Celebrate the power of storytelling and community in a one-night only live event with bestselling, award-winning author, Kwame Alexander, Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 7pm at Carroll Auditorium, Madeleva Hall, Saint Mary's College, IN

Kwame will be in conversation about his highly anticipated new book, Black Star.

Attendees may purchase tickets to include a signed Black Star. With only 100 tickets available to get your copy signed by the author and your picture taken grab your ticket now so you won't be disappointed!

Ticket Packages
Premier Event Admission + Signed Book - $75 (only 100 avail) - includes admission to this exclusive event, a hardcover copy of Black Star, reserved seating, access to the signing line following the event, and a Brain Lair Books goodie bag including an event exclusive bookmark.

VIP Event Admission + Unsigned Book - $50 - includes admission to this exclusive event, a hardcover copy of Black Star, designated seating area, event exclusive bookmark, and a BLB sticker.

General Admission (no book) - $25 - includes admission to this exclusive event, general seating, and a BLB sticker.

Donation Packages

$250 - 5 books to a local Title 1 School

$500 - 10 books to a local Title 1 School

$1000 - 20 books to a local Title 1 School

Sponsors

Center for Academic Innovation	Academic Excellence and Inclusion	English Department

About the Book

The riveting second book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Door of No Return trilogy stars Kofi’s granddaughter, Charley, who’s set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball but who soon must contend with the tensions about to boil over in her segregated town.

12-year-old Charley Cuffey is many things: a granddaughter, a best friend, and probably the best pitcher in all of Lee’s Mill. Set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball, Charley doesn't need reminders from her best friend Cool Willie Green to know that she has lofty dreams for a Black girl in the American South.

Even so, Nana Kofi's thrilling stories about courageous ancestors and epic journeys make it impossible not to dream big. She knows he has so many more to tell, but according to her parents, she isn't old enough to know about certain things like what happened to Booker Preston that one night in Great Bridge and why she can never play on the brand-new real deal baseball field on the other side of town.

When Charley challenges a neighborhood bully to a game at the church picnic, she knows she can win, even with her ragtag team. But when the picnic spills over onto their ball field, she makes a fateful decision.

A child cannot protect herself if she does not know her history, and Charley's choice brings consequences she never could have imagined.

In this thrilling second book of the Door of No Return trilogy, set during the turbulent segregation era, and the beginning of The Great Migration, Kwame Alexander weaves a spellbinding story of struggle, determination, and the unflappable faith of an American family.

About Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, producer and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 40 books, including 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 Emmy-winning Writer of The Crossover TV 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 America’s Next Great Author, the groundbreaking reality television series for writers.

A regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition, he regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing there and 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. Most recently he was appointed the Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts and Writer-in-Residence at the Chautauqua Institution.

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

In Person Event: Kwame Alexander

By Our Stories Our Future Inc

In Person Event: Kwame Alexander

Join us for an unforgettable evening with award-winning, bestselling author, Kwame Alexander!

Team Members