We are thrilled to announce that New York Times Bestselling author and Newbery Award medalist Kwame Alexander will kick off Kidscreen Summit 2022 with a live keynote address in Miami on Monday, February 14. Kwame knows all too well the profound power of the word yes—it has radically changed the course of his career more than once. And he’s coming to the event to share the inspirational story of his unconventional journey in kids entertainment with you, exploring the positives of jumping on opportunities, and also how companies and creators can say yes and change the world.
A poet and author of popular children’s books, Kwame is the recipient of numerous publishing honors, including the 2015 Newbery Award. He won this top kidlit prize for The Crossover, telling the story of a pair of basketball-playing 12-year-old twins, and written in verse. Lots of people said no to this unorthodox book concept. But Kwame said yes and prevailed.
Among his many other distinctions, Kwame has received an honorary Newbery Award for his book The Undefeated, three NAACP Image Award nominations, and he was long-listed twice for the National Book Award and the UK’s Carnegie Medal. He's a regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition and has been featured on The Today Show, Comedy Central and BET, as well as in prestigious publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Parade magazine.
As a literacy expert and accomplished writer, Kwame has delivered hundreds of keynote speeches for organizations such as Hallmark, Writer’s Digest, Teachers College Columbia University and the International Literacy Association, and he is currently developing a slate of children’s programming with Disney+, The Jim Henson Company and GBH.
Kwame has also led cultural exchange delegations to Brazil, Italy, Singapore and Ghana, where he built the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program that he co-founded.
