Meet Your Writer - Andreja Bogdanovski
A journalist and memoir writer helping people preserve their life stories & legacy
Hello, Andreja Bogdanovski here, the founder of FirstMemoir and a journalist, researcher and memoir ghostwriter.
For more than fifteen years, my work has centred on interviewing people, asking thoughtful questions and turning personal histories into clear and compelling narratives. Through FirstMemoir, I use those skills to help individuals and families preserve and cherish their memories in professionally written books.
As a journalist covering religion and politics, I have interviewed people from many different backgrounds and reported on sensitive subjects involving identity, conflict and faith. As a reporter and Op-Ed writer, my work appears in leading British Christian publications, including The Tablet, Church Times and Premier Christianity, as well as other international publications.
I have reported on religion and conflict in Ukraine, Russia, the Balkans and the Middle East, including the Vatican’s diplomatic involvement in international peace efforts. This work has taught me how to listen closely, establish trust and approach deeply personal and often difficult stories with the thoughtfulness and tact they require.
These are also essential skills in memoir writing. A good memoir requires patience, curiosity and an understanding of which experiences have shaped a person’s life. My role is to help uncover those stories and bring them together in a book that sounds authentic to the person whose life it tells.
Journalism, research and oral history
Before establishing FirstMemoir, I worked as a researcher and analyst for a leading non-profit organisation in North Macedonia. I have written extensively about politics, security, religion and identity in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
I completed a Master’s degree in International Peace and Security at King’s College London before earning my PhD from the University of Buckingham. My doctoral research examined movements for church independence in the Balkans and Eastern Europe and involved interviews with more than 80 religious and political figures across the Balkans and Ukraine. I have been invited to discuss my research at St Antony’s College, Oxford, and speak on the BBC World Service.
My academic and journalistic background means that every memoir I write is carefully researched and thoughtfully structured. Memoir writing also requires connecting the dots and condensing large quantities of information as well as identifying the details that matter and seeing the "bigger picture" of a person’s life.
Preserving personal and local history
Since 2020, I have made North Northumberland, close to the Scottish border, my permanent home. In 2023, I volunteered as an oral historian for the Union Chain Bridge Project, an initiative involving Museums Northumberland. I interviewed local residents, recorded and transcribed their memories of the bridge and the surrounding communities living on the English and Scottish sides, helping to preserve an important part of the area’s social history for future generations.
My belief in the importance of personal history also comes from my own experience. As a boy, I was discouraged from asking questions about my family’s past. That absence has only reinforced my belief in the value of knowing and understanding our past.
This is why I believe memoirs carry such value. They give individuals the opportunity to understand and preserve their own experiences while leaving something meaningful for their children, grandchildren and future generations.
I would be honoured to help you tell your story.
Andreja Bogdanovski, PhD
Founder and memoir ghostwriter, FirstMemoir
