Oh, hey. I'm Gretchen Kalwinski, a writer, editor, and crafter of content.
A bit about me: Early in my career, I worked as a copyeditor and arts and culture writer and editor. More recently, I’ve tackled copy and content strategy for organizations like Glantz Creative, Crate & Barrel, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Blue State Digital, worked as a copy manager/director for Fortune 100 brands, and dabbled in UX writing. This hybrid of marketing and publishing experience gave me a great foundation for helping organizations find their authentic narrative.
Work History
I earned my B.A. in Communications from Indiana University, and my career began with an editorial assistant position at the University of Chicago Press. I soon went on to help edit publications like Feminist Response to Pop Culture and Venus Zine.
My first big cover story was for the Chicago Reader, about an exotic feline rescue center. Then, as a features editor at Time Out Chicago, I wrote and edited culture, arts, and lifestyle stories ranging from festivals to spas and travel.
View my journalism portfolio →
In 2007, I co-founded the Chicago literary website Literago.org with Eugenia Williamson. It was born from two booksellers’ frustration about the city’s stellar literary readings not receiving enough press/attention and the popular site reviewed—and eventually planned—literary events in the Chicago area. We had so much interest that we hired a team of volunteer editors, and sent them out to review several readings per week. Publishers, writers, and bookstores loved us, but alas, with the publishing industry’s diminishing funding, eventually we had to throw in the towel. Our launch was covered by the Chicago Reader, and we had a successful run from 2007-2011, during which we won accolades from Lonely Planet and were named one of the “great Chicago websites” by Chicago Magazine.
ABOVE: Chicago Reader piece about Literago’s launch; go here for more.
ABOVE: At a creative writing residency at Ragdale, circa 2009.
In 2010, I transitioned from journalism to copy. I also won a Ragdale Artist Residency for fiction and began an M.F.A. in creative writing at Northwestern University. During the next few years as a senior copywriter at TransUnion, I wrote B2B copy. In evenings, I worked on my own writing, wrote literary blog posts for Triquarterly, and attended classes for my master's degree.
After completing my MFA studies in 2014, I struck out as an independent communications consultant. Since then, I have tackled business, travel, and lifestyle stories (for Orbitz, The-Midst, and The Dodo) and marketing projects for Crate & Barrel, gravitytank (later Salesforce), and Blue State Digital. At content agency Imagination, I wrote/edited for a B2B project management publication, producing features, planning social content, and supervising other editors. In 2024, I served as Managing Editor of women’s health site The-Midst.com, significantly optimizing their content and workflow processes during my term. I’ve also held in-house creative team copy managerial roles at Walgreens and the American Medical Association (as Copy Director and Senior Copy Manager, respectively).
View my copywriting portfolio →
View my resume →
View my communications portfolio →
I’ve spoken, consulted with, and been on panels for orgs like the Chicago Artists Coalition, WBEZ, Printers Row, Northwestern University, Chicago Tonight, Bad at Sports, and WGN Radio.
Want to work together?
Fill out a quick form about your needs or just email me at gretchenkalwinski@gmail.com.