"Blow us Away with the Style." A Chat with Sandi Wisenberg, Editor of Another Chicago Magazine

Editor of politically oriented lit mag takes us behind the scenes

Another editor interview is in the books!

Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Sandi Wisenberg, Editor of Another Chicago Magazine.

ACM is independent of any institution, and has lived on volunteer efforts and grants. Each editor has autonomy and publishes work that ranges from conventional to experimental. We adore writing that is engaged with the world without being polemical or didactic. We support small publishers whenever we can—those enterprises that Raymond Carver called “the backbone of the national literature.” To that end, we run interviews with (mostly) small-press authors; publish excerpts of books from independent presses in our new Forthcoming series; and (again mostly) review books published by small presses.

I have always wondered about the name of this magazine, so I was delighted to finally get a chance to ask about it. Sandi shared that when the original editors launched the journal, in 1977, they’d considered various names. These included Your Mama’s Drawers, Blue Plate Special, You Can’t Cheat and Miller Highlife. Since the magazine was initially launched “as a publication to showcase work of University of Illinois at Chicago Circle,” it was Another Chicago Magazine that stuck.

As for what Sandi looks for in nonfiction submissions now (she is both Editor-in-Chief and Nonfiction Editor), several words came up: “style, passion, intelligence, reflection,” and a “sense of what the piece means.” She spoke about a work of nonfiction being successful not only because the piece dazzles at the sentence level, but because it possesses a larger meaning. That meaning can often come in the way of the narrator’s reflection on their own position in society (reflecting on their own privilege or other socially conscious elements) or it can come through the piece’s style itself.

Sandi referred several times to the recently published piece, “Medication” by Echo Jardini,” as an example of what excites her in a work of nonfiction—a fusion of content and style, such that the work creates a greater sense of meaning than just a straight rendering of the subject matter would.

Each submission goes directly to the editors of the magazine. When you hear Sandi describe the process of reading submissions and deciding whether a piece can be revised, how it might be revised, whether or not to approach the writer with suggestions for revision, and so on, it’s hard not to pick up on how intensely she engages with all the material. The staff here are volunteers, so response times might be on the longer side. But submitters can be sure their work is receiving thoughtful attention and time.

There is much more to today’s conversation. Sandi told us what she tends to see a lot of in submissions (foreign travel, breakups, dying relatives, childhood memories) as well as what she hopes to see more of—“great writing!”

For these insights and everything else, including what keeps Sandi excited each day to the work of lit mag editing, you will have to watch the video!

The site’s submissions guidelines state, “We’re open now for art, interviews, translations, and reviews, as well as pieces on Ukraine. We’re also receiving submissions of excerpts from forthcoming books released by independent presses.”

New work goes live on the site two times per week.

The editors are also always welcoming to people who wish to volunteer as readers for the journal. If you’d like to get involved, email them at anotherchimagazine@gmail.com. Be sure to state which genre you would prefer to read.

To everyone who came out today to join the conversation, thank you for tuning in! Your faces are the sweet spicy goodness of my autumn pumpkin pie!

And, of course, thank you to Sandi for taking the time to help us peel back the curtain of another lovely little magazine.

Happy viewing!