Kwame Alexander

Alexander was born in Manhattan, New York, and grew up in Virginia.[1] His father was a scholar and book publisher and his mother was an educator so he was always surrounded by books.

Alexander attended Virginia Tech, where he began premedical studies. Fortunately he took a writing class with award-winning poet,[2] Nikki Giovanni.[3]

He presently lives in London.[4]

Alexander's picture book Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band, was selected for the 2014 "Michigan Reads! One State, One Children's Book" program.[5] He won a 2020 Newbery Honor for his illustrated poem The Undefeated.[6]

Alexander runs the Bookinaday program to introduce children to writing and publishing.[7] He is a regular contributor to National Public Radio's Morning Edition program.[1]

The Door of No Return a historical verse novel set in Ghana in 1861 told from the perspective of eleven year old, Koffi was inspired by his visits to Ghana.[8]

Alexander received many awards as a writer. Two known awards are The 2017 Pat Conroy Legacy Award (this award honors the example of beloved author Pat Conroy and recognizes writers who have achieved a lasting impact on their literary community)[9] and his verse novel The Crossover won the 2015 Newbery Medal and was selected as an Honor book for the Coretta Scott King Award.[10]

The Crossover,[11] Booked,[12] Out of Wonder,[13] Solo,[14] Becoming Mohammed Ali,[15] The Undefeated,[16] and The Door of No Return[17] are New York Times bestselling books. The Undefeated is also an IndieBound bestseller.[16]

In 2014, The Crossover was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews[11] and Shelf Awareness.[18]

In 2016, Booked was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews.[12]

In 2017, Out of Wonder was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews[13]

The same year, Solo was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews.[14]

In 2018, Rebound was named one of the best books of the year by The Horn Book Magazine.[19]

In 2019, The Undefeated was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews[16] and The Horn Book Magazine.[19]

In 2020, Becoming Mohammed Ali was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews.[15]

In 2022, The Door of No Return was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews,[17] The Horn Book Magazine,[19] and Shelf Awareness.[20]

• 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)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kwame Alexander.

• Official website
• Kwame Alexander Author Profile
• Audio of author reading Acoustic Rooster
• Preliminary Guide to the Kwame Alexander Papers, 1990–2007, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University