“Idle observations at a ferry landing; thoughts that surface when we try to sleep; a young woman’s unhappy visit to a radiologist’s office; the sensation of floating after a strong dive; a hilarious tale of chickens as weapons; and the musings of a self-described middle-aged woman in the throes of a new love affair – with Montana and fly fishing…”
Orcas Island’s Jill McCabe Johnson, executive director of Artsmith — a non-profit to support the arts – is describing some of the work featured in the spring 2009 issue of Shark Reef, an online literary magazine publishing the writing and art of San Juan Islands residents and visitors. “These stories and poems bring welcome light after the long winter,” she says.
Johnson was co-editor with Lorna Reese for the spring 2009 edition. Reese founded the magazine in 2001 with Alie Smaalders, Laurie Parker and Leta Marshall under the auspices of the Lopez Writers Guild and works with a different co-editor on each edition. Go to sharkreef.org to find the current offerings and archived issues.
The spring issue features fiction from Sharon Wooten and Lindy Reese, memoir from Ann Bodle Nash, drama from Lynn Aliya and poems from Oak Boesky, Lisa Lawrence, MollyBee Welkin and Janet Yang. Featured visual artist is Susan Slapin. Wooten is the first-ever Shaw Island writer in Shark Reef; Nash and Yang are from Lopez; Welkin and Slapin from Orcas Island; Boesky and Lawrence from San Juan; and Aliya and Reese are occasional visitors to the San Juans.
“We feel privileged to bring the diverse voices of new writers to the reading public in Shark Reef,” says Reese. “We give careful attention to every single submission so that readers of the magazine can count on a first-class reading experience. Soon, we plan to bring these voices to the air in Writers Read programs on KLOI Radio.”
Shark Reef publishes two issues a year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Submission deadlines are June 30 and December 31. The magazine considers solicited and unsolicited material, published previously or unpublished; fiction, non-fiction prose, poetry and dramatic writing. It also features artwork by visual artists in each issue as well. Anyone living in the islands or who has visited is eligible to submit.
