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NSO Family Concert:  This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration

Sunday, April 2, 2023

The story of one family’s journey north during the Great Migration starts one summer with a little girl in South Carolina finding a rope under a tree. She has no idea, however, that the rope will become a compelling part of her family’s history. This world premiere NSO Family Concert features Education Artist-in-Residence Jacqueline Woodson reading This Is the Rope onstage, along with brand-new music played by the National Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Kyle Dickson. Sun. Apr. 2, 2023 at 2 PM Sun. Apr. 2, 2023 at 4 PM [...] read more

The Day You Begin Performance at The Kennedy Center

Saturday, November 19, 2022

It’s not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet…but somehow you do it. This world premiere commissioned musical is based on one of Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence Jacqueline Woodson ’s most popular picture books. Nov. 19 - Dec. 18, 2022 [...] read more

2022-2023 Performances for Young Audiences at The Kennedy Center

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

The Day you Begin This world premiere commissioned musical is based on one of Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence Jacqueline Woodson ’s most popular picture books, a #1 New York Times bestseller illustrated by Rafael López and featured in its own episode in the Netflix original show Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices . Adapted by Woodson with music by Toshi Reagon and direction by Charlotte Brathwaite , The Day You Begin is a poignant and heartening musical about [...] read more
NAACP award winner badge

The 52nd NAACP Image Awards

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

I won the 52 nd NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens for my book Before the Ever After . You can watch the live virtual experience on Saturday March 27 at 8:00pm ET. [...] read more
Hans Christian Anderson Award

The Hans Christian Andersen Award!

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Big news! I was honored to receive The Hans Christian Andersen Award ! This is the highest international recognition given to an author of children’s books, to recognize lifelong achievement. The Author’s Award has been given since 1956 and consists of a gold medal and a diploma. You can read more about it on my Awards page . [...] read more
Book cover of Before the Ever After

So I’ve updated my website again.

Monday, August 24, 2020

I guess I should say I’ve ‘revised’ it. Just like the writing process, this website is constantly in revision. I think you’re here because you want to know more about me. Well, this is the place where you’ll find out lots of stuff. Everything you need for your report, your essay, your article, your last minute homework assignment – is in here . So no more Sunday night emails begging me to respond in an hour, okay? While I would love to, I’m either putting my kids to bed, having some quiet time, or writing. [...] read more
Jacqueline Woodson

Jacqueline Woodson

Jacqueline Woodson is an American writer of books for adults, children, and adolescents. She is best known for her National Book Award-Winning memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, and her Newbery Honor-winning titles After Tupac and D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way. Her picture books The Day You Begin and The Year We Learned to Fly were NY Times Bestsellers. After serving as the Young People’s Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017, she was named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress for 2018–19. She was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 2020. Later that same year, she was named a MacArthur Fellow.