Karl Schembri, born in 1978, is a novelist and poet who branched out of investigative journalism into the humanitarian field, all the while maintaining a healthy literary output. His first published work appeared in 1997 with the self-published poetry anthology Frekwenzi ta’ Spirti fis-Sakra (Frequencies of Drunken Spirits). Next came the short story collection Taħt il-Kappa tax-Xemx (Under the Sun, Minima) in 2002, which placed Schembri in the roster of alternative literary voices gathered under the umbrella of the short-lived but deeply influential micro-publisher Minima. But it was the release of his debut novel Il-Manifest tal-Killer (Choppy Books, 2006) which secured his position as a notable and urgent literary voice, even leading vet
