Stephen Hundley is the author of The Aliens Will Come to Georgia First (University of North Georgia Press, 2023) and Bomb Island (Hub City Press, 2024). He is a fiction editor at Driftwood Press, a book review editor at the Southeast Review, and his stories and poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Cream City Review, The Greensboro Review, and elsewhere. He holds an MA from Clemson, an MFA from the University of Mississippi, and is currently completing a PhD in English at Florida State University.

“Stephen Hundley has summoned forth a world that achieves a sense of strangeness and wonder while creating characters who are unrelentingly human in their flaws and strengths. A remarkable novel by an immensely talented young writer.” —Ron Rash, author of The Caretaker“This is a wonderful novel—part coming of age, part family drama, part thriller—and beautifully imagined. Written with great care and precision, the characters come alive on the page in a world you won’t forget. Stephen Hundley is a writer to watch.” —Chris Offutt, author of Code of the Hills“A beautiful, intricate knot of a book.“ —Mesha Maren, author of Perpetual West“Evocative and eccentric…delivers much more than an offbeat adventure about a tribe of misfits. Gritty, primeval and hauntingly human, Bomb Island is sometimes funny and other times sad. It’s an action-packed thrill ride infused with depth and tenderness.” —Leah Tyler, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution“Hundley mashes up Mark Twain and Shakespeare with a colorful adventure story about two star-crossed teen lovers. Hundley demonstrates remarkable narrative control.... Once this story sinks its claws into the reader, there’s no shaking it.“ —Publishers Weekly“A sharp, snappy novel setting a coming-of-age tale in the untamable chaos of the natural world, Bomb Island moves quickly. Hundley's nature-rich novel interrogates the thin line between love and heartbreak.“—Stephanie Turza, Booklist“A taut novel that hints at its characters’ long histories...unpredictable and often charming.“ —Kirkus Reviews“Filled to the brim with quirky characters with even quirkier names—and, yes, an actual bomb—as well as a live tiger, Bomb Island does not disappoint when it comes to creating tense situations.“ —Abby N. Lewis, Chapter 16“With stunning images, evocative character portrayals and a snaking, edge-of-the-seat story, Bomb Island felt like a mix between Lord of the Flies and Swiss Family Robinson—intoxicating coming-of-age told between loved ones over a crackling fire on the beach.“ —Frankie Martinez, Southern Review of Books“The pulse of Bomb Island, its attention to how love goes awry, how violence can feel like a shortcut to adulthood, and how much is lost (and won) when we finally do grow up, lingers long after the last page. It’s a beautiful story about moving into the future and reconciling with the past, even when this act of self-integration feels like a tragedy.” —Willem Marx, Washington Independent Review of Books

Stephen Hundley is the author of The Aliens Will Come to Georgia First (University of North Georgia Press, 2023) and Bomb Island (Hub City Press, 2024). He is a fiction editor at Driftwood Press, a book review editor at the Southeast Review, and his stories and poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Cream City Review, The Greensboro Review, and elsewhere. He holds an MA from Clemson, an MFA from the University of Mississippi, and is currently completing a PhD in English at Florida State University.

“Stephen Hundley has summoned forth a world that achieves a sense of strangeness and wonder while creating characters who are unrelentingly human in their flaws and strengths. A remarkable novel by an immensely talented young writer.” —Ron Rash, author of The Caretaker“This is a wonderful novel—part coming of age, part family drama, part thriller—and beautifully imagined. Written with great care and precision, the characters come alive on the page in a world you won’t forget. Stephen Hundley is a writer to watch.” —Chris Offutt, author of Code of the Hills“A beautiful, intricate knot of a book.“ —Mesha Maren, author of Perpetual West“Evocative and eccentric…delivers much more than an offbeat adventure about a tribe of misfits. Gritty, primeval and hauntingly human, Bomb Island is sometimes funny and other times sad. It’s an action-packed thrill ride infused with depth and tenderness.” —Leah Tyler, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution“Hundley mashes up Mark Twain and Shakespeare with a colorful adventure story about two star-crossed teen lovers. Hundley demonstrates remarkable narrative control.... Once this story sinks its claws into the reader, there’s no shaking it.“ —Publishers Weekly“A sharp, snappy novel setting a coming-of-age tale in the untamable chaos of the natural world, Bomb Island moves quickly. Hundley's nature-rich novel interrogates the thin line between love and heartbreak.“—Stephanie Turza, Booklist“A taut novel that hints at its characters’ long histories...unpredictable and often charming.“ —Kirkus Reviews“Filled to the brim with quirky characters with even quirkier names—and, yes, an actual bomb—as well as a live tiger, Bomb Island does not disappoint when it comes to creating tense situations.“ —Abby N. Lewis, Chapter 16“With stunning images, evocative character portrayals and a snaking, edge-of-the-seat story, Bomb Island felt like a mix between Lord of the Flies and Swiss Family Robinson—intoxicating coming-of-age told between loved ones over a crackling fire on the beach.“ —Frankie Martinez, Southern Review of Books“The pulse of Bomb Island, its attention to how love goes awry, how violence can feel like a shortcut to adulthood, and how much is lost (and won) when we finally do grow up, lingers long after the last page. It’s a beautiful story about moving into the future and reconciling with the past, even when this act of self-integration feels like a tragedy.” —Willem Marx, Washington Independent Review of Books

Stephen Hundley is the author of The Aliens Will Come to Georgia First (University of North Georgia Press, 2023) and Bomb Island (Hub City Press, 2024). He is a fiction editor at Driftwood Press, a book review editor at the Southeast Review, and his stories and poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Cream City Review, The Greensboro Review, and elsewhere. He holds an MA from Clemson, an MFA from the University of Mississippi, and is currently completing a PhD in English at Florida State University.

“Stephen Hundley has summoned forth a world that achieves a sense of strangeness and wonder while creating characters who are unrelentingly human in their flaws and strengths. A remarkable novel by an immensely talented young writer.” —Ron Rash, author of The Caretaker“This is a wonderful novel—part coming of age, part family drama, part thriller—and beautifully imagined. Written with great care and precision, the characters come alive on the page in a world you won’t forget. Stephen Hundley is a writer to watch.” —Chris Offutt, author of Code of the Hills“A beautiful, intricate knot of a book.“ —Mesha Maren, author of Perpetual West“Evocative and eccentric…delivers much more than an offbeat adventure about a tribe of misfits. Gritty, primeval and hauntingly human, Bomb Island is sometimes funny and other times sad. It’s an action-packed thrill ride infused with depth and tenderness.” —Leah Tyler, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution“Hundley mashes up Mark Twain and Shakespeare with a colorful adventure story about two star-crossed teen lovers. Hundley demonstrates remarkable narrative control.... Once this story sinks its claws into the reader, there’s no shaking it.“ —Publishers Weekly“A sharp, snappy novel setting a coming-of-age tale in the untamable chaos of the natural world, Bomb Island moves quickly. Hundley's nature-rich novel interrogates the thin line between love and heartbreak.“—Stephanie Turza, Booklist“A taut novel that hints at its characters’ long histories...unpredictable and often charming.“ —Kirkus Reviews“Filled to the brim with quirky characters with even quirkier names—and, yes, an actual bomb—as well as a live tiger, Bomb Island does not disappoint when it comes to creating tense situations.“ —Abby N. Lewis, Chapter 16“With stunning images, evocative character portrayals and a snaking, edge-of-the-seat story, Bomb Island felt like a mix between Lord of the Flies and Swiss Family Robinson—intoxicating coming-of-age told between loved ones over a crackling fire on the beach.“ —Frankie Martinez, Southern Review of Books“The pulse of Bomb Island, its attention to how love goes awry, how violence can feel like a shortcut to adulthood, and how much is lost (and won) when we finally do grow up, lingers long after the last page. It’s a beautiful story about moving into the future and reconciling with the past, even when this act of self-integration feels like a tragedy.” —Willem Marx, Washington Independent Review of Books