Short Bio

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, Emmy® Award-winning producer and a #1 New York Times bestselling author of 44 books, including Why Fathers Cry at Night, How Sweet The Sound, The Door of No Return (2025 Audie Award Winner), Becoming Muhammad Ali (co-authored with James Patterson), Rebound, which was short-listed for the prestigious UK Carnegie Medal and The Undefeated, the National Book Award nominee, Newbery Honor and Caldecott Medal-winning picture book illustrated by Kadir Nelson. His forthcoming books include J vs. K, an illustrated novel penned with Jerry Craft, and the motivational primer for graduates, creatives and professionals entitled Say Yes.

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, a PBS animated series he executive-produced, based on his beloved children's book, and America's Next Great Author, a groundbreaking reality TV series for writers.

The receipient of a 2025 NAACP Image Award, Kwame is also the founder of AuthorStudy.com and the Michael I Rudell Artistic Director for Chautauqua Literary Arts. He regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and writing around the world at events the Chautauqua Lecture Series, the Edinburgh Book Festival, Aspen Ideas, and the Global Literacy Symposium in Ghana, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic.

His mission is to change the world, one word at a time.