Santa Monica College has announced the release of the Fall 2016 issue of Santa Monica Review, SMC’s esteemed national literary arts journal. To celebrate, a launch party/reading event – “Santa Monica Review Presents...” – will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday, October 9, in The Edye at the SMC Performing Arts Center on Santa Monica Boulevard at 11th Street, Santa Monica.
Tickets are available now through Brownpapertickets.com and cost $10. Refreshments will be served, and books will be available for purchase and author signing. Abundant free parking available on premises.
The celebration will be introduced by poet, teacher, and activist Susan Suntree (Sacred Sites: The Secret History of Southern California) and feature readings by four recent contributors to the magazine; Monona Wali (My Blue Skin Lover), Richard Wirick (Kicking In), Katharine Haake (The Time of Quarantine), and Michelle Latiolais (Widow, She).
The latest issue of Santa Monica Review, edited by Andrew Tonkovich, also host of the weekly show “Bibliocracy” on KPFK (90.7 FM) – features 13 pieces from contributors who include So Cal writers Ron Carlson (Return to Oakpine), as well as Katharine Haake, Monona Wali, and Richard Wirick. The issue offers an essay on writing and political activism by novelist and New Mexico garlic farmer Stanley Crawford (Log of the S.S. The Mrs. Unguentine), and short stories and essays from frequent contributors Erik Rangno of Orange County and Olga Zilberbourg of San Francisco, as well as Review first-timers Todd Easton Mills, Vishwas R. Gaitonde, Zlatina G. Sandalska, Billy Middleton, Michael Mattes, and K.L. Browne, all with impressive publication histories. A collection rich in urgent perspectives, humor, and satire, as well as voice-driven stories and essays, the Fall 2016 issue of the Review offers readers an eclectic literary mash-up typical of the iconoclastic magazine's dedication to varieties of very good writing.
The Review’s launch party, says Tonkovich, “offers one of the most reliably high-quality and accessible opportunities to enjoy literary performance in the region, and at an intimate venue.”
Santa Monica Review, published twice yearly as part of Santa Monica College’s commitment to encouraging literacy and engagement with the literary arts, showcases established authors and emerging writers. Founded by editor, acclaimed novelist, and SMC creative writing instructor Jim Krusoe (Parsifal, The Sleep Garden), the Review has achieved a solid reputation as one of the West Coast's leading literary arts journals, and has presented works of fiction and nonfiction, including writing by authors Alan Cheuse, Diane Lefer, the late James Houston, and Gary Soto. Recent works from the Review – the only nationally distributed literary magazine published by a U.S. community college – appear in the annual Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories, and PEN/O. Henry anthologies.
Santa Monica Review is available for sale online and at the SMC Bookstore, Beyond Baroque in Venice, Skylight Books, and other area booksellers. Copies are also available by mail and by subscription through Santa Monica Review, Santa Monica College, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica 90405. The publication costs $7 per issue or $12 for the two issues each year.
For more information, visit the newly redesigned Santa Monica Review website (www.smc.edu/sm_review) or call (310) 434-3597.
- Submitted by Grace Smith, SMC Public Information Officer