Amaris Castillo was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Dominican parents and credits the many tales she heard growing up to her love of storytelling. She became a journalist and created Bodega Stories, a multimedia series featuring real stories from the corner store.
She turned those stories into a non-fiction book also called Bodega Stories, which is a “window into a Dominican family’s bodega and the community at its heart.” The book, which will be published by the University of Florida Press on September 8, 2026, is now available for pre-order.
Debutiful is honored to reveal the cover of Bodega Stories, which was designed by Mindy Hill, along with a Q&A with Castillo about its creation.
While writing the book, did you have any ideas for what you wanted the cover to look like?
As I wrote this book, I focused a lot of my energy on the actual stories. It was painstaking work to interview people and then write their stories based on our conversations. Over the course of a year, I spent many hours in my parents’ store to come up with these vignettes and observations. Because my mind was preoccupied with the actual body of the book, my ideas for a cover didn’t really take shape until after I was done with the full draft. That’s when I got to enjoy the process of looking at other book covers. I have a big personal library at home, so I spent some time pulling book after book from the shelves to examine the designs I was most drawn to. I also took to the Internet to study other book covers, because even my home library has its limit.
Can you explain what the design process was like once you started working with your publishing team?
I was very Virgo about this process. My publisher sent me a cover design form to fill out. It contained a bunch of questions, mainly which ideas or aspects of the book I felt were necessary to address on the cover. It was a lot of fun to really sit down and think about my book and what I hoped its cover would convey to potential readers. I came up with a few ideas. They ranged from an illustration of a sack of rice with the book’s title on the front, to a grocery basket filled with items and, conveniently, the Bodega Stories title. I also noted what I would love to see most: a collage-inspired cover.
My mom has always told me that, if I am going to do something, do it right. So I decided I would go all in on my suggestions and ideas. I poured a lot into that document, and even included photos I took of items in the bodega, as well as photos I took on trips to the Dominican Republic.
Once I submitted the form to my publisher, I didn’t really hear back until I saw the cover design by Mindy Hill, the book designer for the University Press of Florida.
What was it like seeing your finalized cover for the first time?
Thrilling. I was actually at the dermatologist when I received the email from my editor with the cover attached. I remember opening the email and reading (and rereading) her message. I made the mistake of scrolling down and seeing the top of the cover, but immediately stopped myself. I wanted to see the whole thing from the comfort of my home. I know, so extra!
Later at my desk, I opened the email on my laptop and absorbed the full cover. I loved it. I had asked for a bright cover, and the designer delivered. For some reason I had envisioned a red cover, but this one turned out to be green. It was verdant, and reminded me a lot of the Dominican Republic. I was delighted to see a plátano tree, and ecstatic to see some photos I took myself of the store’s exterior, a decorative parrot, and even some items in the bodega. I was in love with the font used for the title, and even how my name read in cursive.
I felt seen and heard, which meant everything.
How does the cover work to convey what the book is all about?
The cover captures the spirit of the book. It is a collage, and the book itself is a collage of stories, vignettes, portraits, and personal family photos from the past. I am really happy with it.