Maggie Van Ostrand

Who is Maggie Van Ostrand?

Maggie Van Ostrand is an American humorist best known for her newspaper column which appears in the United States, Mexico and Canada. She is also known within the entertainment industry for ghostwriting satire and stand-up comedy, and ghosting for television sitcoms.

Van Ostrand is a regular contributor to the Chicago Tribune, and her articles have appeared in the Boston Globe, Amarillo Globe-News, Newsday, and other publications.

In 1998, 2001, 2003, and 2004 she received Outstanding Literary Achievement awards and, in 2002, Best Article of the Year award from two English-language Mexican publications. In 2004 she was recognized as Strike Force Member of the Year by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

Van Ostrand has appeared on network television news in support of a postage stamp featuring the thoroughbred racehorse Seabiscuit, as keynote speaker at conferences nationwide, and on radio, as a Woman of Significance, discussing Mexico. She also appears in a satirical documentary on emigration, based partly on one of her columns, produced by two award-winners, Abraham Osuna and M.K. Asante, Jr., the latter having just completed a film on Kwanzaa narrated by and co-written with renowned poet Dr. Maya Angelou.