Local Celebrity: “Grammar Girl” Mignon Fogarty

"Grammar Girl" Mignon Fogarty. Photo by Sarah Shatz

I’m going to come right out and say it: I am a self-proclaimed word nerd. I especially love writing because it is both an art and a science. The creative expression of ideas is the artistic side while the grammar is somewhat of a formula that gives that gives the writing its structure. I used to think I knew a thing or two about grammar, but that was before I met famous grammarian Mignon Fogarty, otherwise known as Grammar Girl.

Fogarty has called Reno home for over three years. She and her husband had vacationed here for years before finally deciding to make the Biggest Little City their home. In the grammar world, she is rather famous. Her grammar podcast has won three awards for the best educational podcast on iTunes, her first book, Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, has been on the New York Times bestseller list, and she has even been on Oprah.

Although she never set out to become what she is today, every step Fogarty has taken has led her in the direction she is headed. After receiving her undergraduate degree in English, she decided to get her master’s degree in Biology because of her affection toward science. Her pursuit of even higher education, however, had reached its limit.

“I am a PhD dropout from Stanford,” laughs Fogarty.

During the technology boom, Fogarty was living in the Bay Area and was close to Silicon Valley. She worked for some dot com companies and soon became a science writer for trade publications, including The Scientist, and also did corporate writing for biotech companies.

Because of her love for science and her affinity for technology, Fogarty started a science podcast as a hobby. During this time, she started editing technical documents as well. When she realized she was seeing the same grammatical errors over and over, she decided to start a grammar podcast. Since she already had the equipment for podcasting, this seemed to be a natural progression.

Within three weeks of starting Grammar Girl, Fogarty’s podcast was in the Top 100 on iTunes and has held that position for over three years. Less than four months after its inception, the podcast was listed on the Wall Street Journal’s Web Pick of the Day.

After receiving offers from six publishers for a book deal, Fogarty went with McMillan because the company understood new media and saw what the Grammar Girl podcast and the Quick and Dirty Tips network could be. The Q&D network used to consist of close friends conducting podcasts in their areas of expertise – Legal Lad, Modern Manners Guy, Money Girl. Now, the network has over 15 podcasts, and the publisher accepts pitches for new ideas.

You can meet Grammar Girl in person during the signing of her new book, The Grammar Devotional. Be sure to follow her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/GrammarGirl) and become her fan on Facebook (http://facebook.com/GrammarGirl).

By Michelle Montoya