When I Married My Mother (Maeder) - Author Bio

Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Washington, D.C., USA
• Education—B.S., Syracuse University; M.B.A,
   Columbia University
• Currently—lives in North Carolina


Jo Maeder is the author of the memoir When I Married My Mother (hardcover, paperback, and e-book). Maya Angelou said about it: This book is important to every mother and daughter, and to every woman who wants to be one.”

Jo’s essays have appeared in the New York Times, New York Daily News, More magazine, and on AOL. She is a contributor to O. Henry magazine and the News & Record’s weekly arts and entertainment section Go Triad. She also wrote a column on popular culture for Lifetime TV’s website.

In 2011, she started the Triad BookUP, which promotes “long-form reading in a short-form world.” Inspired by Seattle’s Reading Party, the public is invited to show up where food and beverages are served and B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Book) to read to themselves. (See WXII-TV coverage.)

She holds bragging rights to Best Cookie and Best Overall Yummy Treat at the 2008 Oak Ridge Country Fair. She perfected the recipe while caring for Mama Jo. “I call it my ‘Betty Jo Crocker’ recipe. I take a Betty Crocker mix and don’t follow the directions. I do that a lot, not always with such great results.” But using a  mix for a baking contest? “The only rule was: You can’t have walked into a store and walked out with your entry.”

As a DJ, Jo is renowned from her years on South Florida’s Y-100 and I-95, and New York’s WKTU, K-ROCK, and Z100. (She also co-hosted a home improvement talk show on WABC). She created VH1.com’s Black Jack channel, spanning the spectrum of R&B music and has interviewed celebrities from Bob Marley to Michael Jackson. Her encounter with James Brown on Z100 is in the Paley Center for Media, as is her former K-ROCK show devoted to Bob Dylan, “Knockin’ on Dylan’s Door.” Her “Rock and Roll Madame” changeovers with Howard Stern are among the many highlights of her radio career.

Maeder earned a B.S. in Communications from Syracuse University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University. For many years she taught a course on radio at N.Y.U. (From the author's website.)