Beth Nguyen is the author of the memoirs Stealing Buddha’s Dinner and Owner of a Lonely Heart, which was a New York Times Editors’ Choice pick and was named a best book of 2023 by NPR, Time, Oprah Daily, and BookPage. She has also written two novels, Short Girls and Pioneer Girl. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an American Book Award, Nguyen’s work has appeared in publications including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Time, and Best American Essays. Nguyen is a professor of creative writing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Nguyen is teaching an advanced workshop at Lit Fest in 2026, Find Your Focus.
Learn a little about her in this Q&A before applying for her workshop.
How did you get interested in writing?
I got started writing the old-fashioned way: through intensive and, at times, obsessive reading. I studied fiction and poetry, and these led me to creative nonfiction, memoir in particular, because I was drawn to how fascinating and frightening it was to try to write down the truth while simultaneously wondering what truth even was. I still find the genre of nonfiction to be freeing and expansive and a little unstable. I love it. I maintain that nonfiction is the one genre that every writer should at least try, because it can transform our relationship to our own work.
What’s your teaching style? What can people expect in your workshops?
My goal is for people to leave the workshop feeling inspired and encouraged. I always ask the writer who is up for workshopping to guide the discussion as much as they wish, and to feel free to jump in with questions. Trust, openness, respect, and a shared sense of purpose are all crucial, because a workshop should be a place where everyone can feel ready to share and suggest ideas. That’s when discussions about craft really start to resonate.
How did you decide your workshop topic for this year's Lit Fest?
I love the wilds of memoir and nonfiction, and I know that sometimes writers need guidance and permission to pursue these wilds. What are we uncertain about? What are we afraid to say? What do we want to say but aren’t sure how or why? Nonfiction is driven by questions, and it’s exciting and fun to help writers pursue them.
What's the best advice you ever got about writing?
I was once in conversation with Emily St. John Mandel, and when someone in the audience asked this question, she said, “Write whatever you want! It’s not that hard.” Everyone laughed, but later I realized how meaningful that advice could be. Because if we are truly writing what we want, it really isn’t that hard. The very big, tricky, difficult part, though, is figuring out what we want.
Is there a benefit to working with other writers and having a writerly community?
We write alone, but we don’t have to go through the process alone. In fact, we shouldn’t! Being among other writers and being part of writing communities is such an important and wonderful part of the whole business of writing. Who else can truly and fully understand what it’s like to be a writer? A community is about support, commiseration, learning, inspiration, and friendship. I am grateful for my writing friends and communities every single day.
