St. Augustine writer Kim Bradley’s debut short fiction collection, Spillway, will be released by Stephen F. Austin State University Press on April 15, 2022. With water as its ever-present conduit, Spillway is evocative modern fiction linking two often misunderstood regions: South Alabama and Northeast Florida. To mark its publication, a free public reading and book signing will be held on Tuesday, April 26 at 6 PM at Flagler College in downtown St. Augustine.

In Spillway, Bradley sets the Florida and Alabama landscapes with tales of con artists, preachers, ghosts, alligators, crop dusters, and more. With each story, readers will find characters coming face-to-face with themselves and the unrelenting forces of nature that allow them to hide their inner conflicts. In every addition to this collection, Bradley meticulously hints to readers about what’s to come, crafting a perfect layer of suspense. Spillway includes seven previously published pieces, as well as two new works that reflect Bradley’s voice as an author.

Prolific author, Guggenheim Fellow, and Florida International University professor of fiction John Dufresne describes Spillway as “a revelation and an inspiration for those of us who love stories.” Author Amanda Boyden calls the book “a magical, glorious debut…my heart soared reading this collection.” Author Laura Lee Smith writes “these stories are Southern gothic leavened with knockout realism, finespun humor, and prose so fine it hurts.”

Kim Bradley grew up in Monroeville, Alabama, and studied journalism at Auburn University. She has an MFA in creative writing from the University of New Orleans. Her short fiction has appeared in Natural Bridge, The Louisville Review, Bayou, Southern Indiana Review, Real South Magazine, Needle: A Magazine of Noir, and The Southern Humanities Review. Other work is forthcoming from Saw Palm: Florida Literature and Art. She teaches creative writing and composition at Flagler College.

Bradley will read excerpts from Spillway in the beautiful Flagler Room at Flagler College on Tuesday, April 26 at 6 pm. Books will be available for sale and author signing. The college is located at 74 King Street in St. Augustine. Onsite parking is available but limited. The Historic District parking garage is within walking distance of the college.