About Alphabet City
The Alphabet City series challenges us to rethink ideas central to our lives. In each volume writers and artists address single theme from many perspectives, revealing its processes and possibilities.
Alphabet City is co-published with The MIT Press and appears each October accompanied by an arts and ideas festival in Toronto.
John Knechtel director
John Knechtel founded Alphabet City in 1991. In 1994 he was tagged by Vanity Fair– “Ignore these editors at your peril”– as a leader of the avant-garde in a piece celebrating the editors of North America’s coolest small magazines. In 2002 Knechtel created NEXT MEMORY CITY, Canada’s official entry in the Venice International Architecture Biennale, with artists Michael Awad, Eve Egoyan, and David Rokeby. The show won press acclaim for its innovative interdisciplinary research into the future of the wired city. Canadian Architect called it an “intellectual and experiential landmark” of the Biennale, and OBJEKT Magazine of the Netherlands declared the exhibit “An architectural tour-de-force.”
Jennifer Harris managing editor
Jennifer Harris is assistant professor of English at Mount Allison University. She works primarily in the area of American literature and culture pre-1900 as well as post-colonial literature. Harris has been managing editor at Alphabet City for the past five years.
Gilbert Li art director
Gilbert Li is a graphic designer based in Toronto. His awards for the design of Alphabet City include: American Institute for Graphic Arts, 50 Books/50 Covers, 1999; Advertising and Design Club of Canada, gold, complete book design, 2001; Communication Arts (US), Design Annual 42, complete book design, 2001; Applied Arts (Canada), Awards Annual, complete book design, 2002.
Joseph Ming Liu festival coordinator
Liu (M.S., New School University, New York) has contributed his marketing and festival production experience to a variety of arts festivals, such as Celebrate Brooklyn Performing Arts Festival (250,000 attendance), Central Park SummerStage (New York City; 200,000 attendance), BeachFest (Long Beach, Calif.; 50,000 attendance). Liu has worked with a variety of media, corporate, and community partners, including: Time Out New York, Village Voice, Stella Artois, Snapple Beverage Group, and the Museum for African Art.
Rebecca Duclos web editor
Rebecca Duclos is a Montreal-based curator and writer. She co-founded Graphic Standards design studio with David Ross in 2003.
David Ross web designer
David Ross is a visual artist, graphic designer, and co-founder of Graphic Standards design studio in Montreal.
Kevin Finlayson, web developer
Kevin Finlayson is a web producer and founder of Dust and Mold Design studio, Montreal.


