"Editors Talking Fiction" - An evening of conversation with AJ Bermudez, Editor of the The Maine Review, along with Brett Willis, Fiction Editor of The Maine Review. They'll discuss how and why stories work, the joys and challenges of writing fiction, and AJ's debut short story collection, Stories No One Hopes Are about Them—winner of the 2022 Iowa Short Fiction Award.
This event is sponsored by Back Cove Books and Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance
Parking info: Back Cove Books does not have designated parking, but there are a few options for free parking in the area. Coveside Coffee on Vannah Ave generously offers their lot after they close at 2pm. There is also street parking on Vannah Ave, Woodford St, and the surrounding Woodford's Corner Area. Millenia Nails and Spa has expressly asked that our customers do not park in their lot at any time.
BRETT WILLIS (he/him) is Fiction Editor of The Maine Review and a former resident of Hewnoaks Artist Colony. His writing has appeared in in X-R-A-Y, Intrinsick Mag, The Maine Review, and North by Northeast 2 (Littoral Books). He lives with his wife, daughters, and large dog in Portland, Maine.
A. J. BERMUDEZ (she/her) is an award-winning writer and Editor of The Maine Review. Her first book, Stories No One Hopes Are About Them, won the 2022 Iowa Short Fiction Award and was published by University of Iowa Press. Her work has been featured at the Yale Center for British Art, the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, the LGBT Toronto Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and has appeared or is forthcoming in a number of literary publications, including The Kenyon Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, McSweeney’s, Chicago Quarterly Review, Story, Boulevard, Creative Nonfiction, Electric Literature, The Masters Review, Columbia Journal, The Chicago Review, Fiction International, The Offing, Gertrude Press, Hobart, Black Static, Cheap Pop, Exposition Review, Lunch Ticket, Baltimore Review, Epiphany, Literary Hub, and elsewhere. She is a recipient of the Diverse Voices Award, the PAGE Award, and the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize. Her work has received support from the Banff Centre, the American Cultural Association of Morocco, the Bethany Arts Community, and the Cambridge Writers Workshop. In addition to writing and filmmaking, Bermudez is also a former boxer and EMT, and her work gravitates toward contemporary intersections of power, privilege, and place.