Tommy Washbush / Freepik
A photo composite of various writing tools, a camera, and a copy of Isthmus.
The other day, I received a letter asking if Isthmus could “put one of your reporters” on a story. It’s funny and frustrating at the same time. In our relatively new iteration as a nonprofit, we have just one full-time staff writer, Liam Beran, and he obviously can’t get to everything. Our editors also report and write when they can, but otherwise we turn to freelancers for much of our content.
Freelance contributors are an integral part of Isthmus and always have been. We can’t afford to pay much, which means that they write about what they care about, bringing different passions and voices to Isthmus — it’s one of the ways we distinguish ourselves from most other media outlets in town.
Take this month’s guest opinion column. In this time of deep political divide, Sarah Wright, a local teacher, thought it was important to share a personal story of how Wisconsin lawmakers worked across the aisle for the public good. She wanted to share that sense of hope with the community. We’re glad to help make that happen.
Our contributors range from beginning writers to veteran journalists. Novices seek us out for experience, guidance and clips of published work. Some freelancers want to write about a personal passion, whether that is food, the arts or sports. Experienced writers, some of whom are retired reporters and editors, look to us to provide a home for investigative or enterprise reporting, or writing that allows for creativity and voice.
Such is the case with longtime science and environmental writer Ron Seely, who retired in 2013 from the Wisconsin State Journal after 35 years with the paper. Ron first emailed me in spring 2020, when we were on hiatus from print due to COVID-19. He offered a wonderful essay, “The nature of things,” on how the coronavirus was impacting our relationship to and understanding of the natural world. For his next story, in late 2021, he dug into the controversy over wolf hunting in Wisconsin. The result was “Howl: Will Wisconsin ever make peace with wolves? Or will vengeance prevail?” The story won first place for best feature in the national contest sponsored by AAN Publishers in 2022.
Ron recently penned a remembrance of George Meyer, the former secretary of the Department of Natural Resources who died last December, whom Ron had covered for much of his reporting career. Ron says writing for Isthmus has been a pleasure because it has freed him from the “restrictions imposed at a traditional daily.”
“I was able to think about the stories from a more personal perspective and use my own experiences to inform and bring life to the writing,” he says. “This not only freed me to bring lively, descriptive writing to the story but to also give the reader more reason to trust me as not just a reporter putting down facts, but as a trusted and involved storyteller with a personal stake in the story.”
Another veteran contributor is Bill Lueders. Some longtime Isthmus readers might (and in fact do) assume he’s still on staff, after having spent 25 years as the paper’s news editor. But these days he contributes to a variety of publications, including The Bulwark and The Progressive, where he is the editor-at-large.
Bill’s contributions to the March issue illustrate how writers can follow their interests and passions in the pages of Isthmus. His story on the Wisconsin Supreme Court contest between Chris Taylor and Maria Lazar, both appeals court judges, marks the 20th high court race he has covered; his first was in 1996. And Bill, an animal lover and dog owner, was eager to preview the debut novel from Patricia McConnell, the beloved animal behaviorist and dog trainer, and we were delighted he was.
Other longtime contributors in this month’s issue include Sandy Tabachnick, who has covered classical music for Isthmus for years. That experience made her the obvious choice to author this month’s cover story on John DeMain, who is stepping down as musical director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra at the end of the 2025-2026 season.
Like many of our contributors, Sandy did not have any formal journalism experience before writing for Isthmus. She majored in English and music at college and taught piano for many years. After getting a master’s degree in piano pedagogy and performance from UW-Madison in 1998, she saw an ad in Isthmus seeking music writers. She sent some academic writing samples to then-arts editor Dean Robbins, who asked if she had anything else. She didn’t, so he suggested that she listen to a piece of music and critique it.
“He wanted something more journalistic,” Sandy recalls. She submitted a music review and he emailed back promising to send assignments as they came up. “I still have that email,” she says. “I saved it. No one had ever asked me to write before.” That was in 2002.
Sandy’s story is not unique. Isthmus editors have long nurtured developing writers.
Also appearing in this issue: Robin Shepard, an associate professor in UW-Madison’s Department of Life Sciences Communication and Isthmus beer writer since 2002, writes about new family-friendly brewpubs. Even Isthmus board members get in on the act: Molly Stentz, who spent many years in radio and is now a farmer, reports on the closing of Tipi Produce, a local organic farm and leader in the CSA movement.
Also, Guy Thorvaldsen, a journeyman carpenter, poet, writer and retired English teacher, contributes another essay, this one about how he helped rescue a sick swan while skating on Lake Monona. Personal essays have had a permanent “back of the book” space since we returned to print as a monthly in August 2021. The feature has drawn a new crop of freelancers to Isthmus, including repeat essayists Charles Payne and Richard Ely.
And we can’t forget the freelance illustrators and photographers who create much of our art. P.S. Mueller’s quirky and endearing cartoons have appeared in Isthmus for decades, while Stefan Matioc started contributing to our comics section after illustrating the October 2025 print cover. Two veterans of their craft make their Isthmus debut this month: longtime illustrator Renée Graef, who created this month’s cover art, and photographer Rick Dahms, who shot the wonderful portrait of John DeMain.
One secret to our success is that Isthmus editors don’t wait for writers or artists to find us. We’re always scouting for talent.
Take the case of Augie McGinnity-Wake, who makes his Isthmus debut in this month’s issue. Associate editor Linda Falkenstein interviewed Augie for a story on the bookstore he runs out of his basement, filled with inventory from the now closed Paul’s Bookstore on State Street.
Linda subsequently invited Augie to contribute to our “Word of Mouth” newsletter, which contains recommendations from community members and contributors on what they’ve been reading, eating, watching, etc. He sent in a few, they were good, and Linda asked if he would be interested in freelancing. He was, and, better yet, he had good story pitches. Read his profile of Thax Douglas, who has become a fixture in local clubs, introducing bands with poetry written just for them.
Another ladder to freelancing is through our internship program. Lauren Hafeman interned last fall after graduating from UW-Madison and has been writing steadily since. See her piece on local Syrian tailor Imad Salha.
“As a journalism student, I noticed a narrative that reporting and creative writing live on separate axes of the written arts,” Lauren says. “I never accepted this divide and as an early-career journalist, I actively seek to align myself with publications, like Isthmus, that reject it as well.”
Have I piqued your interest? Have a story to tell? Email us at [email protected].
