AJ Bermudez, author of "Stories No One Hopes Are About Them"

I love a good collection of short stories, especially when there’s a great balance between overall thematic consistency and some diversity of genre & setting. And this is what I found in the book written by this weeks’ guest AJ Bermudez, who is an author and screenwriter who wrote the very fun (and occasionally quite dark) collection of short stories called “Stories No One Hopes Are About Them” which won the Iowa Short Fiction Prize in 2022. AJ Bermudez is based between Los Angeles & New York and her work has appeared in a number of prestigious publications. She’s involved in a huge number of exciting literary organizations and projects but she’s also a screenwriter. In this episode, we discuss her award-winning collection, her process as a writer in different media, her inspirations and her literary tastes. Books mentioned in the episode: Favourite book that I’ve never heard of: Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung Favourite Book of the last 12 months: Trust, by Hernan Diaz Most disappointing book of the last 12 months: “Childhood”, by Leo Tolstoy Desert Island book: 2018 Edition of Greatest American Short Stories, edited by Roxane Gay. The book that changed her mind: “Race After Technology” by Ruha Benjamin Find AJ Bermudez: Website: https://amandajbermudez.com/ Book: https://amandajbermudez.com/index.php/stories-no-one-hopes-are-about-them/ Follow me ⁠⁠@litwithcharles⁠⁠ for more book reviews and recommendations!