R A Jacobson

After leaving the north forests and farmland of Saskatchewan, Rick headed to Calgary and the Alberta College of Art. After 4 years of hard work, he came out confused and somewhat lost. Now what?

Rick has been a bouncer (1 week), he has been a radio switcher (1 night) he worked at the CBC (1 month) he was a stuntman (2 action movies that he never saw but he’s not alone in that) he modelled briefly (he was the Jolly Green Giant for a time). Rick has built houses, packed groceries, cut grass, he has written children’s books (4) illustrated children’s books (19). He has worked as an illustrator, a writer, a designer and a painter.

Rick has won awards for his work in advertising and publishing including the Ruth Schwartz Award, the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award and numerous national and international awards including the Toronto Art Directors’ Awards, Communication Arts Magazine’s Award of Excellence, American Illustration Award of Excellence, and the New York Art Directors’ Award of Excellence. He has been featured in Smithsonian magazine and in The Artist’s Magazine. His commissioned portraits include Margaret Atwood, Robertson Davies, Christopher Ondaatje, and David Thomson.

 Three years ago Rick began writing a series of adult paranormal fantasy stories resulting in three collections of short stories, a podcast, a graphic novel and a novel. The rabbit hole goes deep, and the joy he found in recording the podcast, bringing the stories to life with his voice, resulting in as of this August over 100 episodes of the podcast Stories from a Hard Place.

Rick has two collections of short stories from a HARD PLACE, ‘A Single Round’ and 'A Lead Pill'. A third “A Cold Hand” is scheduled to be published this fall

His novel HARD PLACE was published in October of last year and his graphic novel of the same name is in its final stages.