Chicago Story Press

12/20/2025

We have news! Chicago Story Press was voted as one of the top 25 ( #18) most popular Nonfiction Lit Mags of all time! And the most common reason: "Great Editor!" So grateful to all who voted for us. LINK IN COMMENTS

12/19/2025

This is an essay about how control, dependency, and violence can creep into a relationship long before you call it what it is. Happiest Girls Are the Prettiest Girls is a harrowing, intimate essay that traces how emotional dependency and violence quietly entwine, until the danger is impossible to ignore. LINK IN COMMENTS ***de

12/12/2025

What do our first loves teach us about the world and about ourselves? In this essay, Lauren Dunn traces her first loves and the impact they had on her. She shows how love changes through time and lasts for a lifetime. LINK IN COMMENTS

12/05/2025

Stranded on the side of the road because she's run out of gas. A stranger offers a ride. What would you do? Brenda Lightle tells a chilling true story about instinct, risk, and the moments that change everything. LINK IN COMMENTS

11/28/2025

What makes a family? The people we’re born to… or the souls who show up and never leave? This lovely essay about a family member explores the love, comfort, and healing we can find in our “found family”—especially the ones covered in fur. LINK IN COMMENTS

11/27/2025

Feeling so thankful for all our amazing authors and subscribers. You make Chicago Story Press GREAT. Thank you for your support.

11/26/2025

Over 4500 people have already voted! Voting closes December 7th. https://www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag-awards?fbclid=IwY2xjawOTM9ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeaImgcFzLbazW9iOZg6RS8tNY1jdaG1F8kg_ExWmBz0UbEDVwuHxkXqKWj40_aem_D2uBN26Y6EWauBee0DDQbg

Welcome to Chill Subs' 3rd annual Community Favorites Best Lit Mag Awards! Vote for your favorite literary magazines and celebrate the publications that make our community thrive.

11/21/2025

From kielbasa runs to deep-dish pizza, one writer retraces the flavors of her Chicago childhood. But when a beloved family tale unravels, she’s left confronting the stories we inherit—and the ones we invent. This is an essay about nostalgia and truth. LINK IN COMMENTS

11/17/2025

If you love Chicago Story Press Literary Journal, please consider voting for us in the Chill Subs Best Lit Mags. It makes a huge difference!

Welcome to Chill Subs' 3rd annual Community Favorites Best Lit Mag Awards! Vote for your favorite literary magazines and celebrate the publications that make our community thrive.

11/15/2025

What a great surprise and honor to be the listing of the day for Duotrope. THANK YOU!

We publish essays and creative non-fiction stories. We love pieces that illuminate the human experience. We value narratives that delve into the emotional complexities of life, share insights, stir empathy, and provoke deeper understanding.

11/14/2025

This is a letter from a mother to a daughter, recounting the story of her birth, her near-death, and the long road that followed. Sherrie writes about the mix of devotion and exhaustion, of shame and transcendence, of wanting to run and deciding to stay. This is a piece about dismantling the stories we tell ourselves—about what strength looks like, what healing costs, and the profound connection between a mother and daughter that occurs without words. LINK IN COMMENTS