WILMINGTON — A 35-year-old alternative weekly that once published every Thursday in Wilmington is getting its “encore” in 2026.
Encore magazine was founded in 1985 by Nixie Nunnalee and had varied owners — Wade Wilson, Morris Multimedia and H&P Media — throughout its existence until its last edition was uploaded in June 2020 to Issuu, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The publication was a printed tabloid-size newspaper covering music, art, theater, film and more in the greater southeastern North Carolina community and reached upward of 20,000 people weekly. The last print publication stopped that spring as the pandemic was spreading worldwide.
[Ed note: Port City Daily’s current editor, Shea Carver, served as editor of encore and worked there for 21 years before coming to PCD in 2020.]
One of the people who worked as an encore staff editor before it shuttered has taken the reins as executive director amid encore’s relaunch as a nonprofit. Before, the publication was sustained by a for-profit business model, mostly with ad revenue; its focus now is on fundraising, events and grants.
Shannon Gentry is leading the helm of encore 2.0, having started at the publication in 2011 as an intern, while wrapping her MFA in writing at SCAD in Savannah.
“It was one of the most helpful, enjoyably challenging, and consequential experiences of my career in writing. I didn’t really know that this would be my path, but I was hooked on the storytelling on behalf of others,” she said.
Gentry went on to work for publications such as Lumina News, North Brunswick Magazine, and Wrightsville Beach Magazine before returning to encore as a staff editor for six years. She was teaching in UNCW’s Department of Communication Studies and then worked as a technical writer with a local software company after encore closed. Yet, she always had a goal to bring back the publication.
“After four years and a round of layoffs in May 2025, I was able to take the path I’m on now in a more full-time capacity — save for substitute teaching here and there,” she said.
Gentry formed a six-person board and an 11-person advisory board to oversee encore’s website, with roughly a dozen people freelancing to date. She held numerous events in 2025, including small fundraisers, like a Revival art party in Cargo District, and helped host Songs of Peace at Waterline Brewing Company. Focus groups and listening sessions also were held to map encore’s new direction.
Come Jan. 29, encore will return with its first print publication in almost six years. The goal, according to Gentry, is to begin printing copies quarterly, releasing them in tandem with events, and potentially grow back to a weekly as more funding comes in (articles are still published online weekly).
Release dates for the publication will be January, April, June and October as of now, with a goal to succeed 40 pages — “I’d love to get back to 60 by our spring issue,” Gentry said. The group will distribute around 20,000 copies each quarter in local venues throughout the tri-county region.
To celebrate encore’s return, a fundraiser has been planned at Thalian Hall at the end of the month. It will include local vendors, food, drinks, and performances by comedic hosts Pineapple Shaped Lamps, tunes by DJ Rizzy Beats, as well as look back at the 2020 Best Of. Encore was the first publication in town to launch Wilmington’s official Best Of, with similar events of the same caliber popping up in its stead from other news outlets since it closed (full disclosure: Port City Daily won Best Website through the annual poll multiple times).
Port City Daily caught up with Gentry about the publication’s return and what the future holds. Below has been edited slightly for length and clarity.
Port City Daily: Why relaunch encore now? What was the impetus and why as a nonprofit?
Shannon Gentry: This is something I’ve wanted to do since encore closed, honestly. I decided a couple of years ago during my time as a corporate girly that I really, really missed encore. Not just encore, but what it was: a connection to this community. It was that for over 35 years for readers, and it was that for me. I felt so disconnected from everything that made me feel like a part of this community, but also that made me feel like me — like my best self as a writer, storyteller, and active participant out in the world.
That sentiment, I found out, resonated with a lot of people — most especially in theatre, music, and the broader creative arts community.
I thought long and hard about re-establishing this as a business or a nonprofit, and had many meetings, coffees, and lunches with folks in the industry and small business resources at CFCC and UNCW. I was stuck in that decision process for a while. Then I fully committed to the nonprofit model after pitching it to my friend, Molly Murphy with Working Films — and it was like fireworks!
We had this incredible moment of clarity and connection over what I had thought encore could be and Molly, with her 20 years experience in nonprofit work, documentary film and storytelling, helped flesh that out and it started to become real.
I pitched a fiscal sponsorship proposal to Rhonda Bellamy within weeks after that. [Ed. note: Bellamy is the president of The Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County, which acts as the fiscal sponsor of encore as it is in the process of establishing its 501(c)3, thus allowing the entity to apply for grants.]
PCD: What are your goals and how is encore 2.0 going to differ from before? Be the same?
SG: I have more goals than I can probably achieve in my lifetime with encore, but one of them is to connect people; to each other, to their communities, to the stories, arts, culture and happenings — all the things encore was known for — but also reconnect people to the humanity we share.
Good journalism keeps us informed. Good storytelling keeps us listening. It’s the accessibility of both, in my opinion, that keeps us talking, keeps us engaged and activated in ways that ultimately better serve us, our communities and each other.
So while this nonprofit version of encore houses the free alternative newspaper that continues to check those boxes — it is accessibility, reach and impact in all forms of media and outreach that this encore is doubling-down on. For example, we might write a great story about climate change’s impact on the local crab and oyster industry — but we won’t leave it there for just consumers of print media, or wait for clicks to come in. We’d also tell that story through the lens (literally, film) of a crabber of 40 years, for example. We’d also tell that story through art, performance and/or food. Perhaps, in this hypothetical case, we’d bookend with a free community block party and film screening event.
A big part of encore’s return is about supplying as many opportunities to consume good storytelling, journalism and art, including the return of long-form “Gonzo journalism,” prose, and poetry to our pages. The other side to that is how we use this work to engage, inspire and activate people … in their communities, their arts, their government, their schools, and in many ways, their own sense of connection to this ecosystem we all share.
PCD. How many writers do you have onboard so far — all freelance? What’s the goal for staffing?
SG: Right now, we have published works from more than a dozen writers (as well as visual and audio contributors), many of which are new to encore and others more familiar. Returned contributors from the “before times” include Gwenyfar Rohler (of Live Local), Anghus (film), Chase Harrison (theatre), John Wolfe (environment), and myself — we all have contributed to encorepub.org already, but I’m especially excited for what they’ve got for this first print back!
A new byline in encore, but a familiar name to many in ILM, is Rachel Lewis Hilburn, who has brought her voice in many ways to the editorial table. As a member of our board of directors, we talk a lot about the conversations we’re trying to have and inspire with the stories we tell and our approach. As well, she’s contributing her talents from years of work in radio at WHQR — I highly recommend people listen to the first two parts of her series called “Fixing Congress” on our website or YouTube channel.
The goal for staffing is to have one — I’m used to working with limited staff when it comes to small presses. However, this is the first time that I’m simultaneously leading and following the charge — but we wouldn’t be here talking about any of this if it wasn’t for our directors, advisory members, contributors, and volunteers.
PCD: Tell me about the Thalian Hall fundraising event and the goal — what the money will go toward.
SG: Our goal is to raise $10,000, enough to get us in print, continue to pay contributors, artists, writers, videographers, etc., and help us keep this momentum as we plan for the next three quarterly issues and corresponding release parties.
By the end of the year, I’d like to have raised enough to at least have a full-time and part-time position, along with a solid freelance budget.
PCD: Have you received grants? What other grants are you applying for currently?
SG: We just recently received our first grant from the Center for Cooperative Media for $15,000. This is a civic science media journalism grant we wrote with the Cape Fear River Watch in mind as our science partners.
These funds will underwrite an ongoing journalism project throughout 2026 that will feature John Wolfe’s reporting and other contributions from our project partners: Osprey Media (video/cinematography), DareDevil Improv (performance art), and works from local digital media artist Jeffrey Vossler. Folks will learn more about this on January 29 and in our first issue.
Next, we plan to apply for the local Women’s Impact Network grant that opened recently.
PCD: What can people expect at the fundraiser; I see Pineapple-Shaped Lamps will host. Why revolve it around Best Of?
SG: For some folks, the Best Of awards shows were the highlight of the year. Back before the world slowed to a grinding halt, we had done all the work, the voting, the planning for Best Of 2020 — we had our “Art Deco” theme all ready to go with the new ‘20s era we were entering. Then, it didn’t happen. Well, it did … as a livestream event, which was an incredible comedy and performance feat by Wes Brown and his PSL troupe! They did something that we’d never done before and pulled it off beautifully.
Nevertheless, for such an iconic event in this community — one that had grown in those last couple years to an all-day “Bestival” block party — for it to end with a “click” and not a big freakin’ bang has never felt right.
This event on Jan. 29 isn’t meant to replace or make up for Best Of 2020 awards, but rather celebrate what was, honor what’s been lost, and introduce folks to the “best of” encore that’s yet to come.
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