When we last redesigned Chronogram in October, 1999, we went big. We added entire sections to the magazine (including the now renamed News & Politics), created a new logo, foolishly revamped our calendar (it didn't work and you told us, so we changed it back), changed the physical size of the mag from its former puny dimensions to its current robust magnitude, and ran a stunningly ugly image on the cover to announce our arrival. (See photo on the right.)

Fast-forward six years. We are redesigning and reorganizing once again. Welcome to ever-evolving Chronogram.

Unlike our '99 redesign—when our intent was to be as bold and brassy as possible—the new changes are more subtle. What we're now attempting is less a reconception than a clarification and an amplification. The metaphor that comes to mind is that of musical arrangement. We've taken a good tune and rescored it, stripping down the sonic clutter and allowing the naked sweetness of the rhythm and melody to be heard. But the song, as they say, remains the same.

(Nota bene: Though the majority of the work on the current redesign has been done, we are still tinkering with a few elements, including a new logo, so stay tuned.)

Perhaps you've noticed slight tweaks over the past few months—how the text has moved away from the inside margins, or the appearance of gray bars on the outside edges of our directory pages. (We also added an Ad Index recently, making it easier to contact the advertisers in these pages.)

This month, bigger changes are afoot. First and foremost, we've reorganized the magazine for greater clarity. The Backbone section (so-called because when we created it in '99 it held the majority of the magazine's editorial) is no more, and its contents have been relocated to more thematically appropriate sections of the magazine. (For instance: Frankly Speaking, Frank Crocitto's column of practical wisdom, has been moved to our mind/body/spirit section, Whole Living.) We've also created an omnibus Arts & Culture section, new home to our coverage of books, music, and the visual arts. The Community Notebook has been expanded, and now encompasses our local-business profile—the Art of Business; and Susan Piperato's column on sustainable issues, formerly known as Life in the Balance, is now simply titled Sustainability.

We've also added to two new wrinkles to the magazine that we're very excited about. We're launching a dedicated fiction feature with this issue, due in part to the wonderfully enormous number of short-story submissions we received for the Literary Supplement. Jack Kelly's "One Mississippi," which won honorable mention in our fiction contest juried by Dave King, appears on page 64. We encourage you to submit your short stories of 6,000 words or less: fiction@chronogram.com.

The other cool new wrinkle we've added is the Portfolio, created to give more emphasis in these pages to the work of local artists. Each month, we'll feature the work of a different artist, complete with a studio shot and an interview. The paintings of Joe Concra appear on page 40.

And lastly, a note of thanks to art director David Perry, who has shepherded this redesign process with much good sense and a mighty sensibility. What you see in these pages is his fine work.

P.S.
Chronogram turns 12 with this issue.

—Brian K. Mahoney