Tragically Hip-Themed Fiction Hits #1 in Canadian Short Stories, Raises Funds for Cancer Research - from David Sachs, Author

Hip, Twisted: Illustrated stories inspired by Hip songs last week hit #1 in Amazon's Canadian short stories, and top ten among all short story collections.

The book was published in December to honour the band's final tour and as a fundraiser for cancer research. The collection, from Quebec writer and Hip-fan David Sachs, includes fictional 'covers' of classic Hip songs, along with full-page images of the band and Canadiana in large-format hardcover.

The stories, which Sachs worked on as a hobby for fifteen years, were also released as ebooks, with one (Lionized & Little Bones) picked as National Post ebook of the week.

"I always felt like there was a story in the Hip's songs, even when there wasn't one explicitly," Sachs says. "The idea was to take some essence of the songs from one medium to a new one. As the Hip did with their song Courage coming out of Hugh MacLennan's writing, or Disney's Fantasia. It says something about how powerful their songs are that they leave so much space for new storytelling, and that there's been so much interest in these new interpretations."

Tragically Hip, Twisted is available from on-line retailers, and coming to Chapters nationwide.

Sachs' first novel, The Flood, was also a #1 bestseller. He is a veteran magazine and newspaper freelancer, and winner of a Writer's Digest non-fiction award. Sachs lives in Chelsea, QC with his wife and two children. He is an organizer with international development, social aid, and political groups.