Bradley Sides was raised on a cattle farm in rural Alabama. His neighbors were largely ducks, dogs, cats, and more cows. His hometown was (and still is) the kind of place that had a country store, and there wasn’t (and still isn’t) a traffic light for miles and miles–and miles. Although he wouldn’t appreciate a good book until much later on, he knew, even as a child, that there were few things that could beat a well-told story. His mother worked tirelessly in a factory, but she still made time to read to him at night–to share with him the power of stories. His grandparents, on their quaint porch surrounded by lightning bugs and belly grunts of bullfrogs, told some of the best ones he’s ever heard.
After graduating high school, he made an (almost) hour-long trip in one direction to attend Calhoun Community College each day of the week. After a couple of years, he transferred to the slightly-closer Athens State University. While at these institutions, he met Dr. Leigh Ann Rhea and Dr. Kevin Dupre. He credits them for showing him the full power of stories–and books.
Bradley continued his educational journey, venturing to the University of North Alabama, where he completed his MA. Here, he also met the love of his life, Meredith Sides. Since then, they’ve filled many, many shelves with books.
After completing his MA, Bradley taught high school for nearly a decade, and he began to write and send out magical realism and weird fiction short stories, with many of them set in the rural South, to various publications. During this time, Bradley began to feel that his education wasn’t complete. He wanted an MFA, so he worked to attain one. In 2022, he graduated for the final time from Queens University of Charlotte.
While at Queens, his first book of short stories, Those Fantastic Lives, hit bookstores. Southern Review of Books selected the collection as one of the “Best Southern Books of October 2021,” and Electric Literature declared it as one of the books to “Read This Halloween.” LeVar Burton even added his own endorsement, selecting the title story as a feature for his beloved podcast, LeVar Burton Reads.
After the success of his first book, Bradley and Meredith (and Mollie the world’s best poodle, June the fluffy cat, and Kirby the tabby cat) moved to Madison, Alabama, accepting jobs as English instructors at Calhoun Community College.
Bradley’s second collection, Crocodile Tears Didn’t Cause the Flood, followed in 2024. It received early endorsements from fellow short story writers, including Alexander Weinstein, Becky Hagenston, Andrew Siegrist, and Nathan Elias. Again, Electric Literature featured the collection–this time naming it as one the “15 Indie Press Books to Read This Spring.” The collection also received positive coverage at other venues such as Southern Literary Review, Chapter 16, and Alabama Public Radio.
Now, Bradley’s love of stories continues. He still teaches at Calhoun and supports story-related academic and creative efforts on campus and with Sigma Kappa Delta, the English honor society for two-year colleges, serving on the National Board.
He’s excited to share that he’s written his first longform work, a novella titled The Volcano Keeper. In it, he explores family, faith, the natural world, and responsibility, and it’s set in rural Alabama. He’s extra excited to share that The Volcano Keeper will be out with Regal House in the fall of 2026!
