Welcome! This newsletter combines my 20+ years of traveller’s tales from Europe’s far edges, speculative, fabulist and detective fiction, historical and literary studies, book and music reviews, analysis, poetry and more. My unique tastes cater to an educated and engaged international audience—real people who are interested in the world and the world of artistic imagination.
About Christopher Deliso
I’m a professional writer and trained historian (MPhil in Byzantine Studies, University of Oxford, 1999). A co-author of over 20 Lonely Planet guides to countries like Greece, Turkey, Western Balkans, Bulgaria and Romania, I’ve also published travel articles in airline magazines, specialty travel magazines, and newspapers and websites internationally. My other freelance research and consulting work has been for major companies like The Economist Group, Jane’s, and UK/EU boutique consultancies.
My freelance career has also given me an expansive view of different cultures, scenarios and remarkable historic events, all of which make excellent topics for fiction writing, my lifelong main love.
I’ve published stories and poems in fiction media like 3:AM Magazine, The Pedestal, The Galway Review, Mystic Owl Magazine, Last Stanza Poetry Journal and Mediterranean Poetry. As of 2024, I have forthcoming fiction works in two new anthologies—more information when available.
When and What Does the TLS Publish?
Present (2024) coverage frequency and timing is still TBD because of the author’s current commitment to revising his detective novel. Please bear with me as I finish that, and expect more news in the near future, as occasional publications continue to be made,
A look at 2023’s past publishing schedule, and browing the archive, will provide a pretty good idea of what the TLS does.
2023 Publishing Schedule
From 1 July-22 December 2023, the TLS published on the 1st, 11th and 22nd each month- plus some extras. The 1/11/22 schedule was like this.
1st: Paid Subscribers enjoy a story, travelogue or other unique tale inspired by an original, classic travel photos taken during my career as a professional travel author. These colorful, edifying and entertaining pieces are designed to uplift and help start off your month right. They span all genres, and live in the brand-new 1st Ephemera Section.
11th: ALL subscribers (Paid and Free alike) receive one of my new and otherwise unavailable fictional stories; these will live in either the subLit or ÆsubFabulist Sections, genre dependent. It’s been a pleasant surprise to see the positive reaction my short fiction has received on the platform, and there will be plenty more to come.
22nd: ALL subscribers (Paid and Free alike) get a unique non-fiction piece relevant to the TLS’ other Sections (History, EastMed and Travel). This is the time of the month for spotlighting literary studies, historic events, research and reviews that make you smarter.
From 2 February-1 June 2023: The newsletter’s early days started with a month of Irish literature coverage, some book reviews, travel, history and short stories, all in no fixed order.
As of spring 2024, I’m preparing new releases and schedules TBD soon. Subscribe now if you enjoy my writing and wish to be informed of new developments.
Meet the TLS Sections
What the Internet calls website Tabs is what Substack calls ‘Sections’- the top-level folders on each stack’s homepage in which unique content lives.
Here is what the TLS currently offers (all subscribers by default receive emails from each Section; should you only want emails from certain ones, change your Substack Settings- I can’t do it for you).
My future detective novel, in progress since 2021, takes place in and around Greece, around the year 2000, and combines action, adventure, philosophy and spirituality, comedic twists, and unforgettable characters and places. And there’s also several entangled mystery to be solved!
All about my History Section, where historical research and reviews live.
The home for both essays on literary greats and some of my own great short stories.
The home Section for most of my Travel-related features and tips.
The home Section for the historic and strategic aspects of the Eastern Mediterranean countries, with a focus on diplomacy, security and intelligence.
The home Section for my surreal, comic and unabashedly fabulist short fiction. Don’t take it too seriously and you’ll enjoy it more.
This paid-subscriber Section contains inspirational first-of-the-month travel, fiction and other hybrid narrations, all graced by a classic original travel photo taken by the author; each story is inspired by the relevant photo, but may in fact have nothing to do with it. There’s nothing to see until 1 July, but from then on, a new article will appear to help kick off your month right on each 1st of the month.
Follow/Contact The Author
For Substack Notes and tag purposes:
Visit Christopher Deliso’s official website here.
