Joe Bond is an award-winning short story writer whose debut novel “Hope House” explores the lives of a group of troubled teenage boys in a treatment program in the late 1980s. Bond, who now lives in New Orleans with his family, grew up around similar group homes in eastern Kentucky and began working in them when he was still in high school. He heard firsthand the stories of hundreds of boys and followed their journeys from intake to aftercare.
He began drafting “Hope House” after his story “Damico” won The Masters Review Short Story Award. Octavia Books in New Orleans will host the book launch for “Hope House” from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. May 19. The book comes out on May 26.
This interview was edited for length and clarity. …