Interview with Wilde Press’s Ava Kevitt: Author of A Portrait of Florence
Undergraduate Students for Publishing Vice President // Abigail Lincks
When Marianne Blanchet inherits her grandmother’s estate in the south of France, she expects little more than a family dispute. But instead, she discovers a hidden room with a portrait of a woman, alive within the canvas. As Marianne grapples with grief, a resentful family, and the secrets of a home steeped in mystery, Florence, the woman in the portrait, acts as both her companion and muse. But what happens when they realize the magic that brought them together can’t hold forever?
A Portrait of Florence will be released on April 18, 2026.
“I always write for women because I love women. There’s also something to be said about any artist who is trying to fall in love with their art again because that’s what Marianne is struggling to do, and what Florence helps her with.”
Kevitt speaks to us about her upcoming novella, A Portrait of Florence, a tragic love story between two women who find solace in each other amid overwhelming grief and loss.
What influenced A Portrait of Florence?
This is so hard because I came up with it freshman year. The setting of the painting on fire—that was the first vision I had. But, I was also really just intrigued by this idea of falling in love with a woman in a portrait and the sense of forbidden romance. I think it’s so fun.
What did your writing process look like?
It was flash fiction freshman year, and just living in my head for a while. Last semester, I submitted it for Wilde Press as I started writing it as a short story and it just kept going. I was like, “This is the longest short story ever written.” My writing professor, Shilpi Suneja, had really kind things to say about it, which inspired me. Over winter break, I started turning it into a novella.
My older sister, Ella, really loves my writing and is my biggest supporter. She can be mean and be like, “Ava, get your shit together. You need to write that.” And that’s also really helpful. Shout out Ella!
Which character was your favorite to write?
Oh my God, I loved all of them! Florence was really fun just because she was more interesting, but I could see myself in Marianne more. Florence is so separate from me that she was more of a challenge to figure out. How would someone trapped in a painting see the world? Personally, I would lose my mind if I was trapped in a painting. Especially for centuries. How does she move around in the painting? I imagine what’s like when she goes out of the frame and disappears. I imagine the hills, but it’s still pretty limited to what’s seen in the novella. Also her way of speaking.
I also loved writing Marianne’s grandmother, and just like a kooky old lady. I think that’s so fun. That’s why I wanted Elodie as well because I think she’s very similar, but she’s alive. It’s a slight difference.
Queer Love in the novella:
It’s really hard for me to find representation in literature and media. On a personal note, I just love to write about women. I don’t know what it’s like to be a man and I don’t want to write about that. But, I also think about the relationships between women—not just romantically, but also family wise.
It’s more of a representation thing. I grew up in Iowa and there’s not a lot of gay people there and so when I was coming to that realization, I went to the media for it and there wasn’t a lot there. It’s definitely getting better. Shout out Heated Rivalry! But again, that’s two men. It’s more just something I’m doing for my younger self. For the baby queers—baby lesbians. Shout out lesbians!
What do you want readers to take away from the novella?
Let it mean to you whatever you want it to. I never want to write a story with just one theme or message to take away from. I just hope that it reaches the right person. Even if one person takes something away from it, I feel like that’s a win.
When did you first gravitate toward writing?
This sounds so corny and like every writer ever, but I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I loved books. I’m not going to lie and say that they were good because I was definitely writing those stories where they end and it’s like, “She woke up and it was all a dream.” That was the shit I was writing. I was also really into songwriting for a while. I wrote some poetry. None of it was good, but I always just found it to be a nice outlet.
I got into it again during quarantine, because what else was there to do? All I had was time to write. That’s when this idea of like, “Oh, I could do this. This could be a job.” formed. It is still crazy to me, and hard to conceptualize.
What were your favorite books growing up?
I was reading the Magic Tree House series. I think that’s why I love magical realism, or when people are just pushing the boundaries of what’s real and what’s not. I like escapism. I’m not trying to be in the real world when I read. It’s also just a fun way of exploring issues in the real world through a more dramatic lens, which is why I love speculative fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy.
Every time people ask me my favorite book, I say “Six of Crows”. Because that was the book I read during quarantine and was like, “Do you want to be a writer?” It was my time.
With very little queer representation in the media growing up, you gravitated toward reading and writing fan fiction. Why do you think that is?
It had language you didn’t hear every day. It really is a representation thing. I think a lot of writers were scared of including any sort of queerness in their stories, which was frustrating, especially when it’s like, “I hate to break it to you, but your characters are gay. You did write a gay character.”
Of course, I like being in Iowa. Shout out Iowa! I’m not trying to shit on Iowa. We do have gay people. They exist. When it was quarantine, and I was locked in my house, it was nice to see people that I could relate to in the fan fiction.
What other writing projects are you working on?
I have a billion projects started. I always have a billion ideas in my mind that just live in my Google Drive. I’ve been working on a full-length novel for a while. It’s a sapphic historical romance. She’s my baby because I’ve been working on her for so long, and “working on it” is a very loose term because I never have time to write. Also just a lot of short stories—they’re all sapphic. They’re all magical realism.
Ava Kevitt is a junior undergraduate student at Emerson College in Boston, studying Writing, Literature, and Publishing with a minor in History. She also keeps herself busy with student-run literary magazines and working at the library. When she’s not writing, Ava enjoys all things books, travel, nature, animals, and of course, brunch with friends.
Follow her on Instagram @avathefriendlywriter.