Snapshots of a man
learning how to love…
one conversation at a time.

Get ready, y’all: the premiere episode of Kwame Alexander's new podcast Why Fathers Cry drops this Sunday, September 24!

Featuring intimate conversations anchored in poetry, we’re kicking things off with the incredible Bryant Terry, a James Beard Award-winning educator, author, founder + Editor-in-Chief of 4 Color Books... and they get INTO it. How their origins and upbringing shows up in the ways they parent their own kids, the power of community, and what connects us to ourselves… and each other.

Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts, and learn more at whyfatherscry.com.

Special thanks to our sponsors Brain Lair Books (brainlairbooks.com) and Kirk & Kirk Eyewear (kirkandkirk.com)

Produced for Big Sea Entertainment by Sarah Grace McCandless. Studio audio engineering by Edgar Diaz. Post-production by Jeremy Brieske at Burst Marketing. Theme music, "Saint State Street," composed by Joshua Gabriel and Bryant Terry.

Honored and thrilled to share that Kwame Alexander and Damani Johnson received a 2023 Humanitas award nomination for The Crossover ("X's & O's" episode), in the category of Children's teleplay (live-action or animation)!

Since 1974, The Humanitas Prizes have been awarded to honor professional film and television writers whose work exemplifies the art of screenwriting while exploring the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way.

Congratulations to the entire production team, cast, and crew of The Crossover series, streaming now on Disney+!

Heading back out on the road for a series of upcoming events. If you're planning to be in Atlanta, Chatauqua, or Martha's Vineyard, we'd love to see you!

Saturday, July 29
National Book Club Conference
11:00am ET
Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel & Conference Center
Atlanta, GA

Wednesday, August 2
Chautauqua Institution Lecture Series
10:45am ET
Chautauqua Amphitheatre
Chautauqua, NY

Saturday, August 5 and Sunday, August 6
Martha's Vineyard Book Festival
Chilmark Community Center Festival Grounds
Martha's Vineyard, MA

2:30pm ET, Sat. 8/4: "Reckoning with Identity in Memoir: The Self on the Page" panel discussion featuring Kwame Alexander (Why Fathers Cry at Night), Nicole Chung (A Living Remedy), Christian Cooper (Better Living Through Birding), Michelle Miller (Belonging); moderated by Emily Greenhouse, Editor, The New York Review of Books.

8:30am ET, Sun. 8/5: Kwame Alexander in conversation with Angela Ards, discussing his latest book, Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Recipes, Letters, and Remembrances.

Sunday, August 6
15th Annual AAMBC Literary Awards
7:00pm ET
Riverside EpiCenter
Austell, GA

Monday, August 7
An Evening with Kwame Alexander
In conversation with host and moderator, WABE's Rose Scott, discussing Kwame's memoir, Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Recipes, Letters, and Remembrances.
6:00pm ET
Fulton County Library
Atlanta, GA

We invite you to join us on Kwame's tour in celebration of his memoir, Why Fathers Cry at Night (on sale May 23).

Each stop will be a unique experience, as Kwame shares selections from the book, followed by an intimate conversation with an incredible group of partners, including Christine Platt (NYC), NPR's Ayesha Rascoe (DC), Chef Gregory Gourdet (Portland, OR), W. Kamau Bell (Berkeley, CA), Joy Bryant (Los Angeles, CA), Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts (Philadelphia), and Victoria Christopher Murray (Atlanta, GA).

"We'll explore lessons we’ve learned - and unlearned - and the ones we are still learning. Stories about longing, love, and loss. Journeys guided by faith and forgiveness - of others, yes, but also of self - past, present, and future. Aspects of fatherhood from a multitude of perspectives. And how getting vulnerable and getting real is the connective tissue that binds us together, gives us strength, defines our purpose, and feeds our soul."

- Kwame

Wednesday, May 24
6:30pm: The 92nd Street Y
New York City, NY
In conversation with acclaimed author and advocate Christine Platt
Tickets & Additional Event Info
NOTE: In-person and Virtual Livestream Ticket Options!

Thursday, May 25
6:30pm: Planet Word Museum (in partnership with East City Bookshop)
Washington, DC
In conversation with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe
Tickets & Additional Event Info

Tuesday, May 30
7:00pm: Powell's City of Books
Portland, OR
In conversation with James Beard award-winning author and chef Gregory Gourdet
Additional Event Info

Wednesday, May 31
7:00pm: First Congregational Church (in partnership with Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore)
Berkeley, CA
In conversation with stand-up comedian, director, and executive producer W. Kamau Bell
Tickets & Additional Event Info

Thursday, June 1
7:00pm: Barnes & Noble at The Grove
Los Angeles, CA
In conversation with actress, writer, and producer Joy Bryant
Tickets & Additional Event Info

Tuesday, June 6
7:30pm: Free Library of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
In conversation with author and educator Tracy Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts
Registration & Additional Event Info

Thursday, June 8
7:00pm: Inman Park Church (in partnership with A Cappella Books)
Atlanta, GA
In conversation with New York Times best-selling author Victoria Christopher Murray
Tickets & Additional Event Info

Thursday, June 15
Asheville Ideas Fest (June 13-17)
Asheville, NC
Tickets & Additional Event Info

***JUST ADDED!!!***
Saturday, June 17
4:00pm: Buxton Books
Charleston, SC
In conversation with Charleston Literary Festival Director Sarah Moriarty
RSVP & Additional Event Info

Tuesday, June 27
Aspen Ideas Festival (June 24-30)
Aspen, CO
Tickets & Additional Event Info

Teachers, Librarians, Educators, and Administrators!

As a special thank you for all your years of support, we're hosting a special VIP Facebook livestream just for you on Tuesday, May 16, at 7:30pm ET! Join Kwame Alexander for a LIVE discussion plus Q&A about his forthcoming memoir, Why Fathers Cry at Night.

In an intimate and non-traditional (or "new-fashioned") memoir, Kwame Alexander shares snapshots of a man learning how to love. He takes us through stories of his parents: from being awkward newlyweds in the sticky Chicago summer of 1967, to the sometimes-confusing ways they showed their love to each other, and for him. He explores his own relationships—his difficulties as a newly wedded, 22-year-old father, and the precariousness of his early marriage working in a jazz club with his second wife. Alexander attempts to deal with the unravelling of his marriage and the grief of his mother's recent passing while sharing the solace he found in learning how to perfect her famous fried chicken dish. With an open heart, Alexander weaves together memories of his past to try and understand his greatest love: his daughters.

Full of heartfelt reminisces, family recipes, love poems, and personal letters, Why Fathers Cry at Night inspires bravery and vulnerability in every reader who has experienced the reckless passion, heartbreak, failure, and joy that define the whirlwind woes and wonders of love. Available in store on May 23 or for pre-order now.

Get an exclusive sneak peek: join us on Kwame's Facebook page LIVE at 7:30pm ET on Tuesday, May 16!

In partnership with Follett, Kwame is doing a live Q&A on Wednesday, May 10, at 12p ET, for teachers, librarians, and students, to talk about The Crossover, his best-selling, award-winning book and recently premiered Disney+ series. Hear first hand about about how the show was developed, what it’s like working with an entertainment giant, what it takes to adapt a novel for the screen, and more!

If you're a teacher or librarian with students interested in submitting questions for Kwame, collect and share them on Instagram or Twitter using #ReadStrong by Sunday, May 7, or submit them during registration. Kwame will choose 15 questions to answer live!

Plus, we’ll also choose one lucky registrant to receive a grade-level collection of Kwame Alexander Bookfest, which includes six copies of five age-appropriate titles curated by Kwame himself for a unique book club experience!

Register today and watch it from your classroom or library and find out whose questions were chosen. If you can’t attend live, we encourage you to still register so you can be entered into the giveaway and receive a link of the recording after the event to show it to your students at a later date.