Carmen Maria Machado is a modern-day literary phenomenon. From horror to speculative fiction to comic books, her writing defies genre. She’s a bestselling author, a National Book Award finalist, and a Guggenhein Fellow. Her experimental memoir “In the Dream House,” about a past abusive queer relationship, was named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, the New Yorker and TIME Magazine, among others.

In this “Portrait Of,” Maria Hinojosa talks to Carmen about navigating mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, writing horror, and confronting her Latinx identity.