Event Program
Kwame Alexander, The Door of No Return
THALIA KIDS BOOK CLUB: KWAME ALEXANDER, THE DOOR OF NO RETURN
SAT, OCTOBER 1
INTRODUCTION
MADELINE COHEN
DISCUSSION
KWAME ALEXANDER AND AINARA ALLEYNE
A CONVERSATION WITH THE AUDIENCE
There will be a book signing at this event.
Produced in Cooperation with Books of Wonder
THE ARTISTS
Ainara Alleyne
Ainara Alleyne is a 13-year-old elementary student from Ontario, Canada. She curates the Instagram page @ainarasbookshelf, where she highlights books for young people whose authors and main characters are Black, Indigenous, people of color, differently abled, and other underrepresented minorities. She posts reviews, recommendations, and author interviews to share diverse stories with a broader audience. She believes that by experiencing other cultures and perspectives through books, we can not only acknowledge our differences but be able to understand and embrace them. Ainara speaks to student teachers at universities and pedagogy symposiums and has been featured in The New York Times, CBC The National, CTV, and numerous podcasts. Alleyne is currently filming season 1 of Ainara’s Bookshelf the TV Show.
Ainara Alleyne is a 13-year-old elementary student from Ontario, Canada. She curates the Instagram page @ainarasbookshelf, where she highlights books for young people whose authors and main characters are Black, Indigenous, people of color, differently abled, and other underrepresented minorities. She posts reviews, recommendations, and author interviews to share diverse stories with a broader audience. She believes that by experiencing other cultures and perspectives through books, we can not only acknowledge our differences but be able to understand and embrace them. Ainara speaks to student teachers at universities and pedagogy symposiums and has been featured in The New York Times, CBC The National, CTV, and numerous podcasts. Alleyne is currently filming season 1 of Ainara’s Bookshelf the TV Show.
Kwame Alexander
Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, and New York Times bestselling author of 36 books, including Swing; Becoming Muhammad Ali, co-authored with James Patterson; Rebound, which was shortlisted for the UK Carnegie Medal and Caldecott Medal; the Newbery Honor-winning picture book The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson; and his Newbery medal-winning middle-grade novel, The Crossover. 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. In 2018, he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. He is the writer and executive producer of The Crossover TV series on Disney+. We are here to celebrate the release of Book One of a new trilogy, The Door of No Return.
Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, and New York Times bestselling author of 36 books, including Swing; Becoming Muhammad Ali, co-authored with James Patterson; Rebound, which was shortlisted for the UK Carnegie Medal and Caldecott Medal; the Newbery Honor-winning picture book The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson; and his Newbery medal-winning middle-grade novel, The Crossover. 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. In 2018, he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. He is the writer and executive producer of The Crossover TV series on Disney+. We are here to celebrate the release of Book One of a new trilogy, The Door of No Return.
Madeline Cohen
Madeline Cohen is the Director of Symphony Space’s adult literacy program, All Write! She held the position of Education Director at Symphony Space from 1989 - 2022, and has been working in arts education for 43 years as a teaching artist, staff development leader, administrator, and consultant at Lincoln Center Institute, United Federation of Teachers, and Teachers College, among others. In addition, she is a costume designer.
Madeline Cohen is the Director of Symphony Space’s adult literacy program, All Write! She held the position of Education Director at Symphony Space from 1989 - 2022, and has been working in arts education for 43 years as a teaching artist, staff development leader, administrator, and consultant at Lincoln Center Institute, United Federation of Teachers, and Teachers College, among others. In addition, she is a costume designer.
MORE INFORMATION
The Thalia Book Club is made possible thanks to the generous support of Susan Bay Nimoy, the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, the MacMillan Family Foundation, the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, The Achelis and Bodman Foundation, the Charina Endowment Fund, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Michael Tuch Foundation, the Vidda Foundation, and The Grodzins Fund.
This program is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
Symphony Space thanks our generous supporters, including our Board of Directors, Producers Circle, and members, who make our programs possible with their annual support.
Pianos by Steinway & Sons – the Artistic Choice of Symphony Space.
Kathy Landau Executive Director
Peg Wreen Managing Director
Isaiah Sheffer*
Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director (1978-1988)
Artistic Director (1988-2010)
Founding Artistic Director (2010-2012)
Allan Miller
Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director (1978-1988)
Jennifer Brennan Director of Literary Programs
Drew Richardson Lead Producer of Literary Programs
Vivienne Woodward Producer of Literary Programs
Mary Shimkin Director of Broadcast & Literary Initiatives
Matthew Love Consultant for Literary Programs
Magdalene Wrobleski Literary Assistant
Mollie Gordon Program Assistant
Madeleine Hearn Literary Intern
Gabriela Parra Lambis Literary Intern
*in memoriam
