Author Study with Kwame Alexander and special guest Jason Reynolds

Join us for this 45-minute virtual livestream session – a unique opportunity for students to engage with and learn from TWO dynamic #1 New York Times best-selling authors!

Kwame will read from his new novel Black Star, then speak with Jason about his creative process as an author, poet, and podcaster. He'll also teach a mini-craft lesson, followed by a LIVE Q&A, taking questions from select attendees.

Our October 29th Author Study event is recommended for upper-elementary, middle, and high school students who may be more familiar with Jason’s work – but students of all ages and grade levels are welcome.

This event will run 45 minutes (1:00 -1:45pm ET / 10:00 - 10:45am PT) and will include an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter.

In order to give participants a unique and more personalized experience, space for this virtual livestream event is limited. Please see FAQs below for additional details.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Classrooms & Libraries General Registration:
$375 for one registration, or two-registration bundle for $650

Title I Classrooms & Homeschoolers Registration:
$250 for one registration, or two-registration bundle for $400

Two-Registration Bundle

The Two-Registration Bundle is automatically set up to apply the two registrations to the same event. If you would like to leverage the Two-Registration Bundle, but use your second registration for a different Author Study event, please FIRST contact [email protected] and we'll follow up with instructions.

View the full schedule of 2024-25 events at AuthorStudy.com.

Registration Access

Each registration provides access through a unique URL and passcode as a single login to the virtual livestream, which can be used from one device for viewing in an individual library. The login cannot be used on multiple devices concurrently.

Group Discounts

For organizations interested in five or more registrations, please contact [email protected] for information on group discounts.

Pay by Check / ACH

For organizations needing to pay by check or ACH, please complete this form and we'll be in touch regarding next steps.

Additional Details & FAQ

This event is intended for students in grades 4-12 and will run 45 minutes (1:00-1:45pm ET / 10:00 - 10:45am PT). Please see FAQs below for additional details. For other questions about this event, contact [email protected].

Author Study with Kwame Alexander is a Big Sea Entertainment initiative.

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, Emmy® Award-winning producer, and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 40 books, including This is the Honey, Why Fathers Cry at Night, An American Story, The Door of No Return, Becoming Muhammad Ali (co-authored with James Patterson), Rebound, which was shortlisted 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.

Kwame is also the Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Writer of the Emmy-award winning series , based on his Newbery-Medal winning novel of the same name, which premiered on Disney+ in April 2023. 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 projects in development at Big Sea include , the groundbreaking reality television series for writers, as well as an animated series in production with GBH based on his beloved children’s book Acoustic Rooster.

Kwame was recently appointed as the Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts for Chautauqua Literary Arts, and also serves as their Inaugural​ Writer-in-Residence. A regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition, Kwame is the creator and host of the podcast featuring conversations about love and parenting and loss, with fathers and sons. He regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing around the world at events like 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 in Ghana.

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

Jason Reynolds is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books for children and young adults. His most recent book, 24 Seconds From Now, publishes in October 2024. Students will know Jason for his novels All American Boys (co-written with Brendan Kiely), the Track series, and Long Way Down, which received Newbery, Printz, and Coretta Scott King Honors.

Jason served as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2020-2022, appointed by the Library of Congress. He is on faculty at Lesley University for the Writing for Young People MFA Program and lives in Washington, DC. You can learn more about Jason and his work at JasonWritesBooks.com.

(Photo credit Adedayo “Dayo” Kosoko, 2020)

Event Venue

Online