#173: Maggie Andersen — Memoir, Theatre and the Courage To Write

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Previously titled “#173: Maggie Andersen — The Courage to Write Memoir From the Stage: Emotional Marks, Caregiving, and Ethics” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 2, 2026

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Recorded22 Dec 2025

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Memoirist and professor Maggie Andersen on turning a Chicago theater coming of age into No Stars in Jefferson Park, translating performance craft to the page, writing honestly about love, loss, and disability with care and permission, and trusting the long arc of a creative life. You'll learn:Why writing “for others” can be generous without self-erasure (and how to tell the difference). What theater can teach memoirists about scene movement, including emotional marks, entrances, and exits. How to borrow “page-turner” pacing without sacrificing literary depth. What to cut or keep when you’re thinking like a live audience rather than a solitary reader. How to shape a memoir around friendship and time, even when you’re learning the form as you write. What “truth with care” can look like in memoir, including permission, restraint, and choosing what must be faced on the page. Ways to involve the people you’re writing about early, so the work stays accountable to real humans. Why your definition of “making it” may change, and how timing, fit, and rejection can still lead to publication. Resources and Links:No Stars in Jefferson Park About Maggie AndersenMaggie Andersen has published fiction and nonfiction in magazines such as Salt Hill, Blood Orange, the Los Angeles Review, Creative Nonfiction, Grain, Cutbank, and DIAGRAM. She has been a finalist for the Montana Prize for Nonfiction and has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize. She is an Associate Professor of English at Dominican University and an ensemble member at the Gift Theatre. Her debut memoir, No Stars in Jefferson Park, was published by Northwestern University Press in October 2025. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

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