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A. J. Bermudez

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A. J. Bermudez
BornAmanda J. Bermudez
OccupationWriter
GenreScreenwriting, fiction, short fiction
Notable worksMy Dead Friend Zoe, iCON, Nightingale, Stories No One Hopes Are About Them
Notable awardsPAGE International Screenwriting Award, Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize, Iowa Short Fiction Award
Website
amandajbermudez.com

A. J. Bermudez is an American author and screenwriter. Her short fiction and screenwriting have won a number of awards, including the PAGE International Screenwriting Award (iCON, 2021),[1][2] the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize ("The Lady Will Pay for Everything", 2021),[3] and the Iowa Short Fiction Award (Stories No One Hopes Are About Them, University of Iowa Press, 2022).[4] Her films have been produced in the U.S. and internationally,[5] and her literary writing has appeared in McSweeney's,[2] Virginia Quarterly Review,[6] Story,[7] Chicago Review,[8] The Masters Review,[9] Fiction International,[10] Electric Literature,[11] Boulevard,[12] Creative Nonfiction,[13] and elsewhere.

Personal life

[edit]

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.[14][15] Prior to screenwriting, Bermudez worked as an EMT.[14][16]

In interviews, Bermudez has talked about the loss of her parents at a young age, and has described "writing, like mourning, [as] a constant negotiation between the political and the personal."[17][18]

Career

[edit]

Bermudez has been a vocal advocate of social justice and the arts.[19] In 2019, she was named one of the Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch by the International Screenwriters Association.[20] Her debut book was called a "must-read" by Publishers Weekly[21] and was described by Anthony Marra as "an absolutely brilliant collection, so of the moment formally and politically yet timeless in its pursuit of human contradiction."[22]

Bermudez was announced as Co-Editor of The Maine Review in January 2022, and currently serves as Editor.[23][24] 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.[25][26]

In 2022, Bermudez was one of the inaugural residents artists of the Nawat Fes Residency in Fez, Morocco.[27][28][29]

Bermudez co-wrote the film My Dead Friend Zoe, which premiered at South by Southwest in 2024, with director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes.

Awards and honors

[edit]
Year Work Accolade Result Ref
2024 My Dead Friend Zoe South by Southwest Narrative Spotlight Award Winner [30]
2023 Stories No One Hopes Are About Them Lambda Literary Award Finalist [31][32]
2023 "The Real India" Pushcart Prize Winner [33]
2023 Self Steinbeck Fellowship Winner [34]
2023 "Picking the Wound" Best Small Fictions Nominee [35]
2022 Stories No One Hopes Are About Them Iowa Short Fiction Award Winner [4]
2022 Stories No One Hopes Are About Them The Story Prize Nominee [36]
2021 iCON PAGE International Screenwriting Award Winner [1]
2021 "The Lady Will Pay for Everything" Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize Winner [3]
2021 "Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic" Pushcart Prize Nominee [37]
2021 "Octopus" Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship Finalist [7]
2020 Self SmokeLong Fellowship for Emerging Writers Finalist [38]
2019 Self Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch Selection [20]
2018 Nightingale Best 60-Minute Teleplay Winner [39]
2018 Nightingale Emerging Screenwriters Award Winner [40]
2017 The Face of the Earth Diverse Voices Award Winner [41]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Stories No One Hopes Are About Them (University of Iowa Press)[22][4]
  • "The Real India" (Virginia Quarterly Review)[42]
  • "Bottle Girl" (Electric Literature)[43]
  • "All the Places You Will Never Be Again" (Chicago Quarterly Review)[44]
  • "Misery & Company" (Creative Nonfiction)[18][45]
  • "Rabbitfish" (SmokeLong Quarterly)[46][25]
  • "Ori Dreams of a Tree" (City in a Wild Garden: Stories of the Nature of Cities)[47]
  • "The Third Trip" (Coastal Shelf)[48]
  • "Octopus" (Story)[49]
  • "Conservancy" (Litro)[50]
  • "The Voice as Heirloom" (Fiction International)[10]
  • "Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic" (Boulevard)[12][51]
  • "Mnemophobe" (Chicago Review)[52]
  • "Rosa" (Every Day Fiction)[53]
  • "Fall" (The Baltimore Review)[54][55]
  • "Ní de Aqui, Ní de Alla" (Arachne Press)[56]
  • "Casualty" (Columbia Journal)[57]
  • "Water & Earth" (Bad Bride)[58]
  • "Orphea" (Fearsome Critters)[59]
  • "Insertion" (The Offing)[60]
  • "Maslow's Hierarchy of Post-Pandemic Wish Fulfillment Fantasies" (McSweeney's)[2]
  • "The Body Electric" (Gertrude Press)[61]
  • "Walk-Off" (Hobart)[62]
  • "On the Negligible Proximity of Money and Mouths" (Heirlock)[63]
  • "Year of the Snake" (The Masters Review)[9]
  • "Totenhaus" (Black Static)[64][65]
  • "Eating the Leaves" (Lunch Ticket)[66][67]
  • "Sabbatical" (Cheap Pop)[68]
  • "Cain vs. Cain" (Iron Horse Literary Review)[69]
  • "Disenchantment" (Spider Road Press)[70]
  • "The Breakneck Boys" (Concīs)[71]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "PAGE Award: Past Winners".
  2. ^ a b c "McSweeney's – Authors".
  3. ^ a b ""The Lady Will Pay for Everything" by A. J. Bermudez, Alpine Fellowship 2021 – Writing Prize Winner".
  4. ^ a b c Bermudez, A. J. (November 14, 2022). Stories No One Hopes Are About Them. University of Iowa Press. ISBN 978-1-60938-863-8.
  5. ^ "Internet Movie Database: A. J. Bermudez". IMDb.
  6. ^ "Virginia Quarterly Review – A. J. Bermudez".
  7. ^ a b "Story Magazine – Our Authors".
  8. ^ "Chicago Review – A. J. Bermudez". February 16, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Bermudez, A. J. (March 18, 2019). "Year of the Snake". The Masters Review. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Bermudez, A. J. (September 1, 2021). "The Voice as Heirloom". Fiction International. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  11. ^ "Electric Literature – Author AJ Bermudez".
  12. ^ a b Bermudez, A. J. (May 21, 2021). "Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic". Boulevard Magazine. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  13. ^ "Creative Nonfiction – Contributor A. J. Bermudez".
  14. ^ a b "Amanda Bermudez on Nightingale". Creative Screenwriting. March 13, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  15. ^ "MovieBytes Interview: Screenwriter A. J. Bermudez". MovieBytes. May 5, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  16. ^ "Envy Is a Big Waste of Time". Bonsai Film. April 24, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  17. ^ "Being Great in the Room with AJ Bermudez". Apple. May 2, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Bermudez, A. J. (May 16, 2022). "Misery & Company". Creative Nonfiction. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  19. ^ Gray, Kathryn (March 26, 2021). "Art, community and social change a part of Social Justice Conference". San Diego City Times. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch". International Screenwriters Association. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  21. ^ "Stories No One Hopes Are About Them". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Bermudez, A. J. (November 14, 2022). Stories No One Hopes Are About Them. Iowa University Press. ISBN 9781609388645. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  23. ^ Gargiulo, Rosanna (January 20, 2022). "Q&A with Co-Editor AJ Bermudez". The Maine Review. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  24. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (April 21, 2023). "Letter from the Editor". The Maine Review. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  25. ^ a b Czyzniejewski, Michael (March 21, 2022). "Smoke & Mirrors with A. J. Bermudez". SmokeLong Quarterly. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  26. ^ Veloux, Andre (October 29, 2021). "Velouminous Episode 7: AJ Bermudez". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  27. ^ "Nawat Fes Artist Residents". American Language Center. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  28. ^ Jadrawi, Siham (June 20, 2022). ""Nawat" artistic program: 14 international artists explore cultural diversity in Fez". Aujourd'hui. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  29. ^ Drihem, Mohammed (June 18, 2022). "ALC/ALIF Inaugre: La première édition de la résidence Nawat Fès au cœur de la médina de Fès". OujdaCity (in French). Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  30. ^ "SXSW Film & TV Awards". SXSW. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  31. ^ "Current Finalists". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  32. ^ "2023 Lambda Award Shortlist Finalists Announced". Book Riot. March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  33. ^ "Pushcart Prize XLVIII : best of the small presses". Washington County Library System. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  34. ^ "Announcing the 2023-2024 Steinbeck Fellows". Literary Hub. May 8, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  35. ^ "Moon City Review's 2023 Best Small Fictions Nominations". Moon City Review. December 29, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  36. ^ "The Story Prize". Bookshop.org. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  37. ^ "Pushcart 2021 Nominations". Boulevard Magazine. December 2, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  38. ^ "The SmokeLong Flash Fellowship for Emerging Writers". SmokeLong Quarterly. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  39. ^ Olson, Liza (March 8, 2017). "Cinequest's Screenwriting Competition Winners". Premise and Plot. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  40. ^ "Emerging Screenwriters Shoot Your Sizzle Announcements". Emerging Screenwriters. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  41. ^ "Announcing the Diverse Voices Fall 2017 Winners". WeScreenplay. January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  42. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (September 15, 2022). "The Real India". Virginia Quarterly Review. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  43. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (November 16, 2022). "Bottle Girl". Electric Literature. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  44. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (May 4, 2022). "All the Places You Will Never Be Again". Chicago Quarterly Review. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  45. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (May 23, 2022). "A Few Notes on the Past (and Possible Future) of Public Mourning". LitHub. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  46. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (March 21, 2022). "Rabbitfish". SmokeLong Quarterly. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  47. ^ Maddox, David (November 15, 2021). City in a Wild Garden: Stories of the Nature of Cities. Publication Studio Guelph. ISBN 9781989157114.
  48. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (October 1, 2022). "The Third Trip". Coastal Shelf. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  49. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (June 1, 2021). "Octopus". Story Magazine. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  50. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (August 21, 2021). "Conservancy". Litro. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  51. ^ "Pushcart 2021 Nominations – Boulevard Magazine". Boulevard Magazine. December 2, 2021.
  52. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (February 18, 2021). "Mnemophobe". Chicago Review. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  53. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (February 17, 2021). "Rosa". Every Day Fiction. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  54. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (February 1, 2021). "Fall". The Baltimore Review. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  55. ^ Curtis, Jenny (October 26, 2021). "Episode 311 – "Fall" by A. J. Bermudez". A Moment of Your Time. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  56. ^ Potts, Cherry (December 17, 2021). Tymes Goe by Turnes. Arachne Press. ISBN 9781913665180.
  57. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (October 24, 2020). "Casualty". Columbia Journal. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  58. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (October 23, 2020). "Water & Earth (for Sigríður Tomasdóttir, Iceland's First Environmental Activist)". Bad Bride. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  59. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (July 28, 2020). "Orphea". Fearsome Critters. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  60. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (June 23, 2020). "Insertion". The Offing. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  61. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (June 18, 2020). "The Body Electric". Gertrude Press. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  62. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (April 13, 2020). "Walk-Off". Hobart. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  63. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (February 1, 2021). "On the Negligible Proximity of Money and Mouths". Heirlock Magazine. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  64. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (March 1, 2021). "Totenhaus". Black Static. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  65. ^ Guran, Paula (August 2, 2019). "Paula Guran Reviews Short Fiction: Uncanny, Black Static, The Dark, Nightmare, and Tor.com". Locus. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  66. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (February 28, 2019). "Eating the Leaves". Lunch Ticket. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  67. ^ Curtis, Jenny (March 31, 2020). "Episode 4 – "Eating the Leaves" by A. J. Bermudez". A Moment of Your Time. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  68. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (January 25, 2018). "Sabbatical". Cheap Pop. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  69. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (January 1, 2018). "Cain vs. Cain". Iron Horse Literary Review. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  70. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (October 25, 2017). "Disenchantment". Spider Road Press. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  71. ^ Bermudez, A. J. (June 5, 2017). "The Breakneck Boys" (PDF). Concīs. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
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