Events

MHB is writing. She has no public events scheduled at this time.

  “Bertino blurs the line between writer and magician.” — Molly Young, The New York Times

NEWS

“Flowers and their Meanings,” originally published in The Baffler, has received the 2026 O. Henry Prize for Short Stories

Exit Zero has been named Electric Literature’s #1 short story collection of 2025

MHB has been named a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow in Fiction

Exit Zero reviewed in the The New York Times by Molly Young: “Through all of Exit Zero, Bertino blurs the line between writer and magician.”

“Lottie Woodside and the Diamond Dust Cher,” a new short story, published in Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, with thanks to Yuka Igarashi for her introduction

“Every Forest, Every Film.” a new short story, published in Lit Hub, with thanks to editor Jonny Diamond

“The Ecstasy of Sam Malone,” a new short story, published in The Brooklyn Rail, with thanks to editor Will Chancellor

Charles Yu interviewed MHB for BOMB’s Spring ’25 issue

Corrine Cordasco-Pak interviewed MHB for Write or Die Magazine, April 2025

“Viola in Midwinter,” originally published in Bennington Review, was selected for Best American Short Stories 2024

Beautyland is a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Award for Fiction and has been selected for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize longlist

Beautyland is a New York Times Notable Book of 2024 and one of The Best Books of 2024 by The New York Times, Electric Literature,Time Magazine, Lit Hub, Kirkus, Goodreads, Elle Magazine, Esquire, and Bookshop.org

 Beautyland has been named one of Esquire’s 75 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

Editor of The New York Times Book Review Gilbert Cruz discusses Beautyland