OUR TEAM

President & Founder

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, producer, and #1 New York Times Bestselling author of 38 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. He is also the writer, executive producer, and co-showrunner of forthcoming TV series on Disney+ and The Disney Channel. 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. He also founded the publishing imprint Versify and opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana as part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. His forthcoming memoir, Why Fathers Cry at Night, and related podcast debuts in May 2023. Find him online at KwameAlexander.com.

Partner & Executive Producer

Arielle Eckstut is an author and entrepreneur who creates new ideas and businesses that are more inclusive, creative, and inspiring. She started her career as a literary agent at Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency where she launched the careers of dozens of award-winning and bestselling authors. She then co-founded LittleMissMatched, a revolutionary company that sold socks that don’t match in packs of threes, opening stores everywhere from Disney World to Grand Central Station. After co-authoring The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published with her husband, David Henry Sterry, they traveled to 46 states with their signature event, Pitchapalooza. The event is the cornerstone of America’s Next Great Author, a Big Sea project in partnership with Can Do Entertainment, which Arielle also co-founded.  Arielle is the author of 11 books and has been featured in, among others, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, USA Today and NPR’s Morning Edition.