Kwame Alexander


Kwame Alexander is an American writer of poetry and children's fiction.

Personal life and education

Alexander was born in Manhattan, New York, and grew up in Virginia. His father was a scholar and book publisher and his mother was an educator.
Alexander attended Virginia Tech, where he began premedical studies before taking a writing class with award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni. On May 11, 2024, Alexander received an honorary doctorate degree from American University in Washington, DC.

Books

Alexander's picture book Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band was selected for the 2014 "Michigan Reads! One State, One Children's Book" program. He won a 2020 Newbery Honor for his illustrated poem The Undefeated.
Alexander runs the Bookinaday program to introduce children to writing and publishing. He is a regular contributor to National Public Radio's Morning Edition program.
The Door of No Return, a historical verse novel set in Ghana in 1861, told from the perspective of 11-year-old Koffi, was inspired by Alexander's visits to Ghana.

Awards and honors

Alexander has received many awards as a writer, among them the 2017 Pat Conroy Legacy Award, and his verse novel The Crossover won the 2015 Newbery Medal and was selected as an Honor book for the Coretta Scott King Award.
The Crossover, Booked, Out of Wonder, Solo, ''Becoming Mohammed Ali, The Undefeated, and The Door of No Return are The [New York Times Best Seller list|New York Times bestselling] books. The Undefeated is also an IndieBound bestseller.
In 2014, The Crossover was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews and Shelf Awareness.
In 2016, Booked was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews.
In 2017, Out of Wonder was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews
The same year, Solo was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews.
In 2018, Rebound was named one of the best books of the year by The Horn Book Magazine.
In 2019, The Undefeated was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews and The Horn Book Magazine.
In 2020, Becoming Mohammed Ali was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews.
In 2022, The Door of No Return was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews, The Horn Book Magazine, and Shelf Awareness.
In 2023, the adaptation of The Crossover won the Outstanding Young Teen Series award at the second annual Children's and Family Emmy Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on 17 December 2023.
In 2024 Unspoken, was awarded School Library Association Winner for the Children’s Choice Award.
YearTitleAwardResultRef.
2014Cybil Award for Middle Grade FictionFinalist
2014Goodreads Choice Award for Middle Grade & Children'sNominee
2015ALA Best Fiction for Young AdultsTop 10
2015ALSC Notable Children's BooksSelection
2015Coretta Scott King Award for AuthorHonor
2015Newbery MedalWinner'
2015Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult ReadersTop 10
2016BookedCybil Award for PoetryFinalist
2016BookedGoodreads Choice Awards for Best PoetryNominee
2016BookedNational Book Award for Young People's LiteratureLonglist
2016BookedRebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book AwardNominee
2017ALSC Notable Children's BooksSelection
2017Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book AwardWinner
2017SoloGoodreads Choice Awards for PoetryNominee
2017Out of WonderCybil Award for PoetryFinalist
2017Out of WonderBooklist Editors' Choice: Books for YouthSelection
2018ReboundGoodreads Choice Awards for Best PoetryNominee
2018SoloNAACP Image Award for Outstanding [Literary Work – Youth/Teens]Finalist
2018Out of WonderALSC Notable Children's BooksSelection
2018Out of WonderCoretta Scott King Book Award for IllustratorWinner
2019How to Read a BookGoodreads Choice Awards for Best Picture BooksNominee
2019ReboundALSC Notable Children's RecordingsSelection
2019ReboundALSC Notable Children's BooksSelection
2019ReboundCarnegie MedalShortlist
2019SwingAmazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsSelection
2019Cybil Award for Fiction Picture BookFinalist
2019Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Picture BooksNominee
2019National Book Award for Young People's LiteratureLonglist
2020How to Read a BookALSC Notable Children's BooksSelection
2020Coretta Scott King Book Award for IllustratorWinner
2020Golden Kite AwardHonor
2020Kirkus PrizeFinalist
2020Newbery MedalHonor
2020Carter G. Woodson Book AwardWinner'
2021Becoming Muhammad AliALSC Notable Children's BooksSelection
2023ALA Best Fiction for Young AdultsTop 10
2023ALSC Notable Children's BooksSelection
2023Amazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsTop 10

Publications

Tough Love: Cultural Criticism and Familial Observations on the Life and Death of Tupac Shakur, ed.
  • Do the Write Thing
  • ''Kwame Alexander's Page-to-Stage Writing Workshop''

Novels

  • He Said, She Said: A Novel
  • The Crossover
  • Booked
  • The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life
  • Solo
  • Rebound
  • Swing
  • The Door of No Return
  • ''Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances''

Picture books

  • Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band
  • Indigo Blume and the Garden City
  • Little Boys Soar
  • Surf's Up
  • How to Read a Book, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
  • The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
  • An American Story. Published in the UK as ''Unspoken''

Poems

  • The Flow: New Black Poets in Motion, ed.
  • Just Us: Poems & Counterpoems, 1986–1995
  • 360°: A Revolution of Black Poets, ed.
  • Kupenda: Love Poems
  • Dancing Naked on the Floor: poems and essays
  • The Way I Walk: short stories and poems for Young Adults, ed.
  • Crush: Love Poems
  • Family Pictures: Poems and Photographs Celebrating Our Loved Ones, ed.
  • An American Poem
  • And Then You Know: New and Selected Poems
  • The Book Party
  • ''The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score into in This Game Called Life''