Our February 2012 web exclusive is "Scars" by Venita Blackburn. Don't miss this one! The story includes a photograph, taken by the author, of a one-legged seagull. Learn more about this story and the author on the ASF blog. 

Venita Blackburn earned her MFA from Arizona State University in 2008. Her recent stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Faultline, Bellevue Literary Review, Devil’s Lake Review, Feathertale Review, and for audio download through Bound Off and Sniplits. Other honors include finalist for the 2010 Indiana Review Fiction Prize and finalist in the 2011 Open City RRofihe Trophy Short Story Contest. Her home town is Compton, California, but she now lives and teaches in Arizona.