Born in the United States, Lucina Kathmann has lived in the Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende for over 30 years. In her position as an International Vice President of International PEN, she travels the world meeting writers working in interesting and dangerous situations. At home in San Miguel, she is the is the mother of eight children, six of whom she and her partner Charles Kuschinski inherited one night 20 years ago when Lucina’s best friend died in childbirth.

Lucina is a novelist, short story writer, journalist, and essayist in Spanish and English. She also edits the trilingual publication Network/Le Réseau/La Red, by and about women writers.

Payshapes and the Bear is a family effort that began with two-year-old Daniel demanding stories before he would go to sleep. Dani created the Payshapes character, his older brother Nicholas helped develop the story ideas, and Lucina wrote the tales based on these imaginative bedtime narrations.

“Payshapes and the Bear have had a place in my heart ever since I met them. They are beloved characters with a life of their own.”
—Martha Cerda
winner of the 2007
Ibargüengoitia Prize
for her novel, Señuelo