The Spring 2009 issue of
Santa Monica Review
is available now.

Santa Monica College’s national literary arts journal, published twice yearly, showcases the literary voices of established authors and emerging writers. Founded by SMC English instructor Jim Krusoe (Blood Lake, Iceland, Girl Factory), the Review has presented readers experimental, thoughtful, and funny works of fiction and nonfiction—including works by well-known authors such as Gary Amdahl, Alan Cheuse, Molly Giles, James Houston, Michelle Latiolais, Gary Soto and Jervey Tervalon —during 21 years of publication, and has achieved a reputation as one of the West Coast’s leading journals.

The Spring 2009 issue of Santa Monica Review, edited by Andrew Tonkovich, includes work by novelist Louis B. Jones (California’s Over) and acclaimed East Los Angeles short story writer Michael Jaime-Becerra (Every Night is Ladies’ Night)

There’s also a long meditation by screenwriter Ellie Herman and stories from repeat contributors Alisa Slaughter, Dave Peters and poet/Young Adult novelist Michael Cadnum (The King’s Arrow) as well as a story about the Rose Parade by first-time-in-print writer, Sean Howell.

Editor Tonkovich notes a preponderance of Californians represented in the issue: “This volume just happens to deliver on our promise to feature regional writers, part of the magazine’s historical mission. Of course, contributors also happen to be some of the very best fiction and nonfiction creative writers anywhere.”

Cover art for the Spring 2009 edition is by artist Nomi Silverman from her series “The Shepard Cycle.” To view more of her work: http://www.nomisilverman.com/home.html

Santa Monica Review is available for sale online at the SMC Bookstore as well as at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center and Small World Books in Venice, SkyLight Books in Los Angeles, and other local and national chain booksellers. SMR is distributed by Ingram and Armadillo. Copies are also available by mail and by subscription through Santa Monica Review, Santa Monica College, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405.

For information on how to submit, see our guidelines page. No email submissions accepted.

Santa Monica Review • $7/issue • $12/year subscription

The Fall 2009 issue appears in October..

Complete contents of the Spring 2009 issue:

Ellie Herman – Life/Story
Robert Hambling Davis – Captain Bum’s March on Suburbia
Alisa Slaughter – Coyote in Winter
Ben Miller – Open House Today
Kenneth Siewert – Steering the Ship
Michael Jaime-Becerra – Joyce, Summer 1970
Michael Cadnum – Earthquake Murder Plane Crash Flood
Dave Peters – The Magician’s Assistant
Sean Howell – Rose Parade
Emily Quinlan – The Green Belt
Ben Jahn – The Caretaker
Louis B. Jones – The Fungibility Thing

Contributors:

Michael Jaime-Becerra is the author of Every Night Is Ladies’ Night. He recently completed his first novel and is in the process of starting up his second one.

Michael Cadnum’s thirty-third book, Peril on the Sea, is due out in the summer of 2009 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The novel tells the story of the Spanish Armada from the point of view of three eyewitnesses. Cadnum enjoys hearing from visitors to his website: www.michaelcadnum.com.

Robert Hambling Davis has published fiction in The Sun, Antietam Review, Homestead Review, University of Alabama Review, and Philadelphia Stories. He has received two Delaware State Arts Council fellowship grants for his fiction and creative nonfiction, and was a semifinalist in the William Faulkner Creative Writing Contest. One of his stories, “Death of a Deer,” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Bob lives on his family’s farm in north Delaware, and has taught yoga since 1971.

Ellie Herman’s fiction has appeared widely, including in The Massachusetts Review, The Missouri Review and The O. Henry Awards Collection. As a television writer/producer, she has written for many shows, including The Riches, Desperate Housewives, Chicago Hope, and My So-Called Life. She lives in Hancock Park with her husband, David, and their three teenage children, and currently teaches drama at Animo Pat Brown, a charter high school in South Los Angeles.

Sean Howell grew up in Pasadena, and has fond memories of being wrenched from sleep on New Year’s and dragged to the parade route to watch massive, flower-encrusted floats roll down Colorado Blvd. His story, “Rose Parade,” begins under a set of bleachers along that route, and ends in a stranger’s garage. He works as a journalist in the Bay Area. This is his first story to see print.

Ben Jahn grew up in Humboldt County and now lives in the East Bay area. His stories have appeared in Zyzzyva, McSweeney’s, The Greensboro Review, and in the Australian magazine Torpedo. He’s finishing a collection of stories and starting a novel.

Louis B. Jones is the author of the novels Ordinary Money, Particles and Luck, and California’s Over, all three New York Times “Notable Books.”

Ben Miller’s prose has appeared in Best American Essays, The Kenyon Review, The Yale Review, AGNI, Raritan, Salmagundi and elsewhere. Awards include a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Dave Peters works as a shark hunter in San Francisco. He lives with his dog, Chuckles. Most recently he’s had stories accepted by or published in Harpur Palate, The Southern Humanities Review, and The Red Rock Review. You can reach him at choners@pacbell.net.

Emily Quinlan is originally from Morgantown, West Virginia. After receiving her BA from the University of Delaware she lived and worked in New York City for two years before entering the MFA program at the University of California, Irvine. She is currently completing her third year in the program and is working on a novel and a collection of stories.

Kenneth Siewert has lived in Southern California for the past thirty years. He is currently completing his Masters in Creative Writing at California State University, Northridge. This is his second publication in SMR.

Nomi Silverman’s work is in the collection of the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, the Housatonic Museum of Art, the Hunterdon Museum of Art, and numerous national and international collections. In addition, she is a recipient of a Duke University Fellowship and a grant from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. The cover piece is from “The Shepard Cycle,” her recently completed suite of prints on the death of Matthew Shepard. Her work can be seen at www.nomisilverman.com.

Alisa Slaughter teaches at the University of Redlands and lives in the San Bernardino Mountains. She is a regular contributor to Santa Monica Review, and her work has also appeared in The Missouri Review, Natural Bridge, and Alimentum. She recently finished a draft of a novel, The Dancer Where She Fell.

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