Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and New York Times Bestselling author of 28 books, including THE UNDEFEATED, SWING, and REBOUND, the follow-up to the NEWBERY medal-winning novel, THE CROSSOVER. His story is not a rags to riches story, but it is a story of starting at ground zero as a resourceful writer and business man who sold books out of his car and at Farmer’s Markets, to becoming an expert in engaging young audiences for companies like Nike, ESPN, Sesame Street, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Follett. A regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition, Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Prize, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. Kwame is the co-founder of L.E.A.P., an international literacy empowerment organization that built the Barbara E. Memorial Library and Health Clinic in the eastern region of Ghana, and the founder of VERSIFY, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt which publishes books that will engage, entertain, and empower young people to imagine a better world.