Editor's Note

by Greg Santos

Welcome to our first issue of 2026, friends. Here in Montreal, winter still has a firm hold, though the groundhog has reportedly seen its shadow.

carte blanche magazineFebruary 5, 2026editorial

The actress (study)

Cover art by Angie Quick

The oil painting “The actress (study)” is a work that explores the performance of sexuality. The painting borrows from imagery of the stage and asks the viewer what production are they witnessing.

photographycarte blanche magazineFebruary 3, 2026Angie QuickComment

Ding Dong

Comic by Charlie Chen

'Charlie' Pinhui Chen is a visual artist from China, currently based in Germany. Since 2021, she's been working in film as a set designer and illustrator.

comicscarte blanche magazineJanuary 27, 2026Charlie ChenComment

Scenes from "Skating on the Back of a Giant Whale"

Comic by Jake Kennedy

Jake Kennedy is the author of three full-length collections of poetry and also the author of several chapbooks.

comicscarte blanche magazineJanuary 27, 2026Jake KennedyComment

Ultimi Habitores Mundi—Inhabitants of the World’s Edge

Creative nonfiction by Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt

I was twelve when we came home from Beirut to Canada. My dad sat in the front of the taxi at the Montreal airport, while I squeezed into the backseat between Maman and my fourteen-year-old brother, Etienne.

non-fictioncarte blanche magazineJanuary 27, 2026Tanya Bellehumeur-AllattComment

Earth's Curve

Creative nonfiction by Grace Schwenk

A great lookout once told me that September is the best month at the tower. I’ve spent the last week trying to understand why.

fictioncarte blanche magazineJanuary 27, 2026Grace SchwenkComment

Round Trip

Creative nonfiction by Emira Tufo

Year after year, you live the last few weeks leading up to the annual pilgrimage to your hometown as if they were your last. The dread and the hunger kick in at twenty-one days before departure; once your remaining time falls short of a month, death feels very near.

non-fictioncarte blanche magazineJanuary 25, 2026Emira TufoComment

JETTY

Creative nonfiction by Kirby Michael Wright

Jetty was our palomino quarter horse, the daughter of Ol’ Sissy and a mystery stallion who’d mounted her between lines of wire in the fence line.

fictioncarte blanche magazineJanuary 25, 2026Kirby Michael WrightComment

Therapy Speak

Fiction by E.M. Foley

Ryan suggested therapy when I almost burned his cottage down. Not on purpose, although I didn’t do anything to stop it. I was trying to light the grill in the backyard when the flames suddenly shot up from the back.

fictioncarte blanche magazineJanuary 25, 2026E.M. FoleyComment

In the Parentheses

Fiction by Elizabeth Jacyshyn-Owen

It begins, as such things often do, not with a declaration but with a sound file. A voice, timestamped, pressed like wildflowers into the coffin of an .m4a delivered at 3:12am local time, which is to say: inconvenient.

fictioncarte blanche magazineJanuary 25, 2026Elizabeth Jacyshyn-OwenComment

The Most Beautiful Way to Spell It

Fiction by Yasmina Jaksic

Tomorrow was her birthday and, as every other child did, she would bring in birthday treats. Normally her mother made her stay home on her birthday if it fell on a weekday.

fictioncarte blanche magazineJanuary 25, 2026Yasmina JaksicComment

raccoon-sized or bigger

Fiction by Silas James

i keep calling 311 about these dead squirrels in the bike lane, i keep calling 311 about these dead squirrels in the bike lane, i keep calling 311 because there are dead squirrels in the bike lane and i am starting to think it’s only me who can see them

fictioncarte blanche magazineJanuary 25, 2026Silas JamesComment

Bells Without Wires

Fiction by Ersun Augustinus Kayra

The bell on the dépanneur door isn’t a bell—just a thin metal strip screwed to the frame, flexing when the door opens and making a high, stubborn sound.

fictioncarte blanche magazineJanuary 25, 2026Ersun Augustinus KayraComment

Muñekas

by Belén Catalán, stylized by Catherine De Sa Quintaes

Through interdisciplinary work spanning photography, video, real-time graphics, and creative direction, I create immersive environments rooted in personal experience and introspective reflection.

photographycarte blanche magazineJanuary 24, 2026Belen CatalanComment

Observations of the Waters

Photography by Clara Emery

The photographs included in Observations of the Waters tell a tale of the ocean and of belief.

photographycarte blanche magazineJanuary 24, 2026Clara EmeryComment

Urban Mountains

Photography by Pinaki Nath

Urban expansion is a major driver of global climate change and warming. In South Asia, metropolitan cities are rapidly growing, swallowing nearby suburban areas and creating a sense of sameness despite cultural, geographic, and demographic differences.

photographycarte blanche magazineJanuary 24, 2026Pinaki NathComment