment.

Other current projects in development at Big Sea include America’s Next Great Author, the groundbreaking reality television series for writers, as well as an animated series in production with GBH based on his beloved children’s book Acoustic Rooster.

Alexander is also the creator and host of the Why Fathers Cry podcast, featuring conversations about love and parenting and loss, with fathers and sons. He has also served as a regular contributor to National Public Radio's Morning Edition program.

Speaking engagements

Alexander regularly serves as a keynote and guest speaker at hundreds of thousands of schools, libraries, organizations and conferences around the world. He has shared his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing at events like the Chautauqua Institution Lecture Series, the Edinburgh Book Festival, Aspen Ideas Festival, Asheville Ideas Fest, and the Global Literacy Symposium in Ghana, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana.

Awards and honors

Alexander has received many awards as a writer, among them the 2017 Pat Conroy Legacy Award (an award that honors the example of acclaimed author Pat Conroy and recognizes writers who have achieved a lasting impact on their literary community), and his verse novel The Crossover won the 2015 Newbery Medal and was selected as an Honor book for the Coretta Scott King Award.

The Crossover, Booked, Out of Wonder, Solo, Becoming Mohammed Ali, The Undefeated, and The Door of No Return are New York Times bestselling books. The Undefeated is also an IndieBound bestseller.

In 2014, The Crossover was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews and Shelf Awareness.

In 2014, Alexander's picture book Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band was selected for the "Michigan Reads! One State, One Children's Book" program.

In 2016, Booked was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews.

In 2017, Out of Wonder was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews

The same year, Solo was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews.

In 2018, Rebound was named one of the best books of the year by The Horn Book Magazine.

In 2019, The Undefeated was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews and The Horn Book Magazine.

In 2020, Becoming Mohammed Ali was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews.

In 2022, The Door of No Return was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews, The Horn Book Magazine, and Shelf Awareness. A historical verse novel set in Ghana in 1861, The Door of No Return is told from the perspective of 11-year-old Koffi and was inspired by Alexander's visits to Ghana.

In 2023, the adaptation of The Crossover, the Newbery Award-winning verse novel won the Outstanding Young Teen Series award at the second annual Children's and Family Emmy Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on December 17, 2023. Alexander served as Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Writer for the series, and accepted the award on behalf of the production team.

In 2023, Alexander was appointed as the Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts for Chautauqua Literary Arts at the Chautauqua Institution, and also serves as their Inaugural Writer-in-Residence.

In 2024, An American Story, written by Alexander and illustrated by Dare Coulter, won the 2024 Coretta Scott King Book Award, honoring African American illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults.