ABOUT

An independent press since 2010, Hypertext Magazine (online) and Hypertext Review (print) are the publishing initiatives of Chicago-based Hypertext Magazine & Studio (HMS). Our publications have always amplified the work of underrepresented, emerging, and established writers and visual artists. Hypertext is the place where innovative and genre-bending work coexist with more traditional forms. We publish startling short fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry, interviews, and delightful surprises that merge genres and bend rules.

Hypertext Magazine & Studio is highly committed to not only the literary community but our extended community in Chicago and beyond. Online, readers from around the world can access all content—including visual art and interviews—at no cost. In 2022, over 100,000 users read the magazine. 

Since becoming a nonprofit in 2017, we have published 11 print journals and paid hundreds of writers and visual artists. Not many independent presses have been around for over a decade and we are committed to continuing to champion high-quality writing from professional writers—including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, writers who are differently abled, and other marginalized communities—and to promote that writing to our already robust readership. We regularly publish interviews with writers who have books forthcoming from independent publishers in the spirit of providing added publicity. 

Since 2017, six essays have been recognized as “Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction” in HarperCollins The Best American Essays collections and one essay won an Illinois Arts Council Award.

HMS’s other program, our local community teaching outreach program, offers free writing workshops to Chicago-area adults rebuilding after incarceration, homelessness, poverty, violence, recovering from substance use disorders, or any life setbacks. Our workshops allow individuals to express themselves creatively while improving overall writing skills that will help them write persuasive cover letters, impactful resumes, and advocate for their rights. Most of our workshops are taught in Chicago’s Garfield Park neighborhoods, in collaboration with established nonprofits.

HMS is a recipient of partial grants from Illinois Humanities, Illinois Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and Chicago’s CityArts Department of Cultural Affairs (DCASE). We are firmly rooted in the belief that engaging the creative mind is essential to both individual and community health.