Santa Monica Review at UC Irvine

The 20th anniversary issue of the Santa Monica Review will be celebrated in Orange County tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday May 13 at the UC Irvine bookstore.

Join contributors Linda Purdy and Lisa Alvarez along with editor Andrew Tonkovich at 5 pm.

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, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, and essays—including works by well-known authors such as Aimee Bender, Gary Soto, Lynn Freed, Harold Pinter and Diane Lefer —during its twenty years of publication, and has achieved a reputation as one of the West Coast’s leading journals.

The Spring 2008 issue of Santa Monica Review, edited by Andrew Tonkovich, includes work by the magazine’s founder, frequent local contributors, prize-winning national authors and first-time-in-print writers. With a first-time ever color cover and expanded length, the edition includes a chapter from his book-in progress by Southern California novelist Jervey Tervelon (Understand This), two short stories by Barry Gifford (Wild at Heart) and a darkly comic piece by Terese Svoboda (Black Glasses Like Clark Kent). Also included is work by three first-time writers, among them UCLA grad student Bright Yuan and Steve De Jarnatt, the writer/director of the indie cult classic film Miracle Mile.

The issue begins with a short story by Jim Krusoe and includes writing from two of his former Santa Monica College creative writing workshop students, Stephanie Kerley Schwartz and Lisa Alvarez, as well as offerings from frequent contributor Gary Amdahl (Visigoth) and Roberto Ontiveros and a short story by Victoria Patterson, a UC Riverside MFA student whose collection arrives next year. Hadley Hall Meares tells a wry, exhuberant, hilarious story about cast members of a traveling religious pageant. Anne Germanacos, also a fequent contributor, writes from her part-time home on the island of Crete.

Full-color cover art for the Spring 2008 20th Anniversary edition is by renowned Southern California artist Peggy Reavey.

The UC Irvine Bookstore reading is free - except for the parking.