Kwame Alexander Book Launch and Signing

Award-winning and bestselling author Kwame Alexander comes to Mrs. Dalloway's to launch his new trilogy with the first book The Door of No Return. This family read is destined to be a major saga that will change the way we think about pre-colonial Africa.

THIS EVENT is free but pre-registration on Eventbrite. is required. Registration ends at 4:00 pm on September 26th. Click HERE to register.

“Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end…I wrote this this one because people need to know that the middle was not our beginning…I wanted to speak the truth about the history of African-Americans…because while most of us are aware of the American part…it’s time for us to know more about the African part,” said Alexander about his motivation behind writing this new trilogy.

The Door of No Return tells the saga of an African family through the eyes of twelve-year-old Kofi and his friend Ama, as they come of age in pre-colonial Ghana and face the woes and wonders of the new worlds of Europe and America. Alexander’s masterful storytelling and real-to-life characters paint a portrait of a young boy coming-of-age whose similarity to readers will offer an immediate connection to the world of today and continues the legacy of family saga stories such as Roots.

KWAME ALEXANDER is a poet, educator, publisher, and New York Times Bestselling author of 35 books, including the Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor-winning picture book The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, the Newbery medal-winning novel, The Crossover, Becoming Muhamad Ali , co-authored with James Patterson, Booked, which was longlisted for the National Book Award, Rebound, Solo, and Swing. A regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, Kwame is also the recipient of numerous other 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 founded the publishing imprint VERSIFY, and 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 forthcoming Crossover TV series on Disney plus. He invites you to visit him at kwamealexander.com on IG and Twitter @kwamealexander.

Due to ongoing COVID concerns and customer safety considerations, we will be limiting the number of attendees at our in-store events. To that end, please note the following and thank you for your understanding.

BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.

DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.

MASKS are required for attendees during the event.

WE ARE NOT ABLE to accommodate any walk-ins that evening.

WE ASK that attendees arrive between 5:30 and 5:45pm for the event.

Monday, September 26, 2022 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Event address: 
Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore
2904 College Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94705
The Door of No Return (The Door of No Return series #1) By Kwame Alexander Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780316441865
Availability: Most titles are on our shelves or available within 1-5 days.
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - September 27th, 2022