The stories in What Blooms in the Dark imagine worlds where nature is magic, queer love transcends universes, and relationships pulse with the fear of inevitable grief. Capitalism preserves ghosts and produces cyborgs. Women are inspired by cicadas' screaming songs and sparrows that transform into light. Each story puts into question the circumstances of the character's life and what that means about their connections with everything around them, from the minutiae of flora and fauna to the very mechanics of the universe itself.
Audrey T. Carroll is the author of the short story collection What Blooms in the Dark (ELJ Editions, 2024). Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and for Best of the Net. Her writing has appeared in Lost Balloon, Bending Genres, Hawaii Pacific Review, CRAFT, Jet Fuel Review, So to Speak, and others. Audrey received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Arkansas. Her scholarly interests include Creative Writing Studies, Queer Studies, Bisexuality Studies, and inclusive pedagogy. Audrey is a bi/queer and disabled/chronically ill writer who was born and raised in Queens, NYC. She loves coffee, sitcoms, and ordering too many library books. Audrey currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, daughter, and adopted Arkansan cats. She can be found at @AudreyTCarroll on Twitter and Instagram.
"Beautiful, transformative, and endlessly imaginative, What Blooms in the Dark is a magical ode to queerness, freedom, desire, transformation, and what it means to return to your truest self. Told with narrative authority and lush lyricism, Carroll entrances and dazzles us with every story. You'll be moved by this book's big swinging heart and insistence on healing." - Marisa Crane
"Inventive and meditative, What Blooms in the Dark is a stunning collection. Whether grounded firmly in the contemporary or playing in the speculative, each story acts as a delicate strand in the rich tapestry of queerness, disability, and the intricacies of life woven among these pages." - Rebecca Burke
