Aya Collective
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For Our Readers: A Call to Contribute
Some of you have been with Aya Collective Publishing from the beginning. Perhaps you were one of our first workshop participants in 2017. Maybe you attended one of our early public readings, gathered with us in a writing space, or picked up a copy of The Gospel According to a Black Woman, the first book…
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The Stories We Must Tell Now
It was fifteen years ago—my daughter was about to turn one in just a few days—when I realized that my grandmother had dementia. I went home to Milwaukee to visit my family over the long holiday weekend, and my mother warned me, “Your grandmother is starting to repeat herself, I believe she is showing beginning…
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Now is the Time When Artists Go to Work
This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal. – Toni Morrison It can feel like in this time, when resistance against tyranny is…
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Black Women Living With Endometriosis (New Book)
Beloved, the wait is over. For those of you who have been in community with Aya Collective Publishing for some time, you know this moment has been a long time coming. Over the past several years, we have been tending a powerful new text focused on the lived experiences of Black women navigating endometriosis—work rooted…
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He Drops the Seed
He drops the seedShe nurtures it for monthsA new creation,Almighty birth power.Women given the wombTo carry the life.To feed the embryo,The bearer of faith,Gestation is just.She conceives shelter, food, Breath for life to survive. He drops the seed,A Jabez experienceClaims the territory.Being born out of pain,Storied to beCondemnation, punishment Purported because of “Eve.” She carried the seed,Ask…
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Care, Community and Spirituality: How We Hold It Together
Dear Beloved, How are you holding up? If you live in the Twin Cities, I know that like me, you have probably been feeling a lot of angst, sadness, and anger. The terrorization in our communities by our national government, constant surveillance, and increased violence, has left many of us feeling overwhelmed. In times like…
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We Did Not Come Empty-Handed: Black Women, Knowledge, and Liberation in Higher Education
Last year, Aya Collective Publishing issued a call for submissions focused on Black women’s experiences in higher education. Drawing from our research, as well as the high-profile deaths of Black women academic administrators in 2023 and 2024, we sought to create a literary volume that would allow us to tell our stories—in our own ways,…
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Finding Your Voice in a World Full of Noise: A Guide for Black Women Writers
The noise around you grows louder every day, drowning out the words waiting to be spoken. For Black women writers, carving out space to find your voice in a world full of endless chatter can be a challenge. But what if finding and exercising your voice didn’t have to be so hard. What if you…
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Reconsidering Eve: The Experience
What if everything we’ve been taught about Eve was only part of the story? Reconsidering Eve: The Experience is an invitation to journey inward—a sacred exploration of self, spirit, and the stories that have shaped us. Rooted in the commitment to liberate the hearts and minds of Black women, this experience asks us to look…
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Meet Shakita Thomas Kpetay, PhD
✨ Meet Dr. Shakita Thomas Kpetay ✨ One of the newest voices at Aya Collective Publishing, Dr. Shakita Thomas Kpetay is currently co-authoring a powerful forthcoming book with Tamien Elder, centering Black women’s experiences living with endometriosis. A proud Chicago native, Shakita brings a deep commitment to community education through her work with Nu Skool…
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