Illinois Libraries Present: Saying Yes to Your Story: A Conversation with Kwame Alexander (Virtual)

Virtual Program — It will be offered via Zoom.

Join us for an evening of inspiration and conversation with bestselling and award-winning children’s and young adult author and poet, Kwame Alexander. During this Illinois Libraries Present event for young people and their families, Kwame will share ways to say yes to your story and persist in the face of rejection as he shares his own publishing journey. As a creator of more than 36 books, Kwame will energize our community to harness the power of words and storytelling for change!

Mr. Alexander is a poet, educator, producer, and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 36 books, including The Door of No Return, An American Story, Becoming Muhammad Ali, co-authored with James Patterson, Rebound, which was shortlisted for prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, The Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor-winning picture book, The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and his Newbery medal-winning middle grade novel, The Crossover. A regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition, Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. In 2018, he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. He is the writer and executive producer of The Crossover TV series on Disney+.

This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering premier events. ILP is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). ILP is committed to inclusion and accessibility. To request accommodations, please email illinoislibrariespresent@gmail.com.

Register for this program at https://bit.ly/ILP_KwameAlexander.