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Kaia Alderson

Biography

Kaia Alderson

Kaia Alderson is a women’s historical fiction author with a passion for discovering “hidden figures” in African American women’s history. Her specific areas of interest are women’s military history, popular music, women in sports, upper-middle-class African American society, and women’s international travel. She holds a sociology degree from Spelman College and a master’s degree in education from the University of West Georgia. She honed her writing chops at the Hurston/Wright Foundation’s and VONA’s writing workshops.

Kaia Alderson

Books by Kaia Alderson

by Kaia Alderson - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

An ambitious Harlem woman’s husband upends her social climbing when he buys a Negro Leagues baseball team and appoints her as the team’s business manager. Overnight, Effa Manley goes from 125th Street’s civil rights champion to an interloper in the boys’ club that is professional baseball. Navigating her way through gentlemen’s agreement contracts, the very public flirtatious antics of superstar Satchel Paige, and a sports world that would much rather see this woman back in her “place” at home, Effa ultimately whips her team, the Newark Eagles, into the Negro Leagues Champions of 1946. But how long will she get to enjoy the fruits of her success before Major League Baseball tears it all apart?

by Kaia Alderson - Fiction, Historical Fiction

Grace Steele and Eliza Jones may be from completely different backgrounds, but when it comes to the army, specifically the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), they are both starting from the same level. Not only will they be among the first class of female officers the army has even seen, they are also the first Black women allowed to serve. As these courageous women help to form the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, they are dealing with more than just army bureaucracy --- everyone is determined to see this experiment fail. For two northern women, learning to navigate their way through the segregated army may be tougher than boot camp.