Ann Davila

Ann Davila publishes professionally as Ann Dávila Cardinal. A Nuyorican novelist based in Vermont, she earned an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has written across young-adult horror, adult magical realism and mystery, middle-grade work, anthologies, and scripted projects.

Cardinal's fiction draws on horror and magical realism to examine grief, inherited stories, cultural identity, and who is visible in contemporary communities. She has described horror as a source of childhood comfort and has said that she wants young readers navigating mixed identities and loss to recognize themselves in her work.

Breakup from Hell brings those concerns to Stowe through a Puerto Rican teenager confronting Catholic lore and a dangerous romance. Cardinal told Vermont Made that the book began from a supplied publishing concept, while the Vermont setting and Puerto Rican protagonist were choices she brought to the project; reviews recognized the resulting mix of dark comedy, supernatural adventure, heritage, friendship, and family connection.