Changing the world, one word at a time.
"I get asked what will make Versify different from other imprints," says Kwame Alexander. "The truth is we are not reinventing publishing. It's the same ingredients in our kitchen as everyone else's: we want to publish books for children that are smart and fun, that inform and inspire, that help children imagine a better world. My goal is just to make sure there are more chefs in the kitchen, more voices in the room, that create unique and intelligent entertainment that electrifies and edifies young people. So yes, I too am looking for the next Mo Willems and Jacqueline Woodson. It's just that I plan to look far and wide in places unseen to most. As Langston Hughes said, 'Life is a big sea full of many fish. I let down my nets and pull.'" [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]
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What crazy antics are Kwame and Randy up to now? Follow these guys on Facebook Watch as they travel around the country talking to other book lovers including Jordin Sparks and Karyn Parsons.
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And the Winner of the Pat Conroy Legacy Award is...
(From Publishers Weekly: Kwame Alexander won the first Conroy Legacy Award bestowed by SIBA, pictured here with SIBA board president Doug Robinson of Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur, Ga.)
About Kwame »
- Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and the New York Times Bestselling author of 32 books, including THE UNDEFEATED, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, HOW TO READ A BOOK, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, SWING, REBOUND, which was shortlisted for prestigious Carnegie Medal, and, his NEWBERY medal-winning middle grade novel, THE CROSSOVER. Some of his other works include BOOKED, a NATIONAL BOOK AWARD Nominee, THE PLAYBOOK: 52 RULES TO HELP YOU AIM, SHOOT, AND SCORE IN THIS GAME OF LIFE, and the picture books SURF'S UP, and OUT OF WONDER, which won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. A regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Prize, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award, The Dominion ...
- Kwame Alexander has written 32 books, three of them in a chair next to a fireplace at his neighborhood Panera Bread. He now writes in a writing studio he built a few years ago. It has huge windows, a large painting of John Coltrane, 3000 books, heated floors, a blue couch, and a loft which was Randy’s idea. When he’s not writing, Kwame’s watching reruns of Everybody Hates Chris with his soon-to-be six feet tall middle school daughter, reading manuscripts for Versify, the publishing company he founded, and travelling to schools and libraries across the globe with his best friend, singer/songwriter/guitarist/Chicken Caesar Salad enthusiast Randy Preston. Kwame has eaten snails, chocolate covered bugs, and grasscutter, which is like a big rat, which he had no idea he was eating because it was in a really tasty stew he ate ...
- Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and the New York Times Bestselling author of 32 books, including SWING, REBOUND, which was shortlisted for prestigious Carnegie Medal, THE UNDEFEATED, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, HOW TO READ A BOOK, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, and, his NEWBERY medal-winning middle grade novel, THE CROSSOVER. A regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. In partnership with Follett Book Fairs, he created the #AllBooksForAllKids initiative to bring more diverse books into school libraries. In 2018, he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. Kwame is the Founding Editor of VERSIFY, an imprint ...
- Kwame Alexander is the New York Times Bestselling author of 32 books, including THE UNDEFEATED, HOW TO READ A BOOK, THE WRITE THING, SWING, REBOUND, which was shortlisted for prestigious Carnegie Medal, and, his NEWBERY medal-winning middle grade novel, THE CROSSOVER. He’s also the Founding Editor of VERSIFY, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that aims to Change the World One Word at a Time. ...
- DO YOU READ YOUR EMAILS AND LETTERS? Absolutely! I love receiving letters and notes (and school sweatshirts...) from students. I read them on planes, on trains, even in the rain (when I leave my umbrella at home). And I get hundreds a week, which is really really cool, and I read some of them to my daughter and my wife and they LOVE them as much as I do. Thing is, because of all the books I gotta write and the schools I gotta visit (and the games I play with my daughter), I sadly never get a chance to respond and thank y'all for your time. But, yeah I read EVERYTHING. I DO, HOWEVER, ANSWER SOME LETTERS ON MY TALK SHOW, BOOKISH . Thank you for taking the time to reach out. I really appreciate it. WHERE CAN ...