Open City's opening credo, announced in an ad in a 1991 issue of The Village Voice calling for submissions, was "Primary sources, nervous voices." Featuring fiction, poetry, and essays by an exciting array of debut writers and established talents. Open City's editorial taste is eclectic, though a common thread is an attempt at exposing, elucidating, and getting as close as possible to the human predicament in all its facets, with intimacy, candor, irony, and wit. Contributions to Open City frequently appear in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Poetry, The Best Creative Nonfiction, The Best Nonrequired Reading, and The Pushcart Prize. Open City #26 contains stories by Rachel Sherman, Jonathan Ames, Bryan Charles, and Nick Flynn.