MONROEVILLE, Ala. - A publishing group says "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee has started a non-profit company that will produce a play about the book beginning next year.

The long-running play had been in doubt after Dramatic Publishing Co. refused to extend the performance rights for the production in Lee's hometown of Monroeville. The Illinois-based publishing company said Saturday on its Facebook page that Lee has founded a new, non-profit group called the Mockingbird Company.

The organization will produce the play.

The group that has staged the play for years, the Monroe County Heritage Museum, has been involved in legal disputes with Lee in the past.

Shows of the performances this month and next have sold out.