Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander (born August 21, 1968) is an American writer of poetry and children's fiction.

Personal life and education Alexander was born in Manhattan, New York, and grew up in Virginia. His father was a scholar and book publisher and his mother was an educator.

Alexander attended Virginia Tech, where he began premedical studies before taking a writing class with award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni. On May 11, 2024, Alexander received an honorary doctorate degree from American University in Washington, DC.

Books Alexander's picture book Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band was selected for the 2014 "Michigan Reads! One State, One Children's Book" program. He won a 2020 Newbery Honor for his illustrated poem The Undefeated.

Alexander runs the Bookinaday program to introduce children to writing and publishing. He is a regular contributor to National Public Radio's Morning Edition program.

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 2016, Booked was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews. In 2019, The Undefeated was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews

In 2023, the adaptation of The Crossover won the Outstanding Young Teen Series award at the second annual Children's and Family Emmy Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on 17 December 2023.

In 2024 Unspoken, was awarded School Library Association Winner for the Children's Choice Award. +Awards for Alexander's books Year Title Award Result Ref.

Cybil Award for Middle Grade Fiction Finalist Goodreads Choice Award for Middle Grade & Children's Nominee

ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top 10 ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection Coretta Scott King Award for Author Honor Newbery Medal Winner Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Top 10

Cybil Award for Poetry Finalist Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Poetry Nominee National Book Award for Young People's Literature Longlist Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee

ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Winner Solo Goodreads Choice Awards for Poetry Nominee

Cybil Award for Poetry Finalist Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth Selection

Rebound Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Poetry Nominee Solo NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens Finalist

ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustrator Winner

How to Read a Book Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Picture Books Nominee

ALSC Notable Children's Recordings Selection ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection Carnegie Medal Shortlist Swing Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Selection

Cybil Award for Fiction Picture Book Finalist Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Picture Books Nominee National Book Award for Young People's Literature Longlist

Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustrator Winner Kirkus Prize Finalist 2021 Becoming Muhammad Ali ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection

ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top 10 ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top 10 Publications

Tough Love: Cultural Criticism and Familial Observations on the Life and Death of Tupac Shakur, ed. (1996) Do the Write Thing (2002) (with Nina Foxx) Kwame Alexander's Page-to-Stage Writing Workshop (2016)

Novels He Said, She Said: A Novel (2013) The Crossover (2015) Booked (2016) The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life (2017) Solo (2017) (with Mary Rand Hess) Rebound (2018) (prequel to The Crossover) Swing (2018) (with Mary Rand Hess) The Door of No Return (2022) Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances (2023)

Picture books Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band (2011) Indigo Blume and the Garden City (2012) Little Boys Soar (2014) Surf's Up (2016) How to Read a Book (2019), illustrated by Melissa Sweet The Undefeated (2019), illustrated by Kadir Nelson An American Story (2023). Published in the UK as Unspoken (2023)

Poems The Flow: New Black Poets in Motion, ed. (1994) Just Us: Poems & Counterpoems, 1986–1995 (1995) 360°: A Revolution of Black Poets, ed. (1998) Kupenda: Love Poems (2000) Dancing Naked on the Floor: poems and essays (2005) The Way I Walk: short stories and poems for Young Adults, ed. (2006) Crush: Love Poems (2007) Family Pictures: Poems and Photographs Celebrating Our Loved Ones, ed. (2007) An American Poem (2008) And Then You Know: New and Selected Poems (2008) The Book Party (2016) The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score into in This Game Called Life (2017)