Catch up with us in our pre chat, then listen as we talk to Kwame Mbalia about writing, publishing, and Freedom Fire Books, an imprint of Disney-Hyperion that will feature stories of black joy and resilience written by black creators.

Kwame is a husband, father, writer, a New York Times bestselling author, a former pharmaceutical metrologist, and a publisher with Freedom Fire Books, an imprint of Disney-Hyperion.

His debut middle-grade novel, TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY was awarded a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and it—along with the sequels TRISTAN STRONG DESTROYS THE WORLD and TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING—is published by Rick Riordan Presents/Disney-Hyperion.

He is the co-author of LAST GATE OF THE EMPEROR with Prince Joel Makonnen, from Scholastic Books, and the editor of the #1 New York Times bestselling anthology BLACK BOY JOY, published by Delacorte Press. A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, he survives on Dad jokes and Cheez-Its. 

Learn more about Kwame at https://www.kwamembalia.com/.

Follow him on social media @KSekouM on X (formally Twitter) and @mbalia1 on Instagram.