A DESERT BETWEEN TWO SEAS
a novel in linked stories
WINNER OF THE FLANNERY O'CONNOR AWARD FOR
SHORT FICTION
Forthcoming fall 2025, published by the University of Georgia Press
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Muia paints a chapter of our continent's history that is tragic and disturbing, but does so with a sense of nuance and generosity that finds the beauty and humanity even in the most brutal events.
Mary Kenagy Mitchell
Editor, Image Journal
ABOUT
A. Muia is the author of A Desert Between Two Seas, a novel in linked stories set in 19th century Baja California, Mexico. The novel won the 2024 Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction and is forthcoming in fall 2025.
Muia's stories and articles have appeared in literary journals across the U.S. Her work has been anthologized in the Orison Anthology, and nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
She facilitates writing workshops with youth in juvenile detention through Underground Writing, and co-founded New Earth Recovery, a nonprofit providing a residential program to those recovering from substance use disorder. For fourteen years she served as a chaplain in the Skagit County Jail, and for many years she worked as an advocate for Mexican immigrant farm workers in Skagit Valley, Washington.
She holds a degree in Spanish language, a master's in teaching English to speakers of other languages, a post-graduate certificate in Writing Literary Fiction from the University of Washington, and an MFA in creative writing from Seattle Pacific University.
Interior, Mission San Francisco de Borja Adac, Baja California. Photo taken by the author.