Exciting News: Tony Black’s Debut Short Story Collection Coming This October!
We’re thrilled to share some exciting literary news from one of Belfast’s most distinctive voices.
Tony Black, originally from Carnlough, County Antrim and now living in West Belfast, has been writing fiction for fifteen years. His nearly fifty short stories and micro fictions have appeared in Ireland and around the world across The Belfast Review, Púca, The Bangor Literary Journal, The Martello, An Áitúil, Howl New Irish Writing, The Apiary, and New Isles Press (an imprint of Yellow House Publishing), as well as in Australia, India, the USA, and Finland (in translation). He’s been featured in The Irish Times, broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster, and was twice runner-up in the Colm Tóibín International Short Story Award.
His stories also live in the archives of the National Library of Ireland and The Linen Hall Library in Belfast. Currently completing an MA in Creative Writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University Belfast, Tony now takes a significant step forward with the publication of his debut collection.
We’re delighted to announce that Anything Strange or Startling will arrive on 29th October 2025, published by Yellow House Publishing.
This long-anticipated debut gathers the best of Tony’s short fiction from the past fifteen years: a masterful mix of short stories and punchy micro fictions. These tales take us everywhere from a Belfast jazz club in the 1950s and a devout medieval village of faith, to a 1970s Citybus ride, a misfired 1980s weed run, and even the surprising presence of a Comanche Native American in the Glens of Antrim. At their core are stories of love and loss, family and friendship, morality, money, art, and faith. The ordinary and extraordinary sit side by side, illuminated by Tony’s sharp wit, exquisite language, and deep compassion. These are vivid reminders of what it means to be human and how fiction illuminates that journey.
Mark your calendars for 29th October 2025. Anything Strange or Startling is a striking debut that boldly cements Tony Black’s place among Northern Ireland’s most compelling literary voices.
For press inquiries or requests for advance review copies, please contact Yellow House Publishing (Contact). Book cover Art by Joel Simon www.joelsimon.art