Florida-grown and Louisiana-raised,

Brett Hymel Jr. is a Cajun writer intent on creating “stories for bugs”: mystical, earthly, slimy and weird. He blends elements of absurdism, southern gothic, and metafiction to create tales that are funny, strange, and honestly, a little bit messed-up.

Brett’s writing is informed by his years teaching elementary school Spanish, his work with migrant laborers, his southern upbringing, his family, and Halloween (bats, ghosts, scary spiders). His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Subtropics, Prime Number Magazine, Puerto del Sol, amongst others. He owes everything to his teachers, mentors, patient friends and literary heroes.

Brett is also an acclaimed teacher, both at the college and elementary level. He has degrees or certifications in Philosophy, English, Spanish, and ESOL. He has developed elementary curriculum, worked as department lead, and served his institutions in volunteer and extracurricular capacities.

See what the bugs are saying: