Kathya Alexander

2007 Alumna

Cottage: Fir

Bio: Kathya Alexander is an author, playwright, storyteller, and teaching artist. Growing up in the
South during the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement greatly impacted her life and continues to
influence her writing. She was a Writer-in-Residence at Hedgebrook and won the Fringe First
Award for Black to My Roots: African American Tales from the Head and the Heart in
Edinburgh, Scotland. Other awards include 4Culture, Office of Arts and Culture, Artist Trust, and
Seattle Parks and Recreation. She has been published in several literary magazines, as well as in
anthologies by the African American Writers Alliance (AAWA) and Raising Lily Ledbetter:
Women Poets Occupy the Workplace by Lost Horse Press. She was a freelance writer for
ColorsNW Magazine and the South Seattle Emerald. Her playwriting credits include The Negro
Passion Play; Black D*ck Matters; David & Jonathan: A Modern Day Retelling of the Biblical
Story; and emotionalblackmale. She has an MFA in Creative Writing and is the author of a
collection of short stories, Angel In The Outhouse. Her debut novel, KEEP A’LIVIN’, was
released in April 2024 by Aunt Lute Books.