Cover Photo: This graphic is a close-up of the ‘Best Debut Short Stories 2021’ book cover, and includes the words "A conversation with Robert J. Dau Prize Winner Alberto Reyes Morgan" along with the author's headshot
Photograph courtesy of Alberto Reyes Morgan

A Conversation with ‘Best Debut Short Stories 2021’ Author Alberto Reyes Morgan

“Every story has a shape, you just have to figure out what it is and then let it be that shape, man.”

Best Debut Short Stories 2021: The PEN America Dau Prize are open now

Invisible Hands: Voices from the Global Economy; Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives; Solito, Solita: Crossing Borders with Youth Refugees from Central America; Michigan Quarterly Review; Book Public

Michigan Quarterly Review.

Where did you find the idea for this story?

What was your writing process like for this story?

The Salton Sea in Southern California is the backdrop for much of the story. What made you decide on this setting?

The scene in which Chava and Fermín kiss for the first and only time is incredibly brief, putting more focus on the tension leading up to the moment and the violence that follows, when both boys are attacked by a mutual friend, Luis. How did you decide on the pacing of the story, and did you always know it was going to be Luis who would out them?

How has the Robert J. Dau Prize affected you?

What is the best or worse writing advice you've received, and why?

Finally, where do you discover new writing?

Best Debut Short Stories

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