Writing Fiction

(This is an expanded version of a blog post I wrote for Broken Pencil Magazine’s website this past summer.)
Despite what some readers thought, I think of my first novel, A Fine Ending, as a work of fiction. It certainly has a “non-fiction” aspect to it, in that a real time and place serves as the […]

Assorted news

First of all, I forgot to mention last month that I made the list of the top ten “Best Living Local Authors” in the annual Montreal Mirror’s Best of Montreal readers poll. The full list is available here and also includes my old friend Heather O’Neill, who I published for the first time in 1996 […]

60th anniversary of the LP record

Today, June 18, 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the unveiling of the 33RPM LP record. I’ve decided to mark the occasion with the following brief history of the LP’s invention and early years, adapted from a history of the record industry I wrote in 2003-2004.
A HISTORY OF THE LONG-PLAYING RECORD, copyright 2008 by Louis […]

New blog, new links, new news

Hello everybody! Just so you know, I began blogging here on the Broken Pencil website, where I expect to add posts every couple weeks through to the end of July.
I also DJed on CKUT earlier this week (Tuesday May 27, 2008), and you can click here to download the one-hour show. I was filling in […]

Ticket stubs

While doing some spring cleaning an envelope full of ticket stubs shuffled up to the surface; I scanned a number of them here:

The envelope had stayed in the back of a drawer where I’d thrown it right after moving into my apartment ten years ago, one of those things I never looked at but never […]

Moving up on Amazon

A Fine Ending  disappeared from amazon.ca’s rankings for a few weeks after the first printing sold out in March, but after being back in print for about a month, it has raced back up the rankings. As of May 8, it sits at number 11 on the Canadian short stories chart, and number 86 on […]

Louis Rastelli at the Blue Metropolis Festival, May 2008

Louis Rastelli will be presenting excerpts from his novel, A Fine Ending, in person at Montreal’s Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival on Sunday, May 4 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. The event is hosted by Marianne Ackerman and also features readings by Mary Soderstrom, Nigel Thomas, Issa J. Boullata and Sanja Domazet. Tickets are […]

2nd printing coming soon; Vancouver appearances

In case anyone is having trouble finding a copy of A Fine Ending, please note that the first printing is almost sold out. It is currently listed as unavailable on most online sites (such as amazon.ca or the chapters-indigo online site), but will become available again in about a month. In the meantime, copies can […]

Review in the Globe and Mail

There is a review of Louis Rastelli’s novel, A Fine Ending, in the Globe and Mail, available online here. Excerpt:
“A Fine Ending reads like a middle-of-the-night yarn from a slightly stoned scribe who has set himself the task of telling everybody’s story - for a laugh or at least a smile. Yet hovering overhead is […]

Distroboto 7th Anniversary plus new review

Louis Rastelli’s Distroboto project is celebrating its 7th anniversary on Friday, Jan. 25, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. at Salla Rossa, 4848 St-Laurent.
It is a benefit show for the non-profit project which involves former cigarette machines selling local art, music, books, comics, short films and crafts for $2.00 in various cafés and bars around […]