YOU GOT TO WALK INTO THE ROOM LIKE GOD SENT YOU THERE

Aunt Lute Books is thrilled to announce the publication of the speculative fiction debut novel from Kathya Alexander. Kathya’s novel-in-verse, Keep A'Livin', is a coming of age tale set during the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. Readers will follow 12-year old Mandy and her mother, Belle. as they experience these extraordinary events firsthand, finding strength, fearlessness, and faith along the way. 

PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2024

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Kathya Alexander is an author, playwright, storyteller, and teaching artist. She was a Writer-in-Residence at the prestigious Hedgebrook Women Writer’s Retreat and won the Fringe First Award for Black to My Roots: African American Tales from the Head and the Heart at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for Outstanding New Production and Innovation in Theater in Edinburgh, Scotland. She has also won awards from 4Culture, Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Artist Trust, Jack Straw, Seattle Theater Group, Freehold Theater, and Seattle Parks and Recreation. She was a freelance writer for the now defunct award winning Colors NW Magazine and The Initiative, and is a regular contributor to the South Seattle Emerald. She has been published in The Pitkin Review, Arkana Literary Magazine, Pontoon Poetry/Black Lawrence Press, and Native Skin Magazine. She has also been published in anthologies by the African American Writers Alliance (AAWA) and in Raising Lily Ledbetter: Women Poets Occupy the Workplace by Lost Horse Press. Her playwriting credits include The Negro Passion Play; Black D*ck Matters; Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!; Think Before You Do; With Hope And With Morning; David & Jonathan: A Modern Day Retelling of the Biblical Story; Homegoing; A Revolution of Hope; emotionalblackmale; HumaNature; Dream’n; Native Sons and Daughters; Nappy Roots: A Fairy Tale; and Black to My Roots.

Kathya’s acting credits include House of Dinah, And Jesus Moonwalks The Mississippi, The Negro Passion Play, Zooman and the Sign, The Amen Corner, and Before It Hits Home. She is a founding member, producer, and Resident Playwright of Brownbox Theatre: Reimagined Black Theater in Seattle, WA. She has been a professional storyteller for 20+ years, and told stories monthly as part of Aunt Mama’s Story Table at Starbucks in Seattle for 15 years until it was closed due to COVID. Her experience as a teaching artist includes lectures, workshops, and residencies for Seattle Public Schools. She was also part of the Freehold Theater residency at the Washington Correctional Center for Women, and has also taught for Powerful Schools. She created the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Program and the South Seattle Writers Program for the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative in addition to several community based programs for adults and children. Her current youth theater workshop is The Write To Breathe Project funded by Seattle Parks and Recreation. 

She is a proud member of the Creative Advantage Arts Partners Roster, the African American Writers Alliance, and the Seattle Storytellers Guild.