I am a writer and editor based in and around Chicago, and the senior acquisitions editor for regional trade books at the University of Illinois Press. In recent years I’ve edited several anthologies of writing about Chicago and the Midwest, all published by Belt Publishing, where I was for six years an editor. Nothing Compares to You: What Sinéad O’Connor Means to Us, an essay collection I edited, with Sonya Huber, is out July 22, 2025, from Atria/One Signal.
I have a deep background in journalism, including editorial work on staff at the Chicago Reader, the Chicago Tribune, and South Side Weekly, a nonprofit newspaper dedicated to supporting culture and civic engagement on Chicago’s South Side. My reported work and essays have appeared in local and national outlets including the Chicago Reader, the Chicago Reporter, Belt Magazine, the Baffler, the Rumpus, Eater, Belt Magazine, and PRI/The World, and several anthologies. (Ask me about the time it was entered into the Congressional Record.)
I’m also a member of Theater Oobleck‘s artistic ensemble, and the founder of the long-running community meal project Soup & Bread. My narrative cookbook, Soup & Bread Cookbook: Building Community One Pot at a Time, is now out in its second edition.
I have a Substack newsletter here. On Instagram I’m @marthabayne, and I’m @marthabayne.bsky.social over on Bluesky.