By Amy Crumbaugh
Abigail Sheaffer cut her teeth as Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Chicago Literati, one of Chicago’s most popular online literary magazines. Now she’s expanding her reach with The Vignette Review, an online quarterly that “looks to publish short, evocative stories that detail delicate moments of time through the prism of fiction.” Find out more about their first issue at The Vignette Review.
AMY CRUMBAUGH: Chicago Literati is a little bit of everything – fiction, interviews, book reviews – while The Vignette Review focuses solely on what the name implies: vignettes. Why did you want to highlight vignettes? What draws you to that form?
ABIGAIL SHEAFFER: In my free time I tend to write a lot of vignettes, and about two and a half years ago I began to fantasize about founding a publication that would be dedicated solely to 
that genre. I can recall a phone conversation I had with my sister Grēta where I began laying down the idea for it. I knew I wanted it to be a delicate publication, and I had a word count in mind, but I was reluctant to start it just yet. Then, in early April of this year, I began fiddling around with Logoist2 (a graphic design app) and a rough copy of the logo was born. Next thing I knew I was texting my friend Denise and I was rambling off the elevator pitch, and The Vignette Review was born.
I think I’m drawn to vignettes because they’re a bit meatier than flash fiction and they really test a writer’s ability to be both succinct and detailed in their writing. I think the vignette is a genre that’s gaining traction due to its ability to ensconce a reader briefly in an evocative moment in a world that’s all too busy.
AC: Both Chicago Literati and The Vignette Review utilize themes for their issues. Do you anticipate a major difference in how writers tackle themes in vignettes versus how they tackle themes in longer form?
AS: While Chicago Literati tackles popular issues in the media every month through the medium of art, essays, short fiction, and photography, The Vignette Review has a much simpler theme. Since The Vignette Review only publishes four times a year, we want writers to utilize the season in which the issue will be published. It’ll be interesting to see how writers tell a story through the prism of each season with the limited word count. I do anticipate a major but welcome difference between each publication, with The Vignette Review being a lot more florid and evocative, and Chicago Literati being raw and toothier.
AC: The Vignette Review states that, “Stories should be told in media res and should not exceed 900 words.” Some would say that vignettes, much like flash fiction, can be limiting in this way. What’s your response to that?
AS: It’s interesting to see how the market for short fiction has expanded in recent years. Over at Chicago Literati we have the #sixwordstory contest. While I understand how writers and critics can perceive flash fiction and vignettes as short stories unrealized, I believe that’s a bit reductive to a genre of writing that tests how succinct and detailed a story can be. We live in an era where people are ingesting so much information at once, but I want The Vignette Review to be a place where people can write and read about the brief, beautiful moments that take place every day, be it over a cup of black coffee in the morning or a lovely exchange with a stranger.
AC: What are you looking for in terms of submissions for The Vignette Review (beyond the length, of course)?
AS: The short answer is beauty. Our Instagram account (run by Erica Ramos) and our Twitter features a lot of art. Right now we’re really into featuring the art of Archibald Motley, Edward Hopper, and Tamara Lempicka. I’d like to read, and have read, vignettes that I can tell are sort of based off the aesthetic of the artists featured, but also have an imprint unique only to the writer writing the story. Whereas Chicago Literati tends to be raw and grittier, I want The Vignette Review to be softer, delicate, and more evocative.
AC: What are your hopes for the future of The Vignette Review? What do you hope to accomplish by celebrating what some would consider an underappreciated form?
AS: I’m overwhelmed by the positive response the literary community has given us and we haven’t even released our first issue yet! It’s my hope that The Vignette Review will bring attention to the vignette, because as you said Amy, it is underappreciated, but I hope my quarterly can change that. I also hope The Vignette Review can bring a little more beauty in the world, and it would thrill me beyond belief to see someone on the train reading us from their Kindle or their iPad.
Amy Crumbaugh is a writer living in Bloomington, Illinois. She is a regular contributor at Hypertext, and has been published in Columbia College’s award-winning student anthology Hair Trigger. Visit her at AmyCrumbaugh.com.