Kevin M. Weeks' Biography

Associate Member, PEN American Center

Member, English PEN

Member, Independent Book Publishers Association
Affiliate Member, Mystery Writers of America
Professional Member, Georgia Writers Association

"An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, 
but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose..."
- --Langston Hughes, a poet, novelist, and playwright

This website documents the history and contributions of Kevin M. Weeks' literary works in the publishing industry. In the late 1960's, Kevin M. Weeks, the son of Anthony and Signe, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Weeks is best known as an African American author of a collection of urban crime fiction novels titled The Street Life Series®. In 2008, he founded a donor advised youth charity fund called the Stay Off the Streets Fund as part of the American Endowment Foundation. This fund aids teenagers who age out of foster care without a strong family support structure. For his literary works, Kevin M. Weeks was awarded a 2009 African American Pavilion at BookExpo America Urban Book Series Award, 2008 London Book Festival Award, 2007 New York Book Festival Award, and named YOUnity Guild of America Best New Breakout Author of 2006 (disilgold.com).

Education

Weeks is a strong proponent of higher education. Even though he grew up on the rough side of Philadelphia and was a high school dropout, he earned General Educational Development (GED) high school credentials, an Evangelism diploma from the Berean Bible Institute (2005) and a Business Management diploma with highest honors from Stratford Career Institute (2009). Also, he served as a volunteer Adult Education Teacher’s Aid (2008-2009) and is currently a Literary Mentor to several aspiring authors.

Literary Career

Kevin M. Weeks' literary career launched in September 2006 with the publication of the first novel in The Street Life Series®, which is self published under the imprint of Xlibris Corporation. There are currently three novels in the book series with the fourth scheduled for release in the Fall of 2011. In the Publishing Industry, his writings are categorized under the Book Industry Standards and Communications (BISAC) subject codes of African American Mystery & Detective Fiction and Crime Fiction.  In 2006, Kevin Weeks established a goal to bridge the literary gap between urban fiction and crime fiction readers.  Therefore, he blends the best elements of urban fiction and crime fiction in order to appeal to both readerships.

The publishing industry is taking notice as well.  Three years later (2009), the Book Industry Study Group created two new Book Industry Standards and Communications (BISAC) subject codes which are used to categorize books for sale:  (1) African American Mystery & Detective Fiction and (2) Crime Fiction.  This means that authors like Kevin M. Weeks can list novels under both the African American Mystery & Detective Fiction and Crime Fiction subject codes in order to more efficiently reach both readerships.

Literary Credits

Rice, Almah LaVon Rice. "The Rise of Street Literature." Oakland, CA: Colorlines Magazine. 1 May 2008. 

Weeks, Kevin M. The Street Life Series: Is It Suicide or Murder?. Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris. 2006.

---. The Street Life Series: Is It Passion or Revenge?. Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris. 2008.

---. The Street Life Series: Is It Rags or Riches?. Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris. 2009.

---. "How The Street Life Series Contributes to the Landscape of Hip Hop Literature." Atlanta, GA. 2009.

---. "Restoration of Love." Atlanta, GA. 2008.

---. "The Anne Frank Center Prison Diary Program: Expedition out of the Concrete Jungle." New York, NY: Anne Frank USA.  2008.

 COMING January 2011

Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War



Entangled In Freedom: A Civil War Story
by  Ann DeWitt and Kevin M. Weeks
The Street Life Series Youth Edition




Book Series Review Highlights

The Street Life Series: Is it Rags or Riches? by Kevin M. Weeks
     Reviewer: Peter M. Fitzpatrick, The US Review of Books

"The street life and the corporate life aren't that different. There are just very opposing rules." 

Picasso's famous dictum that art is a lie that tells the truth can also describe fiction writing. Such truths are not always easily discernible. The mystery and illusion in cubist and other masterpieces is essential to their power. Rags or Riches is also formed with fractured perspective and shifting identity. Essentially urban, the novel combines no less than three major metropolitan areas. Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Atlanta law enforcement must band together to wage literal war on a former special-forces operative lost in his own private world of cold-blooded murder and mayhem. Yet his vendetta is motivated by a skewed sense of justice. A detective who successfully solves crimes with six-sided dice and a villain who plots his destruction by treating the city of Atlanta like a chessboard are just some of the puzzles and games that make up this scenario of puppets and string-pullers.

Contradiction, ambiguity, and enigma permeate the narrative and characters. Twin sisters on opposite sides of the drug trade. Or are they? Two brothers, one doing hard time for ten years for a murder he didn't commit; the other a hard-bitten drug lord intent on dominating the drug trade in greater metropolitan Atlanta free man. Then there is Atlanta itself, where the story is set. Burned by Sherman in the Civil War because of its function as a munitions depot for the railroad system of the Confederacy, it is now one of the most multicultural cities in America, with one of the largest and wealthiest African American communities in the country. The author shows his love and admiration for the city while painting a gritty and realistic picture of the power of drugs and the pull of the street life. Possibilities of redemption and renewal emerge against an aggressive background of entrapment and menace. Plenty of action and plot twists make this third novel in the Street Life series a page-turner that is both ultra-modern and unique.

The Street Life Series: Is It Rags or Riches? by Kevin M. Weeks
     Reviewer: Sacramento Book Review | San Francisco Book Review

Is it Rags or Riches? is the third in Weeks' Street Life Series. Here, Washington DC detective Hanae Troop goes to Georgia to chase clues about The Paradox, a serial killer suspected in a new death, yet there are questions about the death itself. In Georgia, Troop's counterpart is less than thankful for her help, even though there are some obvious similarities in local crimes. Confusing the issue is The Paradox's new victims, former members of the Strictly Business drug cartel, who have left to try and make a new lives for themselves. There are plenty of complications along the way, as Troop sorts through the differences between DC and Georgia.

Weeks tells a good urban thriller, with good dialog, characterizations and detailed scenes. His strength is in making boring police procedures not drag the story down, but be part of the action. Is it Rags or Riches? keeps the action going, and holds enough mystery to draw readers through the story. Troop is an engaging character, and her interactions with the various Georgian residents, including detective Paul Yeomans, give life to the Peach State. A good series for fans of thrillers or urban fiction.

The Street Life Series: Is It Rags or Riches? by Kevin M. Weeks
     Reviewer: Rollie Welch, Library Journal Book Reviewer
     Word on the Street (11/19/2009)

Verdict: 
Weeks’s combination of mystery and police procedural will draw in readers as he shows the cops’ point of view. The long list of characters and plot tangents may be confusing, but bloody executions and a wild, climatic shoot-out will hold interest. Think of CBS’s 48 Hours Mystery set to a street lit riff. [At the African American Pavilion at BookExpo 2009, Weeks’s books won the Urban Series of the Year Award.—Ed.]

The Street Life Series: Is It Passion or Revenge? by Kevin M Weeks

     Reviewer:  Daniel Marcou, Librarian (StreetFiction.org)
     September 4, 2007

"Award-winning author Kevin Weeks has crafted a fast-paced action novel that steps back to the raw roots of street fiction. Teco, the book’s main character, matures from a small-time car thief to a major enforcer to. . . I don’t want to give away the story, but Teco does something that most street fiction characters don’t do - he finds redemption on his own terms!

Mr. Weeks has delicately balanced some of the most authentic street language ever written without ever using the N-word! Also, he includes a parental advisory at the beginning of the book - an interesting idea, but it might be more of a draw for teens than a discouragement. Regardless, it’s the first time I have ever seen it on a street fiction book.

Recently, I have been hearing a lot of criticism about the G Unit books, so if you enjoy old school street fiction full of action and a main character that you like even though he is a little full of himself, check out The Street Life Series: Is It Suicide or Murder?"