Weekly Unfinished Tales and Short Stories from our Dataset
These stories are presented as part of our research into digital transformation in the arts.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Winter’s Bitter Bargain
Author: Eva Suluk | Category: Post-Apocalyptic | Genre: Political Thriller
The wind was a dull, persistent ache in the stone teeth of the mountains, a sound Briar had known all seventeen winters of her life. It sculpted the snowdrifts into phantom creatures against the high walls of The Hollow, this small community tucked into a forgotten crease of the world. Each gust rattled the heavy oak door of the Gathering Hall, a tremor that echoed the unease in her own chest. Inside, the air, though warmed by the central hearth, carried the faint, metallic scent of damp wool and simmering anxieties. Her breath feathered out, a visible ghost against the cold air, a testament to the persistent chill that seeped into everything, even the very bones of their collective hope.
The Algorithm’s Embrace
Author: Tony Eetak | Category: Noir | Genre: Satire
The air in the ‘Communal Connection Centre’ felt thick, cloying with the manufactured scent of spring blossoms and stale desperation. Fluorescent lights hummed a low, persistent whine above the cubicles, casting an unnatural glow on the pastel walls. Through a gap in the blinds, Harry could see the unnaturally green leaves of a young tree, swaying with an almost mechanical precision against a sky the colour of bruised plums.
The Grey District Ledger
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Espionage / Spy Fiction | Genre: Espionage / Spy Fiction
The air hung heavy and still, thick with the scent of damp concrete and the memory of countless forgotten lives. Outside, the city shivered under a thin blanket of winter snow, its usual clamour muted by the early morning hour and the pervasive, bone-deep cold. Inside the old building, dust motes danced in the sparse slivers of light, painting a tableau of neglect and a slow, creeping decay.
The Old Mill Trail
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Allegorical | Genre: Action-Adventure
A thin, persistent drizzle slicked the already sodden ground, turning the narrow track that once served the old mill into a slick, treacherous ribbon of mud and shattered shale. The air hung heavy with the smell of damp earth, decaying leaves, and the sharp, metallic tang of industrial neglect wafting from the forgotten structures further upriver. Spring, despite its tender promises of new growth, offered little comfort here, only a colder, wetter clarity to the slow, inevitable collapse of everything.
The Glint on Broadway
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Minimalist | Genre: Mystery
The wind howled a familiar, mournful song through the concrete canyons of downtown Winnipeg, a symphony of complaint against anyone foolish enough to be out in it. Snow, fresh and impossibly white, crunched under my boots, each step a dull, satisfying percussion against the city’s muted hum. It was that peculiar hour when the last vestiges of a weak winter sun bled into the first, tentative lights of the city, painting the sky in bruise-purple and fading tangerine. My breath plumed out in thick, ephemeral clouds, and my nose, despite the scarf wrapped twice around it, felt like it might snap off. The cold here wasn’t just a temperature; it was a presence, an argument against motion, against thought, against everything but the simple, desperate need for warmth. I pulled my toque lower, the rough wool scratching my forehead, trying to shut out the encroaching chill that seemed to seep into my bones, into the very corners of my mind.
About the Project
The Unfinished Tales and Short Stories collection was an interdisciplinary arts and narrative storytelling experiment in 2025. It was part of a creative arts and participatory research project by The Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners collectives. It focuses on two key areas: AI-Assisted Storytelling and Scriptwriting, exploring AI tools for generating ideas, plot structures, and story arcs; and Talent Development and Training, studying digital skills, literacy and training needs for creative professionals by experimenting with AI and immersive technologies to inform future projects. Funding and support were generously provided by the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects program and the Government of Ontario. We thank them for supporting the arts, digital transformation, and applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) research.
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