About
I write essays, researched and reported features, profiles, book and art reviews, and more for magazines, newspapers, and literary journals. I’m at my best when the work focuses on people—their motivations, experiences, and aspirations—and I love to synthesize conversation, experience, and research to reveal layers of meaning in this complex, messy world. I also love to write about the arts, especially visual art.
I help companies, nonprofits, government organizations, academics, and regular people communicate their purpose. I edit and write promotional and marketing materials, technical and government documents, and academic papers. As an editor, my super power is asking the right questions to clear up complicated concepts, clarify logical breaks, and distill information. My work has helped a Florida county official tell property owners what they need to know about flood insurance and an English Ph.D. candidate pass her comprehensive exam.
Credentials
I have degrees in journalism, art history, and creative writing. I have worked with engineers, lawyers, economists, scholars, designers, developers, farmers, and eccentrics across jobs an art museum, several newspapers, an old government agency, a new government agency, restaurants, a university engineering department, and more. I’m a certified ScrumMaster and have been a government contract officer—just ask me about the Paperwork Reduction Act or writing Statements of Work!
Much of my work has focused on consumer finance, art, and engineering, but I’m always excited to learn about someone or something new.
Bio
I grew up on a farm in Iowa, where I spent summers walking beans, detasseling corn, and shoveling out grain bins. I've lived in the middle, east, and west of the United States and now call Oregon’s Willamette Valley home.
In my ideal life, every single year I'd visit at least one new country and spend the last full week of July riding RAGBRAI. I spend my free time organizing my bookshelves, and my favorite thing of all time to do is chop vegetables while listening to a podcast.
Selected Work
UX Content Design portfolio
View my UX Content Design portfolio here.
Essays
"The Art of Good Cobbling," The Corvallis Advocate, June 2017
"Nostalgia and Intrigue at the Willamette Speedway," The Corvallis Advocate, June 2017
"Playing the Victim at OSU's Disaster Drill," The Corvallis Advocate, October 2016
Interviews
"Working with Paradox: An Interview with Maggie Nelson," 45th Parallel, June 2016
"In Praise of Being: An Interview With Gary Young," 45th Parallel, January 2016
"Myth, Motion, & Infrastructure: An Interview with Riley Hanick," The Iowa Review, June 2015
Profiles
"Skulls, Swastikas, and Quilts: Artist Clay Lohmann Reimagines Fabric," The Corvallis Advocate, September 2017
"The Chef, the Octopus, His Timer, and Her Starring Role," The Corvallis Advocate, April 2017
Book and Art Reviews
Review of Fenton Johnson's Everywhere Home: A Life in Essays, for Pleiades, forthcoming
"Level of Difficulty," featured review of Brian Blanchfield's Proxies, for Pleiades Book Review, 14.2, Spring 2017
Review of Literary Publishing in the Twenty-First Century, for Pleiades Book Review, 14.2, Spring 2017
"Artist Erin Dengerink Mixes Magical with Practical," The Corvallis Advocate, January 2017
Features
"Sex Addict, His Trusty Dumb Phone, and Root Causes," The Corvallis Advocate, February 2017
"Hidden Gems: The Overlooked and the Unexplainable," The Corvallis Advocate, April 2017
"Deconstructing the Iowa Barn," Little Village, May 2009
Audio
My wonderful college newspaper, The Daily Iowan, had a short-lived weekly arts radio show called 80 Hours on Air for which I produced several pieces. The final shows are lost to the iTunes ether, but I still have my final mixes of a couple, and their accompanying print pieces. It is weird to hear my ten-years' younger voice, but I'm still really proud of this work!
"Still Chili-ing," print version in The Daily Iowan and audio version from 80 Hours on Air, March 2007
"Mother's Milk," print version in The Daily Iowan and audio version from 80 Hours on Air, March 2007
Testimonials
“Maggie’s feedback and attention to detail not only made my 104-page English Ph.D comprehensive exam portfolio ‘correct,’ but also improved its style and readability. I got great marks on the exam, thanks to Maggie’s help!”
“Maggie has a gentle touch in providing suggestions, yet she was never afraid to ask me to dive deeper and expand on an idea. She is truly a kind-hearted person—simply helps and leaves judgment at the door.”
“Maggie pens her subjects to life in a refreshing, accessible voice. As a colleague, she is punctual, organized, resourceful, and creative.”
Contact
Have an editing or writing project? Think I might be able to help? Send me a note using the contact form, and I'll be in touch to schedule a 15-minute consultation. Looking forward to hearing from you!
