The Fiddlehead Moment: Pioneering an Alternative Canadian Modernism in New Brunswick

For many Canadians, the small province of New Brunswick on Canada's scenic east coast is "a nice place to visit but no place to live," plagued for generations by outmigration and economic stagnation. In The Fiddlehead Moment Tony Tremblay challenges this potent stereotype by showcasing the work of a group of literary modernists who set out to change the meaning of New Brunswick in the national lexicon. Alfred Bailey, Desmond Pacey, Fred Cogswell, and a formidable group of local poets and cultural workers - collectively, New Brunswick's Fiddlehead School - sought to restore New Brunswick's literary reputation by adapting avant-garde modernist practices to the contours of the province, opening it to the contemporary world while also encouraging writers to make it their subject. The result was a non-urban form of modernism that was as responsive to technical innovation as to the human geographies of New Brunswick. By placing New Brunswick writers and critics at the forefront of Canadian literature in the midcentury modernist project, Tremblay adds an important new chapter to our understanding of Canadian modernism. The Fiddlehead Moment is the first critical examination of this group's considerable influence. Whether through Bailey's ethnomethodology, Pacey's critical ordering, or Cogswell's editorial eclecticism in the Fiddlehead magazine and Fiddlehead Poetry Books, authors in New Brunswick, Tremblay argues, had a profound impact on writing in Canada.

Literature & Fiction

Tremblay, Tony

History & Criticism

McGill-Queen's University Press

Three dead women with three very different tales to tell. BRANDO AND BAD CHOICES by Stacey Longo A vain woman learns firsthand if there’s an afterlife . . . and if one can find redemption, even in Hell. STEEL by Tony Tremblay A young woman leads a group of survivors in a dangerous, dystopian world. THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT by Rob Smales A mother-in-law explains how a holiday tradition got its decidedly spiritual start. “ . . . a creepy yet heartfelt collection of horror and suspense that is entirely worth reading. Five out of five blood-spattered stars.” ~ Jeanette Andromeda, horrormade.com "The ingredients in these three tales form a rich stew with a bit of something for everyone: an unexpectedly spirited Christmas, a taste of post-apocalyptic treachery, and a view of hell that'll make you careful what you wish for. Eat hearty!" ~ Melissa Crandall, author of WEATHERCOCK and DARLING WENDY AND OTHER STORIES If you liked DIFFERENT SEASONS, you'll love TRIPLICITY: THE TERROR PROJECT, VOL. 1.

Triplicity (The Terror Project) (Volume 1)

Smales, Rob

Longo, Stacey

Genre Fiction

Books & Boos Press

Goffstown, New Hampshire has seen its share of supernatural mayhem, murder, and monsters. With the banishment of the demon James Moore, some in the town believed their bloody past was behind them. The devil knows better. For weeks, an old crippled woman hesitates then waddles past the window of the Goffstown News building. On the day she finally enters the office, she has one hell of a story to tell the editor, Manuel Chance, but there is a caveat to publishing it. Manuel is skeptical of the bizarre tale and suspicious of her motives. When she removes her clothing to provide evidence for her story, his skepticism vanishes, but when he hears the basis for her caveat, his suspicion grows. She wants Manuel to investigate her husband to determine if he is behind the disappearance of four local children. As Paul Lane steps out of his home, uneasiness overwhelms him. While he's distracted, his daughter Cindy asks to play on the swing set in the backyard. In the unguarded moment, Paul agrees, making it the biggest mistake of his life. After Cindy disappears without a trace, a woman approaches Paul with an identical story. Together, they wait for the return of their children. When the two girls are found and returned to their parent's, relief turns to confusion after the two girls make an astonishing claim. Confusion turns to horror when they discover the children have brought someone else back with them. A battered, bruised, filthy, woman pulls her stolen Subaru into a parking lot across from The Goffstown Pawnshop. With two decomposing bodies in the back of the car, she has driven non-stop from the Midwest to procure an item from the owner of the pawnshop. Possessed, she will stop at nothing to retrieve it. Inside the shop, the owner and his assistant Rex, notice the woman on a surveillance camera. When the three of them do battle inside the pawnshop, it will be the first volley in a war to decide who will rule in Hell. *** Shaken from his conflict with the demon residing in The Moore House, the pawnshop owner in Goffstown had hoped for a reprieve from supernatural carnage. Instead, when a possessed woman enters his shop demanding an item he is sworn to protect, violence remains his only option. Three of those who had assisted him in the defeat of the demon James Moore will be pulled back into battle. They, along with three innocents who have been sucked into this new vortex of evil are the only ones preventing an overthrow of Hell. The problem for the pawnshop owner is... God isn't the one on their side.

Do Not Weep For Me

Twisted Publishing

David Adams Richards of the Miramichi: A Biographical Introduction to His Work

Widely considered to be one of Canada's most important authors, David Adams Richards has been honoured with a Giller Prize and two Governor General's Literary Awards. Despite this, there has been a dearth of critical appraisal of his life and works. In David Adams Richards of the Miramichi, Tony Tremblay sheds light not only on Richards' art and achievements, but also on Canadian literary criticism in general.Tremblay maps out the early influences on Richards' thinking and writing by drawing on interviews, archival records, and cultural studies of New Brunswick. He argues that the author is a more sophisticated craftsman than his critical reception has assumed and makes the case for a more nuanced analysis of his works. Equal parts literary biography, literary criticism, and cultural study of New Brunswick, David Adams Richards of the Miramichi provides a rare glimpse into the struggles and triumphs of a New Brunswick artist in a national and provincial milieu.

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

University of Toronto Press

Goffstown, New Hampshire has seen its share of supernatural mayhem, murder, and monsters. With the banishment of the demon James Moore, some in the town believed their bloody past was behind them. The devil knows better.\nFor weeks, an old disabled woman hesitates then waddles past the window of the Goffstown News building. On the day she finally enters the office, she has one hell of a story to tell the editor, Manuel Chance, but there is a caveat to his publishing it. Manuel is skeptical of the bizarre tale and suspicious of her motives. When she removes her clothing to provide evidence for her story, his skepticism vanishes, but his suspicion grows when he hears the basis for her caveat. She wants Manuel to investigate her husband to determine if he is behind the disappearance of four local children.\nAs Paul Lane steps out of his home, uneasiness overwhelms him. While he’s distracted, his daughter Cindy asks to play on the swing set in the backyard. In the unguarded moment, Paul agrees, making it the biggest mistake of his life. After Cindy disappears without a trace, a woman approaches Paul with a similar story. Together, they wait for the return of their children. When the two girls are found and returned to their parents, relief turns to confusion after the two girls make an astonishing claim. Confusion turns to horror when they discover the children have brought someone else back with them.\nA battered, bruised, filthy woman pulls her stolen Subaru into a parking lot across from The Goffstown Pawnshop. With two decomposing bodies in the back of the car, she has driven non-stop from the Midwest to procure an item from the pawnshop owner. Possessed, she will stop at nothing to retrieve it. Inside the shop, the owner and his assistant Rex notice the woman on a surveillance camera. When the three of them do battle inside the pawnshop, it will be the first volley in a war to decide who will rule in Hell.\nShaken from his conflict with the demon residing in The Moore House, the pawnshop owner in Goffstown had hoped for a reprieve from supernatural carnage. Instead, violence remains his only option when a possessed woman enters his shop demanding an item he is sworn to protect. Three who had assisted him in defeating the demon James Moore are pulled back into battle. They, along with three innocents sucked into this new vortex of evil, are the only ones preventing an overthrow of Hell. The problem for the pawnshop owner is, God isn’t the one on their side.

Fright Train

Out in the darkness a mournful whistle howls, the ground shakes, and steam hisses as the Fright Train rumbles into the station. From the Victorian Age to contemporary times, fear rides the rails in these tales set on and around trains of all kinds. Climb aboard and let 13 of today's best and two classic horror writers take you on night journeys to destinations unknown. There is something inherently creepy about trains. Don't think so? Anyone who has ever been awakened late at night by a distant train whistle knows there is no lonelier sound. It is a mournful howl from a soulless traveler on a night journey to destinations unknown. Writers have long known the macabre romance of trains. Charles Dickens' story The Signalman is considered a classic of horror. Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, wrote of The Hellbound Train in the fifties. Manly Wade Wellman wrote about The Little Black Train, which comes for a sinner's soul. Clive Barker took us for a ride on The Midnight Meat Train. This anthology came about because co-editor Tony Tremblay and I were having a social-media discussion of horror stories involving trains. We said we'd enjoy writing that kind of story, and writer/publisher John McIlveen joined in and said he would publish such a book if we could get enough stories. The following summer at the North Eastern Writer's Conference, aka Camp Necon, we firmed up the plans, and Scott Goudsward joined as third co-editor. We decided to call ourselves The Switch House Gang, after the small buildings where manual track switches were housed. Those switches were used to direct trains to different sets of tracks, sending them to varying locations. That's what we hope to do with this book. Send readers on many dark and dangerous journeys. We wanted a wide range of stories, and we got them. They vary from Victorian-era ghost stories to contemporary chillers to dark fantasy. Some are just plain creepy. One or two are humorous. Many are terrifying. None are boring. Anyway, the conductor keeps glancing at his watch. Your seat is waiting. Don't worry about the shadows in the car or the strange-looking passengers. You don't need a ticket. Just a willingness to travel to places unknown. Featuring stories by: Amanda DeweesChristopher GoldenScott GoudswardBracken MacLeodElizabeth MassieJames A MooreLee MurrayErrick NunnallyStephen Mark RaineyCharles R RutledgeJeff StrandTony TremblayMercedes M YardleyAnd Classic Stories by: Charles DickensArthur Conan Doyle

Moore, James A.

Massie, Elizabeth

DeWees, Amanda

MacLeod, Bracken

Strand, Jeff.

Yardley, Mercedes M.

Golden,Christopher

The Moore House

With THE MOORE HOUSE, Tony Tremblay takes us on a terrifying journey. Three excommunicated nuns, Nora, Agnes, and Celeste, join a paranormal unit sanctioned by the Catholic Church, in the hopes for redemption in God’s eyes. As empaths, their jobs are to verify reports of demonic possession, and when their boss, Father MacLeod, is persuaded to investigate a house in a small New Hampshire town, the three women are chosen to assess these claims. Goffstown police files detail numerous extraordinary occurrences at the Moore house, including seven gruesome, unsolved killings. For this reason, the three empaths are instructed to not enter the dwelling, but to employ their abilities while circling outside the house. Nora, Agnes, and Celeste proclaim it free of supernatural forces, but they are wrong...dead wrong.The three women discover their presence is part of a larger plan. The Moore House is not only possessed, but it soon possesses them, forcing them to relive the sins that had resulted in their excommunications. Their belief in God and redemption dissolving, they become pawns in a demonic scheme, a means to an end, in which Father MacLeod is their only hope. But Father MacLeod has made his own deal with the devil, and the devil is ready to collect. The Moore House, described as Ghost Story meets The Exorcist, will possess you, as well. "I’m a big fan of religious-themed horror, and I enjoyed Tremblay’s approach. With plenty of haunted house mayhem, an interesting cast, and a flawed but likable crew of demon hunters, THE MOORE HOUSE is a fine debut and a quick read to get the chills going. ~ The Horror Fiction ReviewI adored this horror novel, in every sense. Author Tony Tremblay knows how to terrorize his characters and his readers. I read this over two evenings/nights, which was really brave of me, since THE MOORE HOUSE is super scary. I won't be forgetting this novel for quite a long time. I especially won't forget the explosively terrifying opening scenes involving a homeless, feckless, drifter--and THE MOORE HOUSE. ~ The Haunted Reading Room THE MOORE HOUSE is an unrelenting tale of possession, distantly echoing themes of The Amityville Horror, The Exorcist and Poltergeist. From the opening page the reader is pulled into the fictional hell of Tony's mind, and it doesn't stop until the final pages. There is no fat on this book - it is lean and muscled, at times brutally graphic. Typically it takes me roughly a week to finish a novel these days, but this treasure was devoured within two days. Not because it's an easy read, but rather the almost seamless and unpretentious style in which Tony writes.~ Michael Upstills ReviewsTony's writing will fill any horror reader's appetite ~ rest assured.~ Buttonholed Book ReviewsI can’t think of a better way to describe THE MOORE HOUSE than with the author’s own words of warning from one character to another in the actual story…“Think of all the scary stories you’ve read about demonic possession. Remember all the horrible scenes you’ve seen in horror movies. This will be worse.”From the very first page, I was drawn into the story of this house said to have a black soul and the tale of three former Nuns, empaths, employed by the Church to determine if there is any evidence of possession.The Moore House itself may be evil, but as a book it’s good. It’s more than good — it’s great, and it’s terribly effective in what it sets out to accomplish. Tony Tremblay continues to grow as an author and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. ...about halfway through, I got the feeling I was reading a breakout book by an author I’ve been reading since the very beginning. As a reader and reviewer, that’s pretty damn exciting. Simply stated, The Moore House is one of the best possession stories I’ve read since The Exorcist.I fully recommend adding this novel to your Summer TBR pile.-- Frank Michaels Errington - Cemetery Dance Magazine

United States

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Tremblay, Tony. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Tremblay, Tony