Kwame Alexander to Publish Unconventional Books for Children

The New York Times reports that Kwame Alexander will begin publishing books under an imprint called Versify, for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers. "[H]e’s looking for risky, unconventional books like [his own] 'The Crossover,'" writes Alexandra Alter. More:

“My inclination is going to be to find books that other people might not view as feasible or doable,” he said during an interview at his publisher’s office. “I feel like I’m the guy to do that.”

The first batch of books from Versify reflects Mr. Alexander’s eclectic taste and broad ambitions. The inaugural spring 2019 list includes Kip Wilson’s “White Rose,” a young adult Holocaust novel written in verse, which tells the true story of the Nazi resistance leader Sophie Scholl; “Vamos!/Let’s Go!” the first in a new bilingual picture book series by the illustrator Raul Gonzalez, who publishes as Raul the Third; “This Is For Us,” a picture book featuring a poem by Mr. Alexander that looks at African-American history through the lens of sports and culture, with illustrations by Kadir Nelson, and Lamar Giles’ “The Last Last-Day-of-Summer,” a middle grade fantasy novel about two cousins in Virginia who accidentally freeze time, inspired partly by Norton Juster’s “The Phantom Tollbooth.”

Mr. Alexander said he’s especially interested in books that incorporate poetry, as well as works in translation. “Verse is a really great way to tell emotionally heavy stories,” he said.

Making a big bet on poetry might seem counterintuitive, but it could prove commercially savvy. Novels in verse have become a surprisingly vibrant and popular literary form with young readers. The best-selling author Ellen Hopkins publishes young adult novels in verse that tackle controversial issues like drug addiction, suicide and teen pregnancy. Jacqueline Woodson’s memoir in free verse, “Brown Girl Dreaming,” won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2014, and became a best-seller.

Read all about the venture at the NYT.