Leo Vartorella

Leo Vartorella is a writer from Brooklyn, NY who lives in the Scottish Highlands. He is the author of the chapbook Stories (SLAB, 2024). His work has appeared in New World Writing, HAD and Maudlin House.

IT DOESN’T END WHEN YOU CLOSE THE BOOK: AN INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN M. KEARNEY by Leo Vartorella

Kevin M. Kearney’s latest novel FREELANCE (Rejection Letters, 2025) is a dystopian thriller. It is a psychological profile of loneliness in the age of OnlyFans. It is a condemnation of AI and the gig economy. It is the story of a young man’s search for purpose, part character study and part surreal, page-turning romp. Above all, it is a lot of fun. The novel follows Simon, a driftless 19-year-old driver for the rideshare app HYPR, whose world is upended when the app offers him a seemingly life-changing opportunity.  This combination of breadth, emotional acuity and fast-moving plot is nothing new…

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