In spite of it’s apparent simplicity, Hemingway’s writing style is incredibly distinct. You might say the ‘author signal’ in his writing is very strong. Using a statistical analysis of The Old Man and the Sea, Ryan Stearne has attempted to identify and replicate Hemingway’s distinctive style, rewriting one of his most iconic stories with 93% fewer words. The result is Old Sea, a short story that not only captures all the major narrative beats of the original, but recreates Hemingway’s author signal with computational precision. The Blasted Tree has produced a limited edition of sixty chapbooks printed on blue-lined graph paper and bound into seafoam green covers with clear fishing line and a barbed fishhook. Old Sea can be purchased from our online store and read online using the link below.
Fiction Chapbook - Mickey the Bricky by Jimmy T. Cahill
Things are looking up for punch-drunk prisoner Mickey the Bricky when he’s transferred from hard labour into The Gallery, a studio where inmates mass produce paintings for sale in department stores, that is, until the prison decides to modernize its operation, putting Mickey in danger of being left behind. The Blasted Tree has produced a limited edition of 50 chapbooks featuring this equally colourful and tragic story by Jimmy T. Cahill, each printed on grey paper and bound in black card stock with an overhead projector transparency. Mickey the Bricky is available to purchase from our online store, and you can read the story online following the link below.
READ MICKEY THE BRICKY
Fiction Chapbook - The Weight of Skin by Brandon Teigland
A former poet laureate reads her most controversial poem yet at a protest for the removal of a colonial statue deemed racist, but the demonstration takes a turn for the worse when the Proud Boys arrive. The Weight of Skin is the gripping and (tragically) urgent story of home-grown Canadian xenophobia as told from three different perspectives. The Blasted Tree has published a limited edition of 50 hand-bound chapbooks featuring The Weight of Skin, each produced using three types of paper (one for each narrator: granite-grey stationary, red card stock, and white onionskin) and bound in black fabric. Brandon Teigland’s story can be read by following the link below, and copies of the chapbook can be purchased from our online store.
READ THE WEIGHT OF SKIN
New Short(er) Fiction - El Perro del Mar by Maria Mon
"Tell me the story of the dog of the sea." Returning home to the island of her grandmother, a young woman must also revisit and confront a family history shrouded in myth and danger. Is there any truth in the tale of El Perro del Mar, the ghostly dog stealing people from the beach? In her first Blasted Tree publication, author Maria Mon reweaves the magic bonds of narrative that connect family and friends down through generations.
READ EL PERRO DEL MAR
El Perro del Mar is part of The Blasted Tree's ongoing series of Short(er) Fiction, stories 2500 words or less. Check out the series online for more great experimental and microfiction!
Featured Author - Dana Neily
Hailing from beautiful Victoria, Dana Neily is the newest author on The Blasted Tree's growing line-up of emerging Canadian talent. Neily uses her writing as a means of drawing attention to mental illness and neuroatypical experiences, advocating for compassion and understanding in regards to mental health. ONE DAY'S BATTLE, published in our Short(er) Fiction series, speaks directly to these issues, illuminating the daily struggle between the protagonist and a surreal manifestation of Death. Additionally, we are please to bring you two of Neily's poems, AN ESCAPIST'S FANTASY and the comically titled AIM FOR AN 'OCEAN'S 11' RATHER THAN A 'RESERVOIR DOGS' BUT EITHER WAY WE WILL LOOK KILLER IN SUITS. Read her work online, then check out her bio using the link below!
VIEW DANA'S PROFILE
Featured Story - All Day Breakfast by Michael Smilovitch
Toys aren't the only inanimate objects with rich inner and interpersonal stories. Meet Room and Fan, a couple of "things" who get to know each other through their mutual acquaintance, the human being Tony. All Day Breakfast, Smilovitch's debut on The Blasted Tree, experiments with extreme perspective and abrupt narrative shifts to bring you into the word of every day objects. Just because Tony isn't there doesn't mean his stuff isn't going about its business...
READ ALL DAY BREAKFAST
All Day Breakfast is one of three original stories appearing in our brand new chapbook Short(er) Fiction Vol. 3, now available from The Blasted Tree Store!
Featured Story - Township by Ivan Fischer
Living in the country has it's perks: fresh air, freedom, and lots of terrain to explore. But when the economy begins to struggle, working class people take the first hit. The country then becomes a place of suffocating boredom, desperation, and racial tension. Township is the suspenseful story of Cole and Boyd, two out-of-work young men chasing fortune and adventure down the back roads of rural Canada. Ivan Fischer's anxiety-filled portrait of small town living is free to read online and quality chapbooks of the story can be purchased from The Blasted Tree Store.
READ TOWNSHIP
Featured Story - Wood by Mitch Findlay
When Mitch Findlay submitted this, his second outing with The Blasted Tree, he promised us two things: puppets and sex. Aptly titled, Wood is the darkly funny story of a songbook, a twisted fixation, and the... complicated relationship that follows. Come meet Charlie, Levy, and The Monster, three musical puppets from a beloved children's show who are sure to make a lasting impact on your life. Findlay's hardboiled style never fails to impress, especially when animating such playful subject matter. Read Wood online, then buy the chapbook from The Blasted Tree Store!
READ WOOD
Featured Story - Your Own Devices by Ivan Fischer
An experimental piece of short fiction by Ivan Fischer, Your Own Devices confronts our over-dependence on smart phones. Whether it be forming a new relationship, catching up with old pals, or finding the way home, our actions are increasingly moderated by technology. Rather than making life better, smart phones may have some all-too-familiar negative consequences. Fischer asks, "What happens when the battery dies?"
READ YOUR OWN DEVICES
Your Own Devices is part of our ongoing Short(er) Fiction series. Volumes 1 and 2 can now be purchased from The Blasted Tree Store!
Featured Story - The Box by Michelle Browne
Working in an office can be deadly boring - the same menial tasks to complete day after day, the endless hum of fluorescent tube lighting, and the constant threat of a supervisor sticking their nose into the sacred space of your cubicle all lead to a week-long case of "the Mondays." But when an employee's mind starts to wander, worrisome thoughts can sneak in about the most innocuous of things. Michelle Browne's debut on The Blasted Tree tackles just such thoughts and will leave you squirming in your ergonomic desk chair. The Box is part of our ongoing Short(er) Fiction series, collecting the best Canadian short stories under 2,500 words!