Louis Rastelli
Louis Rastelli is a bilingual Montrealer. His first published work was in the form of music reviews and interviews written for the local free monthly magazine RearGarde when he was 16. He began publishing Fish Piss Magazine in 1996, an irregular compendium of local writing and art named “Canada’s best zine” by Broken Pencil Magazine. His writing has also appeared in Vice, Clamor, Saturday Night, the Montreal Mirror and numerous other publications, as well as in a series of self-published miniature books of short stories and historical essays.
In 2001, Rastelli created the Distroboto network of cultural vending machines, which are former cigarette machines converted to sell all sorts of local art, crafts, music, film and writing in various cafés and bars in Montreal. Shortly after its debut, the Distroboto project was named one of the ‘Ideas of the Year’ by the New York Times.
In 2002, along with other small publishers, Rastelli co-founded Expozine, Montreal’s annual small press, comic and zine fair. He also co-founded Archive Montreal, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the various ephemeral creations that flow steadily out of the independent cultural scene of the city.
