Amaris Castillo at WMNF in Tampa, Florida on Sept. 18, 2026. Credit: Ray Roa / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
When I started my current full-time day job in 2024, I had that sense of nervousness most people feel when starting a new gig. I didn’t know anyone, and hoped the staff would accept me and embrace me as I stepped into this new environment.
I’m happy to say that everyone was extremely friendly and gracious in welcoming me to the group, which helped me get acclimated in a hurry. But one of the warmest and most cordial staff members of all was an amiable and sweet young woman by the name of Amaris Castillo.
Treating me as if she’d known me her whole life in the first few minutes of our initial conversation, it wasn’t long before Castillo and I started to talk about our career aspirations and personal goals, and we clicked when we both shared the same desire to one day write a book. She had a leg up on me though, as she’d already started drafting her manuscript.
As I continued to get to know Amaris—a staff writer at the Poynter Institute who also works on NPR’s Public Editor’s Office—she regularly shared with me her updates on how her book project was coming along. Whenever she would get me up to speed with her progress, she did so with a mixture of anxiousness, pride, energy and a sense of hopefulness. Holding down a full-time job and raising a family leaves little room for much else, but Castillo seemed poised and sure that her book would one day soon see the light of day and would be published. And, most endearingly, she continuously encouraged me to kickstart my own book writing project, all the while offering pearls of wisdom and advice from her own experiences.
Fast forward to the current day, and Castillo’s fantastic new book “Bodega Stories” (University Press of Florida) has gone from a labor of love to a heartfelt tome that delves into her upbringing as the daughter of hard-working, Dominican parents who have been bodega owners, dating back several decades. As a pillar of many Latin neighborhoods, the bodega, or corner store, is a place where locals gather to pick up a variety of items, from everyday staples like milk and bread, to specialized ingredients essential for cooking many Latin dishes. But the culture runs deeper than just being a nearby spot to pick up groceries; the bodega is the hub of many barrios in that it’s a place for locals to interact, get to know one another, as well as becoming friendly with the store’s owners.
Castillo has taken her years of being raised in this world—St. Petersburg’s Orlando Latin Market to be exact—and has collected a series of tales and narratives that explore the innermost lore that makes bodegas such unique and welcoming places. In a culture where small businesses are sadly shunned and overlooked in place of bigger, boxier, more familiar chain stores, the neighborhood bodega has remained a staple in countless neighborhoods across the globe. Castillo has preserved and commemorated accounts from her parents and her family members throughout the pages of this delightful new book which reads like a diary of entries that grow more enchanting and endearing with each turn of the page
Through the days of their bodega experiences as proprietors in New York City, right up to current day within their St. Petersburg shop, the rich detail and realness Castillo weaves into all the chapters is downright captivating. Sprinkled throughout the book are photos Castillo shares that shed light on and add visual glimpses of the real life folks who she’s grown up around as the child of bodega owners. The pictures only add an extra layer of appeal and allure for the reader to get lost in.
Looking back on my first encounter with Castillo as the new guy on staff, I could attribute her warmth and congeniality towards me to the fact that we both are the children of immigrants, or that we share similar Latin heritages, or, putting it plainly, that she’s just a friendly, hospitable person. Once I learned she was brought up as part of a family-owned bodega, the answer was clear: she’s learned to be social and amiable as part of that culture, and she carries that with her whether she’s behind the counter of her family’s bodega, or meeting a stranger for the first time out in the wild.
And now she can proudly say that she’s able to exude her naturally ingrained charm as the author of an engaging and sincere new book, which is a love letter to her parents, to her extended family, and to anyone who’s ever stepped into a friendly neighborhood bodega.
Look below for a listing of bookish gatherings happening across the Bay area Oct. 8-15.
Boos and Brews: Haunting Readings from Florida’s Leading Horror Authors Friday, Oct. 9. 6 p.m. No cover. Deviant Libation, Tampa
Amanda DeWitt (Book release and signing) Saturday, Oct. 10. 12 p.m. No cover with registration. East Lake Community Library, Palm Harbor
Amaris Castillo and Maria Carrillo (Author talk) Saturday, Oct. 10. 3:30 p.m. $6.71 & up. Oxford Exchange, Tampa
K. Rodriguez + K.L. Hernandez (Dual author signing) Saturday, Oct. 10. 12 p.m. No cover. The Book Lounge, St. Petersburg. thebooklounge.com
Shane Pittman (Book signing & author talk) Saturday, Oct. 10. 4 p.m. No cover. Jack Kerouac House, St. Petersburg. silentslayertours.com
Reading Rainbros Book Club Sunday, Oct. 11. 10 a.m. No cover with registration. Book + Bottle, St. Petersburg. bookandbottlestpete.com
Teshelle Combs (Author signing) Sunday, Oct. 11. 12 p.m. No cover. The Book Lounge, St. Petersburg. thebooklounge.com
Fantasy Book Club: “She Haunts Me Still” by De Elizabeth Tuesday, Oct. 13. 6:30 p.m. $10 & up. The Book Lounge, St. Petersburg. thebooklounge.com
Oxford Exchange Book Club: “John of John” by Douglas Stuart Tuesday, Oct. 13. 6:30 p.m. $32.64. Oxford Exchange, Tampa
Kevin Johnson (“‘Twas the Night” drop-in signing) Wednesday, Oct. 14. 5:30 p.m. No cover. Tombolo Books, St. Petersburg. tombolobooks.com
Thriller Themed Book Swap & Sip Wednesday, Oct. 14. 6 p.m. No cover. The Library, St. Petersburg. oxfordexchange.com
Book Club: “Brawler” by Lauren Groff Thursday, Oct. 15. 10:30 a.m. No cover with registration. Tampa Bay History Center, Tampa. tampabayhistorycenter.org
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This article appears in Oct. 01 – 07, 2026.
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