Short Bio

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, Emmy® Award-winning producer and a #1 New York Times bestselling author of 45 books, including Why Fathers Cry at Night, Black Star, The Mighty Macy,  J vs. K, an illustrated novel penned with Jerry Craft, the motivational primer for graduates, creatives and professionals entitled Say Yes, Becoming Muhammad Ali (co-authored with James Patterson), and The Undefeated, the National Book Award Nominee, Newbery Honor and Caldecott Medal-winning picture book illustrated by Kadir Nelson.

Kwame is also the Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Writer of the Emmy® Award-winning Disney+ series The Crossover. based on his Newbery Medal-winning novel of the same name. The series was produced in partnership with LeBron James' Springhill Company and Big Sea Entertainment, Kwame's production company that is dedicated to creating innovative, highly original children's and family entertainment. Other current Big Sea projects include Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band, and Acoustic Rooster: Jazzy Jams, an Emmy® nominated PBS KIDS special and series of shorts produced by GBH Kids that he co-created and executive-produced, based on his beloved children's book, and America's Next Great Author, a groundbreaking reality TV series for writers.

He regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing around the world at events such as Aspen Ideas, the Edinburgh Book Festival and the Global Literacy Symposium in Ghana, West Africa, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic.

The recipient of a 2025 NAACP Image Award, Kwame is also a 2026 Sine 250+ Fellow at American University, and the founder of the literacy non-profit One Word at a Time.