After a nationwide search for an editor, The Stranger has returned to a familiar name: Eli Sanders will rejoin the publication and become its editor-in-chief in November. Sanders worked at the newspaper for 15 years, including as deputy editor, before leaving in 2020. He will replace Hannah Murphy Winter, who left The Stranger at the end of July. Noisy Creek, the publishing company that owns The Stranger and Portland Mercury, described her departure as a natural transition but provided no further details.
Sanders said he plans to produce important, timely coverage of Seattle, combining a love for the city with a willingness to criticize it and occasionally make fun of it. A Seattle native and Columbia University graduate, he previously worked at The Seattle Times and The New York Times’ city bureau. During his time at The Stranger, Sanders received the publication’s only Pulitzer Prize for a story about Jennifer Hopper, a woman who survived a brutal attack in which her partner was killed.
In 2024, Sanders graduated from the University of Washington School of Law and then worked as a judicial clerk in federal court in the state. He expects to apply his legal knowledge to journalism, helping the newsroom better cover the courts and explain legal issues to readers. One of the new editor-in-chief’s first tasks will be to find a news editor. His return comes amid online criticism of the publication over its primary-election endorsements, while Noisy Creek’s leadership hopes the appointment will mark the beginning of new investments in quality journalism for Seattle residents.
Based on: Eli Sanders named The Stranger’s new editor-in-chief