I received an M.F.A. in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and have published fiction in The Sun, Nimrod, Rosebud, Paper Street and others. A chapter of my memoir, published in ACM/Another Chicago Magazine, won a Literary Award from the Illinois Arts Council. My essays have appeared in America, Image, Writer’s Chronicle, and Superstition Review and have been anthologized in Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs (Beacon Press) and Gravity Pulls You In: Perspectives on Parenting Children on the Autism Spectrum (Woodbine House).

I was a Board Member of Links Hall, an incubator, and a presenter of dance and performance art in Chicago until shortly before its sunset in early 2026. Now I am VP of the Board of the Workspace for Artists in Sperryville, Va, a revival of the residency center built and developed by my late sister, Sally Nash. Liz Lerman is Chairman of this Board, Andea Woods Valdez the Secretary, and  Roelle Schmidt the Treasurer. With a big dance studio and living accommodations in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. The Workspace provides a peaceful retreat for dancers, choreographers, and writers, with the Shenandoah National Forest and hiking opportunities nearby.

Readings

May, 2015. Hear and see Maggie read an essay about making fudge and an excerpt from A Free, Unsullied Land at Tuesday Funk, Chicago. Link to video.

Jan, 2010. The Crack Between the Worlds. WBEZ's Dance Critic Lucia Mauro has this review, which includes a reading from Maggie. Link to the podcast.

Interviews

December, 2025. Chicago Dance History Project. Interview with Maggie Kast by Susan Manning and Michael Kramer about "Viet Nam Story" (1969). Link to video.

January 26, 2021. Jan Leary interviews Maggie Kast in Another Chicago Magazine. Link to the interview.

August 18, 2020. Roell Schmidt, Producing Director, Columbia College Dance Center, Columbia College Chicago, interviews Maggie. Link to the video by Matthew Hickey.

July 1, 2020. Podcast interview of Maggie on New Books in Literature by G.P. Gottlieb. Link to the podcast.

June 2, 2020. “To Go Beyond.” Sharon Solwitz interviews Maggie Kast about Side by Side but Never Face to Face. Fiction Writers Review. Link to the interview.

January 21, 2017. Shelagh Shapiro interviews Maggie about her novel, A Free Unsullied Land, on her podcast, writethebook. Link to the podcast.

January 12, 2010. Dance critic Lucia Mauro interviews Maggie on WBEZ and reviews The Crack Between the Worlds. Maggie reads from the book. Link to the interview.