Freelance Writer

Alicia Kismet Eler is a Chicago-based freelance writer with over two years of experience writing for online and print publications at both the local and national levels. She writes features, art exhibition reviews and previews for Time Out Chicago; interviews, city guides and venue descriptions for CenterstageChicago.com; and art exhibition reviews, art book reviews and features for the Chicago Artists' Newspaper. She is also a freelance copywriter for Lyon Communications and the Theatre Listings Manager at CenterstageChicago.com. Alicia graduated from Oberlin College with a BA in Art History, and has also completed a basic manuscript editing course at the University of Chicago.


FREELANCE CLIENTS: MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS AND ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

Time Out Chicago
CenterstageChicago.com
Chicago Artists' Newspaper
CulturalChicago.com

FREELANCE CLIENTS: COPYWRITING

Lyon Communications
Salt Communications

EDITORIAL STAFF EXPERIENCE

CenterstageChicago.com, Theatre Listings Manager, Chicago, IL
November 2007–present
Writing snappy teasers and plot summaries, collecting and organizing upcoming theatre and dance performance listings, communicating with public relations individuals, selecting "editor's pick" shows, updating all listings as necessary.

Flavorpill Chicago, Contributing Writer, Chicago, IL
December 2006–July 2007
Researching and writing catchy and concise listings about Chicago´s hippest cultural events. Fact-checking and editing own listings. Consistently meeting tight weekly deadlines, uploading content using Advanced Mail 4.0.

Time Out Chicago, Editorial Intern, Chicago, IL
March 2007–June 2007
Pitching, researching and writing arts reviews, feature articles, food-related bylines and short interviews. Fact-checking and editing restaurant listings for upcoming Time Out Chicago food guide and updating content using FilemakerPro database. Preparing Chicago outdoor film screening listings for publication using LEO. Transcribing and fact-checking feature interviews.

Chill Magazine, Contributing Writer, Chicago, IL
September 2006–June 2007
Regular contributor to the now-defunct monthly e-magazine covering 20-something lesbian culture in Chicago. Writing film and book reviews, transcribing interviews, reporting. Communicating with editors via e-mail.

Windy City Times Newspaper, Writing Intern, Chicago, IL
August 2006–October 2006
Wrote and researched on a diverse array of topics for newspaper articles. Reported, collected and edited quotes, formated necessary images for web and print production using Photoshop, communicated with editors regarding articles. First article for newspaper was a front-page feature on HIV/Aids in South Africa and cited on American Art Therapy.

Oberlin Review, Contributing Arts Writer, Oberlin, OH
January 2005–November 2005
Attended and critically reviewed undergraduate senior thesis art shows, interviewed artists, photographed artworks using digital camera, manipulated images in Photoshop, communicated with editors and artists regarding article content. Cleveland art show review cited on artist Diane Meyer´s profile.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Oberlin College LGBT History Project, Telecommuting Research Assistant, Oberlin, OH
November 2005–May 2006
Assisted in developing historical background for an Oberlin Alumni Magazine feature article, selected and organized historical photographs and prints, formatted images for the web using Photoshop, transcribed, edited and transferred audio transcriptions to word files.

Oberlin College, Independent Lecture Series Director, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
September 2005–April 2006
Conceived and organized the New Media Art Lecture Series at Oberlin College. Scheduled lectures and planned itinerary for guest artist and curator, fundraised and budgeted entire project, helped design poster advertisement, booked lecture halls and hotel rooms, arranged travel, managed re-imbursements. Engaged over 100 students via lectures and workshops. Feature article written in the Oberlin Review, forthcoming article on Cory Arcangel on Oberlin Online.

Foxy Production Gallery, Gallery Assistant, New York City, NY
June 2005–August 2005
Created digital image archive, assisted with developing standard protocol for archive, prepared press packets for exhibition, translated international reviews of gallery artists from Spanish to English, assisted with preparing artworks for shipping, acted as receptionist as needed.

Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, Curatorial Intern, Philadelphia, PA
January 2005
Worked closely with the Assistant Curator, researched contemporary artists for upcoming shows, organized slide archives, digitized and uploaded images to the network server for usage on the website and publications, organized press archives, transported archives to the UPenn Library.

COMPUTER SKILLS

Experienced on Mac and PC. Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, Entourage/Outlook, Photoshop and FileMaker Pro.

EDITING SKILLS

Proficient in AP and Chicago Manual styles.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Intermediate reading/writing ability in Spanish and German.

EDUCATION

University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Editing Certificate Program: Basic Manuscript Editing

Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio
BA: May 2006
GPA: 3.4
Major: Art History; Senior Thesis: Portrayals of Women in Weimar Film and Early 1930s American Film