Introducing Our New Editor

We’re thrilled to announce that Jess Zimmerman is the new Editor-in-Chief of electricliterature.com! Electric Literature’s mission is to expand the influence of literature in popular culture by fostering lively literary conversations, and Zimmerman plans to serve that mission by reaching beyond the traditional literary audience.

“Jess Zimmerman is a brilliant writer and editor with a rare understanding of how to make work affecting, intelligent, and engaging,” said Executive Director Halimah Marcus. “She views literature as dynamic and relevant, and she brings that sensibility with her to Electric Literature.”

“There’s a tendency to think of literature as an academic enterprise,” said Zimmerman, “but storytelling is deeply embedded in the human experience. Literature should feel vital — vital as in important, but also vital as in alive.”

Zimmerman is best known for her cultural commentary and essays in The Toast, Slate, The New Republic, Hazlitt, Catapult, and elsewhere. She is the author of Basic Witches: How To Summon Success, Banish Drama, And Raise Hell With Your Coven with Jaya Saxena. She was the founding editor of Archipelago and has been a contributing editor for Establishment and Atlas Obscura.

Since our founding in 2009, we have been a trailblazer in digital publishing and have cultivated one of the largest online audiences for literary writing with our playful approach, smart criticism, and acclaimed series Recommended Reading, the Bodega Project, and the Writing Life Around the World.

Please join us in welcoming her to the team!