CONFLUENCE
Coming September 1, 2026 | ARSENAL PULP PRESS
A NOVEL-IN-STORIES | Alex Turner + Lucian Childs
[a] powerful novel—simply and directly told, with a great narrative engine and a fully realized emotional arc.—Trevor Corkum, author of The World After Us
In 1956, fifteen-year-old Teddy—a lonely boy drawn to the water and woods surrounding his small town of Harrison Hot Spring—is overwhelmed by his feelings upon meeting the bad boy Wade. Over the next decade, Teddy strives to shape an authentic life, while ultimately facing his unrequited love for his friend. This poignant tale furthers our understanding of a little described moment in queer Canadian history—the decade prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots, the event which sparked the modern gay rights movement. | MORE |
Read the penultimate tale from Confluence.
The story simply teems with love—the unrequited, the joyously consummated, and for the authors, love undying.—Caroline Adderson, author of A Russian Sister and A Way to Be Happy
Written with great care and feeling, it is testament to a love between two men that transcends the ephemeral.—Kristyn Dunnion, author
I can’t remember when I’ve become so fully immersed in fiction.—Ken Harvey, author of The Book of Casey Adair
A loving, warm, and turbulent page-turner.—Richard Mirabella, author of Brother & Sister Enter the Forest
Alex Turner, Chilliwack-Sardis Overpass, 2002, digital collage