Employee Spotlight: Anna Lardinois

Passion to profession

By: Allie Shane, Communications Specialist
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​If you ask Anna Lardinois what has shaped her career, she will likely tell you that it is her lifelong love of storytelling and her eagerness to learn.
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​Lardinois is the Managing Editor of MKE Startup News, a media outlet highlighting the funders and founders of the Milwaukee startup ecosystem. Her storytelling is a key component of a larger project launched by the MMAC and board member Chris Abele in 2021. The project seeks to increase the visibility of startup businesses in the Milwaukee area. ​

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​“It’s extremely exciting for me to have the opportunity to talk to all of these people who are so excited about their projects,” she said. “All I have ever wanted to do is write and now I’m writing plus I get to do something good for my city.”
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When Lardinois is not frequenting startup events and writing stories about the innovative companies that choose to call Milwaukee home, she is deep in the manuscript of a new book. Lardinois has 12 published books, nine belonging to her “Ghostly Tales” series featuring spooky stories of cities across the nation. 
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Her best-selling book is Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes: Tragedies and Legacies of the Inland Seas. The story blends research and legend, identifying notable maritime disasters and relaying the gripping tales that have sparked curiosity and excitement for generations.

The creation of Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes did not come without its challenges. Lardinois signed the contract for the book two weeks before the pandemic hit. Plans to visit museums and lighthouses turned into scouring the internet for archival material. ​

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“This kind of research is not digitized… I was buying access to an 1850s newspaper so I could read the shipping list so I could see when exactly a ship sailed,” said Lardinois. “I had to get really creative on how I got information.”
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Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes hit the shelves in 2021 and is available for purchase both in-store and online.
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“The most rewarding thing is that people seem to really like this book, and it brings me joy that I can bring people joy,” Lardinois said. 
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Lardinois’s knack for storytelling has allowed her to pursue a number of other exciting opportunities like serving as the 11th Pfister Narrator in 2018 and running her own business, Gothic Milwaukee.
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Learn more about Lardinois and her projects here​. 
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