Podcast Summary: Jennifer Acker “On 15 Years of The Common”

Podcast: New Books Network – This is the Place (The Common / New Books)
Date: December 19, 2025
Host: Emily Everett
Guest: Jennifer Acker, Founder and Editor in Chief of The Common

Episode Overview

This special episode marks the 15th anniversary of The Common, a magazine devoted to literature and art with a modern sense of place. Host Emily Everett sits down with founder and Editor in Chief Jennifer Acker to discuss the magazine’s origins, the labor and vision behind sustaining it for a decade and a half, the evolution of its mission, and the unique community it has built among writers and readers. The conversation also delves into Acker's own writing life, the magazine’s notable portfolios, and a sneak peek at her forthcoming novel Surrender.

Setting the Scene (03:15)

Jennifer Acker shares the atmosphere of where she’s calling in from:

• Portland, Maine, part-time home
• Looking out onto Congress Street’s slick sidewalks and winter scenery
• Observes local schoolchildren, enjoying the daily rhythms of the neighborhood

Reading and Reflections on Place (04:07 – 06:04)

Acker opens with a reading from her anniversary essay, using childhood memories of retraining retired racehorses with her father as an allegory for hard work, patience, and the concept of "place":

"A pony may be the birthday wish of many young girls, and I was no exception... Owning horses was also the long deferred dream of my father, a West Coaster who’d transplanted himself to Maine from Los Angeles to escape drastic population growth and live closer to the land."
(Jennifer Acker, 04:07)

• The essay segues into how lessons from her father in cultivating land paralleled the effort and uncertainty of founding and sustaining a literary magazine.
• Acker notes the adult realization of how much work goes into what seemed effortless as a child, paralleling her learning curve with The Common.

Looking Back on 15 Years (08:36 – 12:50)

On Taking Stock

• Host Everett observes how the anniversary offers rare space to reflect:
  • Pause amidst the daily deadlines, budgets, and issue prep
  • Pride in enabling retrospection and celebration

A Magazine About People

Acker describes her greatest realization:

"The magazine is all about people... It's a point of pride that the magazine has touched so many lives, and I feel really privileged to have sort of been a part of various... career trajectories."
(Jennifer Acker, 09:28)

• The Common builds community not just with readers, but through mentorship of interns and emergence of contributors' careers
• Past contributors’ successes become shared wins for the magazine’s community

Has the Vision Changed?

Acker maintains:

"In the beginning I wanted to publish great place-based writing. I wanted to create a literary community. And those things are still the things that I want to do."
(Jennifer Acker, 12:50)

• Early years were frenetic and “startup mode” with Acker as the sole full-time staffer, supported by interns and a small core team
• The operation now feels much more sustainable and secure thanks to its partnership with Amherst College and a stable editorial staff

Notable Portfolios & Editorial Direction (16:09 – 22:01)

Highlighted Portfolios

Acker spotlights several significant themed issues:

• Puerto Rico Portfolio:
  • Produced after Hurricane Maria
  • Addressed underrepresentation of Puerto Rican literature for U.S. audiences
  • Offered vital recognition during community crisis

"It felt like one little thing that we could do to shine the light on the people... who were really continually valiantly and doing their work during that difficult time."
(Jennifer Acker, 16:21)

• Arabian Gulf Portfolio:

  • Brought together transient and overlooked Gulf communities
  • Authors felt recognized and connected as a result
  • Inspired by Acker’s personal ties to Abu Dhabi

• Arabic Portfolios:

  • The Common has become a home for Arabic literature in the U.S.
  • Ongoing collaboration with Arabic Fiction Editor to challenge the dominance of Islamophobic narratives

"Working with our Arabic fiction editor, Hoshar... we are a home for Arabic literature and I think that's very uncommon in the literary landscape."
(Jennifer Acker, 20:02)

• Farm Workers Portfolio:
  • Edited by Everett and Miguel Morales
  • Brought together writers with farm worker backgrounds, creating new bonds and supportive community

"Watching people come together and feel recognized as both farm workers and writers... was very powerful to watch."
(Jennifer Acker, 21:39)

Literary Success Stories & Cultural Impact (23:13 – 25:54)

From Story to Screen

• “We Were Here” (story by Ben Shattuck)
  • Originally published in The Common
  • Adapted into a film that debuted at Cannes, with notable actors Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal
  • Acker describes the surprise and thrill of a story from their magazine making it to the screen

"I was floored. Not because it's not a gorgeous story, but because I thought, really... that someone had seen our little magazine, someone had read it in the magazine and, you know, and gone from there."
(Jennifer Acker, 23:13)

• Actors and filmmakers respected how the story’s literary origins influenced the project

The Realities of Running a Literary Magazine (25:54 – 28:59)

Acker gives a candid primer:

• Literary magazines are critical launchpads for writers; “Most writers would not have careers except for getting their starts in literary magazines.”
• Although many are nonprofits, they must be run with business principles: budgeting, fundraising, paying authors (even modestly), and sustainability
• The importance of balancing creative and administrative work

"We're not super prestigious, but they are really important in the development of writers."
(Jennifer Acker, 26:12)

Writing, Editing, and Creative Balance (28:59 – 32:24)

Acker on her own writing life and editorial practice:

• Balancing writing and editorial work feels like “two sides of the same coin”
• Editing for structure and voice – learning from the unique seriousness and process of each contributor
• Editing has refined her own “x-ray vision” for narrative shape, though structuring her own work remains a challenge:

"I have learned that through editing... even if I can't quite get there by myself, I'm an editor who needs an editor."
(Jennifer Acker, 29:46)

Preview: Acker’s New Novel Surrender (32:16 – 34:33)

• Describes it as her “midlife crisis queer goat farmer love story” (32:24)
• Main character: middle-aged woman who returns to her family farm to revive it, faces difficulties in farming, reconnects with a former friend, and searches for community and personal belonging
• Aims to portray the overlooked richness of small-town life

"Very, very small town, which was one of the things that I really wanted to do with this book was make a portrait of a small town... there's so much life there..."
(Jennifer Acker, 34:27)

Title: Surrender (out April 2026)

Looking Ahead (35:02 – End)

• Next project: A lighter “vacation read” set in Greece, revolving around the dynamics of a mother-daughter trip

"There's food and sex and nice weather... it's hopefully going to be a really fun read."
(Jennifer Acker, 35:02)

• Acker can be followed on Instagram @jennacker

Memorable Closing Moments

"Listeners, you can read Jen's essays and translations and subscribe to our latest issue at thecommononline.org."
(Emily Everett, 36:25)

"We're just gonna keep doing this thing... Another 15 years."
(Jennifer Acker, 36:10 – 36:25)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:15 — Jennifer Acker sets the scene from Portland, Maine
• 04:07 — Excerpt from Acker’s anniversary essay
• 08:36 — Reflections on retrospection and what the anniversary means
• 09:28 — The magazine’s real impact: building community and launching careers
• 12:50 — Has The Common’s vision changed in 15 years?
• 16:21 — Discussing favorite and meaningful portfolios
• 23:13 — “We Were Here” short story’s journey to Cannes
• 25:54 — Literary magazines as writer launchpads
• 29:46 — Acker on balancing writing and editorial work
• 32:24 — Surrender: Acker’s “queer goat farmer love story”
• 35:02 — Next novel (set in Greece) in the works
• 36:10 — Reflections on a fruitful partnership and the next 15 years

Notable Quotes

"The magazine is all about people... It's a point of pride that the magazine has touched so many lives, and I feel really privileged to have sort of been a part of various, you know, career trajectories."
(Jennifer Acker, 09:28)

"Editing has helped me recognize the patterns and see, okay, like... there is a pattern or some kind of narrative structure or some kind to every piece of writing."
(Jennifer Acker, 29:46)

"In the beginning I wanted to publish great place-based writing. I wanted to create a literary community. And those things are still the things that I want to do."
(Jennifer Acker, 12:50)

"We're just gonna keep doing this thing..."
(Jennifer Acker, 36:10)

Tone & Language

• Warm, collegial, gently humorous, reflective, and honest
• Emphasis on community, persistence, humility, and the real work behind literary editing and writing

Summary Usefulness

This summary provides a clear, detailed snapshot of the episode for listeners and readers interested in the history, impact, and working realities of an influential literary magazine, as well as an intimate glimpse into the editorial and creative process of a working writer/editor at mid-career.