David Schembri
Author, Poet and Comic Creator
New Release
Careful With That Axe
Dive into the cold earth, dig through the damp leaves and burrow deep to uncover true darkness...
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In your hands is the 2026 expanded edition of the award nominated collection, Beneath the Ferny Tree, with 10 new original tales and additional artwork exclusive to this edition.
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Live the horror of war-torn Germany, discover true monsters aboard a slaver’s ship, hide in the shadows as children are stolen into the night, and face overwhelming dread as a prisoner is haunted by his past while desperately searching for a chance at redemption.
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Uncover true terror along the way, and always be careful with that axe.
Order Now
Enter at your own risk with David's first horror story collection.
This is the 2026 expanded edition of the award nominated collection, Beneath the Ferny Tree, with 10 new original tales and additional artwork exclusive to this edition.
Enjoy this exclusive edition, available only through the author. Get in touch!
Enter at your own risk with David's first horror story collection.
Vibrant and irreverent, David Schembri’s Splitting Sides re-examines some of our best-loved horror tropes in a riot of monstery fun.
‘Lee Murray, four-time Bram Stoker Awards®-winning author of Grotesque: Monster Stories
Praise & Reviews
Unearthly Fables" is a book that every fan of short, sharp fiction must have on his bookshelf. David Schembri's fiction is dark and brutal, and although it cuts to the chase, it still manages to be eloquent and descriptive, giving his flash fiction a distinctly poetic edge. And, as the word 'fable' in the title suggests, there is a fairy tale feel to many of his stories. I'm looking forward to reading more of David's fables in the future.
‘Cameron Trost, author and publisher of Black Beacon Books.
I love poetry mixed in with short fiction, and there's much to like about this collection of deliciously dark offerings from David Schembri (including some fab accompanying illustrations). Beneath the Ferny Tree is a versatile collection that delves into dark fantasy and as comfortably as it does the dark underbelly of humanity.
About David Schembri
David Schembri is an *award-nominated author, artist, comic creator and poet from Australia. He is the author of Unearthly Fables (The Writing Show, 2013), *Beneath The Ferny Tree (Close-Up Books, 2018), and the comics, Splitting Sides: Tales of Humorous Horror #1, *#2 and #3, Crowman #1 and Val the Vampire #1.