Emily Mack

Growing up in Chicago, Emily Mack was a natural storyteller. Inspired by the city around her, she became “the writer girl,” editing her high school’s paper and lit mag and coaching their Louder Than a Bomb poetry slam team. By the time she left Chicago for Columbia University, the choice to study creative writing was instinctual.

At Columbia University, her official concentration was nonfiction which provided the chance to write criticism, essays, and journalistic features. She also learned to mine her own experiences for her work. One of those pieces — “On Belmont and Clark” — was published in The Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook in 2019. The same year, she became an editor at The Columbia Review and, upon graduation in 2020, earned the program’s inaugural Ellis Avery Prize for Creative Writing. The award was for showing “exceptional promise” in the field.

Now, she is putting that promise to use.

First, Emily became a staff writer for Wide Open Media, a subsidiary of Publishers Clearing House, creating content for their Americana sites, Rare.us and Wide Open Country. She turned out several articles per day on topics ranging from pop culture to politics before stepping up to an editorial role at Agent Publishing, a national network of real estate magazines.

As senior editor there, she still writes — a lot — in addition to interviewing subjects, editing stories, training reporters, and planning the monthly print edition of Chicago Agent magazine. Every day brings a new challenge, which she loves. Outside of her nine-to-five, Emily seeks additional opportunities to write and edit.

As an essay coach for HelloCollege, she’s excited to help the next generation kickstart their academic journey. Emily knows everyone has a story to tell. She wants to help students find their own and craft their voice.