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Sebastian Castillo
View on Wikipedia | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies. (September 2025) |
Sebastian Castillo is a writer and teacher born in Caracas, Venezuela and currently based in Philadelphia, PA.[1][2] His 2025 novel Fresh, Green Life was the 2025 Los Angeles Review of Books Summer Book Club Pick.[3][4][5]
Key Information
Early life and education
[edit]Castillo was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He grew up in Mount Vernon, New York, and later moved to Philadelphia.[6]
He studied English and Philosophy as an undergraduate at Manhattan College and then earned a MFA in Fiction from Temple University[7]. He now teaches, or has taught at, Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, University of the Arts, and Moore College of Art and Design.
Career
[edit]Sebastian Castillo has written for publications such as Electric Literature,[8] JOYLAND,[9] the New York Tyrant,[10] and The New York Times.[11] He has been shortlisted for BOMB's Fiction Contest.[12] Castillo's work has been described as autofictional and surrealist.[13][14][15]
In The Oxonian Review, Marie Ungar describes Fresh, Green Life as a "parody of and love letter to academic life" grappling with the "worth of writing and thinking" given economic alienation and existential absurdity.[16]
In 2025, his first book, 49 Venezuelan Novels, was translated into Spanish by the Mexican writer Elisa Díaz Castelo, for La barba metafísica.[17]
Works
[edit]- 49 Venezuelan Novels. Bottlecap Press, 2017.
- Not I. Word West, 2020.
- SALMON. Shabby Doll House, 2023.
- The Zoo of Thinking. Smooth Friend, 2024.
- Fresh, Green Life. Soft Skull, 2025.
References
[edit]- ^ "Sebastian Castillo". Poets & Writers. July 9, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "Review | The narrator of this novel is trained in — and ruined by — philosophy". The Washington Post. July 26, 2025. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "'Fresh, Green Life' by Sebastian Castillo". Los Angeles Review of Books. May 28, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ Alpern, Emma; Vojdani, Jasmine (June 2, 2025). "8 New Books You Should Read This June". Vulture. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "Sebastian Castillo's Book Notes music playlist for his novel Fresh, Green Life". largeheartedboy.com. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "Fresh, Green Life: A Novel | WORD". wordbookstores.com. June 24, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- ^ "Manhattan University Celebrates Distinguished Alumnus and Acclaimed Novelist Sebastian Castillo '11". Manhattan University. Manhattan University. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
- ^ "Hecho En Venezuela: The Private Poetics of Narrative, Memory, and Lies". Electric Literature. May 17, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "SALMON". JOYLAND PUBLISHING. April 28, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "Local Favorite by Sebastian Castillo". NY Tyrant. August 24, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "The Secret to Getting Through Big, Dense, Difficult Books". November 18, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- ^ "Interview with Sebastian Castillo". The Journal. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ Sovinski, Theodore (July 31, 2025). "Vow of Silence: On Sebastian Castillo's 'Fresh, Green Life'". Cleveland Review of Books. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "Sebastian Castillo's "Fresh, Green Life"". Los Angeles Review of Books. July 25, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ Wayne, Teddy (June 10, 2025). "Lit Hub Asks: 5 Authors, 7 Questions, No Wrong Answers". Literary Hub. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "Nothing Impossible Happens". The Oxonian Review. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "Recommended Books: November 2025". Vol. 1 Brooklyn. November 13, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.