A. J. Bermudez is an American author and screenwriter. Her

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

and screenwriting have won a number of awards, including the PAGE International Screenwriting Award (''iCON'', 2021), the

Alpine Fellowship The Alpine Fellowship is a charitable foundation that supports, commissions and showcases artists, writers, academics and playwrights. It was founded in 2013 by artist Alan J Lawson and Jacob Burda. The Symposium The focal point of activities ...

Writing Prize ("The Lady Will Pay for Everything", 2021), and the

Iowa Short Fiction Award The Iowa Short Fiction Award is an annual award given for a first collection of short fiction. It has been described as "a respected prize" by the ''Chicago Tribune'', and ''The New York Times'' considered it "among the most prestigious literary p ...

(''Stories No One Hopes Are About Them'',

University of Iowa Press The University of Iowa Press is a university press that is part of the University of Iowa. Established in 1969, thUniversity of Iowa Pressis an academic publisher of poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. The UI Press is the only universit ...

, 2022). Her films have been produced in the U.S. and internationally, and her literary writing has appeared in ''

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to n ...

'', ''

Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussion"'' ...

'', ''

Story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

'', ''

Chicago Review ''Chicago Review'' is a literary magazine founded in 1946 and published quarterly in the Humanities Division at the University of Chicago. The magazine features contemporary poetry, fiction, and criticism, often publishing works in translation and ...

'', '' The Masters Review'', ''

Fiction International ''Fiction International'' is a literary magazine devoted to innovative forms of fiction and non-fiction which addresses progressive political ideals. Founded at St. Lawrence University in New York City by Joe David Bellamyin 1973, the magazine mo ...

'', ''

Electric Literature ''Electric Literature'' is an independent publisher founded by Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum in 2009 as a quarterly journal. It launched the first fiction magazine on the iPhone and iPad. The print version of the journal is produced via print ...

'', ''

Boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

'', ''

Creative Nonfiction Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contra ...

'', and elsewhere.

Personal life

Bermudez grew up in various parts of the United States, and after graduating high school at age 16, she moved to Russia, where she worked as a music translator and with the Afghan refugee population in Moscow. Prior to screenwriting, Bermudez worked as an EMT. In interviews, Bermudez has talked about the loss of her parents at a young age, and has described "writing, like mourning, sa constant negotiation between the political and the personal."

Career

Bermudez has been a vocal advocate of social justice and the arts. In 2019, she was named one of the Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch by the International Screenwriters Association. Her debut book was called a "must-read" by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' and was described by

Anthony Marra Anthony Marra (born 1984) is an American fiction writer. Marra has won numerous awards for his short stories, as well as his first novel, ''A Constellation of Vital Phenomena,'' which was a The New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times'' ...

as "an absolutely brilliant collection, so of the moment formally and politically yet timeless in its pursuit of human contradiction." Bermudez was announced as Co-Editor of ''The Maine Review'' in January 2022, and currently serves as Editor. As a writer, Bermudez's work has been noted to focus on "intersections of power, privilege, and place," with characters who subvert traditional ideas of literary protagonists. In 2022, Bermudez was one of the inaugural residents artists of the Nawat Fes Residency in

Fez, Morocco Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès, Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the List of cities in Morocco, second largest city i ...

. Bermudez co-wrote the film My Dead Friend Zoe, which premiered at

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

in 2024, with director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes.

Awards and honors

{, class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Work !Accolade !Result !Ref , - ! scope="row" , 2024 , My Dead Friend Zoe ,

Narrative Spotlight Award , Winner , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , ''Stories No One Hopes Are About Them'' ,

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

, Finalist , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , "The Real India" ,

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

, Winner , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , Self , Steinbeck Fellowship , Winner , , - ! scope="row" , 2023 , "Picking the Wound" , Best Small Fictions , Nominee , , - ! scope="row" , 2022 , ''Stories No One Hopes Are About Them'' ,

, Winner , , - ! scope="row" , 2022 , ''Stories No One Hopes Are About Them'' ,

The Story Prize The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first p ...

, Nominee , , - ! scope="row" , 2021 , ''iCON'' , PAGE International Screenwriting Award , Winner , , - ! scope="row" , 2021 , "The Lady Will Pay for Everything" ,

Writing Prize , Winner , , - ! scope="row" , 2021 , "Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic" ,

, Nominee , , - ! scope="row" , 2021 , "Octopus" , Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship , Finalist , , - ! scope="row" , 2020 , Self , SmokeLong Fellowship for Emerging Writers , Finalist , , - ! scope="row" , 2019 , Self , Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch , Selection , , - ! scope="row" , 2018 , ''Nightingale'' , Best 60-Minute Teleplay , Winner , , - ! scope="row" , 2018 , ''Nightingale'' , Emerging Screenwriters Award , Winner , , - ! scope="row" , 2017 , ''The Face of the Earth'' , Diverse Voices Award , Winner , , -

Bibliography

* ''Stories No One Hopes Are About Them'' (

) * "The Real India" (''Virginia Quarterly Review'') * "Bottle Girl" (''Electric Literature'') * "All the Places You Will Never Be Again" (''Chicago Quarterly Review'') * "Misery & Company" (''Creative Nonfiction'') * "Rabbitfish" (''SmokeLong Quarterly'') * "Ori Dreams of a Tree" (''City in a Wild Garden: Stories of the Nature of Cities'') * "The Third Trip" (''Coastal Shelf'') * "Octopus" (''Story'') * "Conservancy" (''Litro'') * "The Voice as Heirloom" (''Fiction International'') * "Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic" (''Boulevard'') * "Mnemophobe" (''Chicago Review'') * "Rosa" (''Every Day Fiction'') * "Fall" (''The Baltimore Review'') * "Ní de Aqui, Ní de Alla" (''Arachne Press'') * "Casualty" (''Columbia Journal'') * "Water & Earth" (''Bad Bride'') * "Orphea" (''Fearsome Critters'') * "Insertion" (''The Offing'') * "Maslow's Hierarchy of Post-Pandemic Wish Fulfillment Fantasies" (''McSweeney's'') * "The Body Electric" (''Gertrude Press'') * "Walk-Off" (''Hobart'') * "On the Negligible Proximity of Money and Mouths" (''Heirlock'') * "Year of the Snake" (''The Masters Review'') * "Totenhaus" (''Black Static'') * "Eating the Leaves" (''Lunch Ticket'') * "Sabbatical" (''Cheap Pop'') * "Cain vs. Cain" (''Iron Horse Literary Review'') * "Disenchantment" (''Spider Road Press'') * "The Breakneck Boys" (''Concīs'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bermudez, A. J. Living people 21st-century American screenwriters American expatriates in Russia 21st-century American translators 21st-century American short story writers American women screenwriters 21st-century American women writers American women short story writers Emergency medical technicians Year of birth missing (living people)