"Nightfall" by Ben Mann (Cover Art for Crab Creek Review 2011 v.1)

Painted by Ben Mann in response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Nightfall,(the cover art for our current issue, 2011 v.1), is available for purchase as a print, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross.
As Japan's recent news of natural disaster crossed the airwaves, Bellingham, WA Artist Ben Mann joined the legions of Americans sharing one sentiment: "What can I do?" Mann elected to put his feelings down in paint, specifically wanting to depict the spirit of survival in the wake of devastation. "The black stems honor their citizens either killed or missing. Plum Blossoms, to me, are iconic of Spring and therefore renewal," commented Mann from his Fairhaven Art Studio. He wants to make a difference by thinking globally while working at a grassroots level locally. All proceeds from the sale of this print will be forwarded to Red Cross Aid to Sendai.
You can purchase Mann's print here: http://www.localartistprints.com/nightfall.html
Ben Mann works in the Historic Fairhaven District, making artworks that both depict and impact the local landscape. When he isn't painitng, sketching and meeting with clients, he frequents public elmentary school classrooms. Via the Allied Arts Education Project, Mann presents a 2-hour workshop for students K-6, and is funded to do so through a grant from the Washington State Arts Commission. Bridging one's passion and one's livelihood is never a simple task, but Mann has relished the challenge. "I convey to kids that I went into commercial art not to get rich, but because I simply wanted to make art everyday! Consequently I paint all week long, and still reach enthusiastically for my sketchbook on the weekends."


Order a copy of the current issue of Crab Creek Review here: http://www.crabcreekreview.org/subscrb.htm
The poets and writers in 2011 v.1: Hal Ackerman (fiction contest winner), Cameron Aveson (poetry contest winner), Mary Jo Balistreri, Michelle Brittan, Dennis Caswell, Todd Davis (interview), Mark DeCarteret, Deborah H. Doolittle, Mark Doty (interview), Ken Fifer, Matthew Guenette, Kelley Henry, Sky Joiner, Valarie Jonas, Mary Julia Klimenko, Dorianne Laux, Ben Mann (cover artist), Frank Matagrano, Claire McQuerry, Greg Nicholl, Hannah Oberman-Breindel, Doug Ramspeck, Bethany Reid, Susan Sample, Tina Schumann, Linda Strever, Jeanne Wagner, John Whalen, Monica Woelfel, Mabel Yu, and Jody A. Zorgdrager.

Crab Creek Review 2011 Vol.I--out in May

Crab Creek Review 2011 Vol.I will be available at the end of May!  The poets and writers in this issue: Hal Ackerman (fiction contest winner), Cameron Aveson (poetry contest winner), Mary Jo Balistreri, Michelle Brittan, Dennis Caswell, Todd Davis (interview), Mark DeCarteret, Deborah H. Doolittle, Mark Doty (interview), Ken Fifer, Matthew Guenette, Kelley Henry, Sky Joiner, Valarie Jonas, Mary Julia Klimenko, Dorianne Laux, Ben Mann (cover artist), Frank Matagrano, Claire McQuerry, Greg Nicholl, Hannah Oberman-Breindel, Doug Ramspeck, Bethany Reid, Susan Sample, Tina Schumann, Linda Strever, Jeanne Wagner, John Whalen, Monica Woelfel, Mabel Yu, and Jody A. Zorgdrager.

From the Editors' Note:  In this issue, we peek behind the doors of two incredible poets, Mark Doty and Todd Davis, to see what their own writing worlds are made from. We find Martha Silano in a Kelley Henry poem about crowns, Gerald Stern and Leonardo da Vinci in a poem about a parachute, and Emily Dickinson appearing in a couple of places in the issue. We also celebrate the winners and finalists of our fiction and poetry contests... 

Order Crab Creek Review 2011 Vol.I here--http://www.crabcreekreview.org/subscrb.htm

Thank you for supporting our literary journal!

Crab Creek Review Announces Fiction Contest Winner: Hal Ackerman

Western Washington University professor and author, Kathryn Trueblood, has chosen "The Dancer Horse" by Hal Ackerman as the winner of Crab Creek Review's Annual Fiction Contest.

Hal Ackerman has been on the faculty of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television since 1985 and is currently co-area head of the screenwriting program.  His book, Write Screenplays That Sell…The Ackerman Way, is in its third printing, and is the text of choice in a growing number of screenwriting programs around the country. He has had numerous short stories published in literary journals over the past two years, including North Dakota Review, New Millennium Writings, Southeast Review, The Pinch, Storyglossia, Passages and The Yalobusha Review. His short Story, “Roof Garden” won the Warren Adler 2008 award for fiction and is published by Kindle. “Alfalfa,” was included in the anthology, I Wanna Be Sedated…30 Writers on Parenting Teenagers. Among the twenty-nine “other writers” were Louise Erdrich, Dave Barry, Anna Quindlen, Roz Chast, and Barbara Kingsolver. “Walk Through” is among Southeast Review’s World’s Best Short Shorts of 2010. Ackerman's non-fiction baseball memoir, “Talk To The Stars” appears in the 15th anniversary issue of Sports Literate. His play, TESTOSTERONE: How Prostate Cancer Made A Man of Me, won the William Saroyan Centennial Prize for drama and enjoyed a successful run in Los Angeles and has been performed nationwide for Prostate support groups. Ackerman's first novel, STEIN, STONED (www.tyrusbooks.com) was published in July 2010. STEIN, STUNG is forthcoming in late spring of 2011.

About his winning short story, "The Dancer Horse," Ackerman writes, "The race track is a great place to watch fate unfold. Everyone believes the story and judgment of their lives is playing out in the results of the next race. The best part is watching people watch the TV replay and hoping the result might be different." Fiction Contest Judge, Kathryn Trueblood, writes, "The story ("The Dancer Horse") introduces a richly idiosyncratic voice and the prose is percussive. The rhythm of the race track pervades but there are many kinds of urgency at work here. The story surprises the reader the way our own emotions often do, surfacing suddenly."

Special thanks to our judge, Kathryn Trueblood, Associate Professor of English at Western Washington University and award winning author. And, thank you to Jen Betterley and Nancy Canyon, Crab Creek Review's fiction editors.

Look for "The Dancer Horse" in Crab Creek Review 2011, Vol.1, which will be available at the end of May.

Congratulations, Hal!