Our first issue of 2026 features the work of 20 writers, poets, and artists, 18 of whom are local to Chicago. It’s an eclectic collection, influenced, among other things, by the season, the city, and the events we’ve seen unfolding in our neighborhoods and communities in Chicago, in Minneapolis, and across the country.

Avondalia: In Chorus and Cohesion, a community-curated storytelling art exhibition featuring more than 20 Avondale artists and in-studio visits with Art Colony artists, kicks off with a reception at the Art Colony (2630 W Fletcher Street) this Friday, October 3rd, at 5PM. Free tickets for the reception are available online here.

The third and final event of the Logan Square Arts Foundation’s (LSAF) 2025 SPARK series of free pop-up concerts in neighborhood parks will take place in Unity Park (2636 N Kimball Avenue) this Friday, September 12, from 4PM–8PM.

Now that we’re grizzled vets of the indie publishing scene, with one issue of the Milwaukee Avenue Messenger on the streets and another on the way, we’re already growing restless and looking for new ways to deliver our messages. Our journal, the backbone of this enterprise, is quarterly, but we yearn for more. We’ve got all this power at our fingertips—we’re plugged into the goddamn world wide web here—and it feels silly to crank it up just four times a year.

Hence, we’re excited to present, “Dispatches.”