Laurie Thompson

I just got back from my first ever SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles, and besides all of the:

• inspiration and information to be soaked up “like gravy on a biscuit,”
• wonderfully creative, talented, generous, and adorable people,
• frivolous fun with friends old and new. . .

the best part of the whole conference is that my teen nonfiction manuscript about how to save the world got nominated for the Sue Alexander award!

So, now I’m feeling this awesome pressure and responsibility to GET TO WORK! (Along with an irresistable urge to break into my happy dance.)

I haven’t posted any new articles for quite awhile now, so you’re probably thinking I’ve been sitting at home all day eating bon-bons and watching Oprah. No way! I’ve actually been taking a conscious break from article writing to focus on a book… or two. What started out as an idea for one middle grade book has now become a picture book biography of Emmanuel Yeboah AND a teen how-to guide for Youth Venture! I’m not sure working on two so totally different books at the same time is a good idea, but they’re slowly moving along.

I also joined the Advisory Committee of our regional SCBWI chapter last year, and was very busy helping to organize our 17th Annual Writing and Illustrating for Children Conference. It was one of the most daunting, eye-opening and rewarding experiences of my life, and I truly can’t wait to do it again!

And now, back to work…

What has more kid appeal than a gigantic truck that drives from town to town looking for tires to chomp? One that cleans up the environment at the same time! Here’s one company’s latest invention intended to help clean up waste tires in the U.S. and Canada.

KONO is a brand-new martial arts magazine for kids ages 5-12. My article about nutrition tips for healthy bones, “Bones of Steel,” appeared in their May 2007 premier issue!

Extreme Treasure Hunting, which introduces kids to the fun of geocaching, was the first article I wrote for children. It was accepted way back in April 2006, but finally made its appearance in the May/June 2007 online issue of Wee Ones Children’s Magazine for ages 4-10.

FACES: People, Places, and Cultures is a Cobblestone Publication for kids ages 9-14. I profiled an organization called Riders for Health for their March 2007 global health issue. By using fairly simple machines, Riders for Health has solved a complex problem. They use motorcycles to deliver medical supplies and services to regions of Africa with little or no infrastructure. Simply elegant.

Scientists at ECOCEAN are using pattern-recognition software developed for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope program to recognize individual whale sharks, which are covered with small, white spots on a dark background similar to a starry night sky. I wrote a short news piece about it for the May/June 2007 issue of KNOW–The Science Magazine for Curious Kids.

Despite the not-so-glamorous subject matter, my short news piece for kids about San Francisco’s dog poop recycling looks great! You can check it out on page 5 of the Sept/Oct 2006 issue of KNOW–The Science Magazine for Curious Kids (published in Canada, for ages 6-9).