Hi, I'm Lauren Lastowka
I'm a writer and editor based in Burlington, Vermont, specializing in the areas of food, craft beer, nutrition, and preventive health. I work as an editor on the content licensing team at Meredith Corporation, and previously worked in a variety of editorial positions in the health and food space.
Services
WRITING
I prefer clear, concise, and conversational. I'll toss in a fancy word now and then but am trained in health literacy and can just as easily write to a 6th grade reading level.
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING
I work with authors to hone their voice and vision so as to create the best experience for their audience.
COPY EDITING
I know the rules but also when to let authors break them. I've worked with Chicago, AP, APA, and AMA. I can swing both ways with the Oxford comma (but strongly encourage it!).
Portfolio
Select freelance projects
Edible San Diego
I began freelancing for Edible San Diego for their inaugural issue and have contributed to nearly every issue since. From 2009 - 2013 I served as the managing editor of the publication, and regularly contributed until I moved away from San Diego in 2015.
- Brew Times Two, Spring 2015
- Eat It to Save It, Spring 2014
- We are What We Eat, Spring 2008
- The Story of A Meal, Summer 2008
- A Good Egg, Fall 2008
- Uncharted Territory, Fall 2008
- Starting a Kitchen Garden, Winter 2008
- Knight Salumi Co, Winter 2008
San Diego Uptown News
I wrote a bi-weekly column called Hoptown Girl for SD Uptown News in 2010 and 2011 that focused on craft beer brewed and served in San Diego County. All photos accompanying the stories were original.
- High Hopes for San Diego Beer
- The New (Old) Kid on the Block
- Forget October: It's Time to Look Forward to Beer Week
- Three Excuses to Grab a Pint This Summer
- Craft Beer is Booming More Than Ever
- New Beer's Resolutions
- Beyond the Pint Glass, Craft Beer Takes Over the Plate
- Hold on Tight for San Diego Beer Week
- Falling for Fresh Hop Beers
- When Belgian Beers Meet American Hops
- Hess Brewing: The New Kid on the Beer Block
- Sun and Heat - Bring on the Wheat
- Hop Right Up It's IPA Time
- Local Lagers Prove Worthy Contenders
- A Traditional Belgian Brewery Makes Its Home in San Diego's North County
- Thirsty? How About Some of the Best Beers in America?
San Diego News Network
I wrote a series of 15 pieces as a bi-weekly "In Season" column for the now-shuttered SDNN.com, focusing on one in-season fruit or vegetable each week. Each piece discussed what to look for when shopping for the food, how to store, cook, and prepare it, and what the nutritional value was. All photographs were original, and recipes were a combination of original and credited. Topics included avocados, fennel, mushrooms, beets, pomegranates, persimmons, and my all-time favorite, figs.
Serious Eats
I have contributed a few craft-beer-related pieces to the website SeriousEats.com. View the Gift Guide: For Beer Lovers slideshow I put together for the 2010 holiday season and the San Diego Beer Week highlights slideshow I put together for the November 2011 San Diego Beer Week.
Experience
Potentially more than you wanted to know about my work history
Overview:
- Ten years experience writing, editing, and editorial acquisitions
- Proficient in Chicago and AP style
- Published 80+ feature-length articles on the topics of food, health, nutrition, craft beer, and sustainability in print and online publications
- Copyedited and/or developmentally edited over 200 articles and books
- Internet and computer savvy, with extensive knowledge of web-based content management systems, Microsoft suite, Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, HTML, and CSS
- Organized, efficient, deadline-driven, and dependable
Staff Positions:
- Editor, Meredith Content Licensing. Shelburne, VT; September 2015–present
- Manager, Consumer Health Information, American Specialty Health. San Diego; November 2008–September 2015
- Managing Editor, Edible San Diego. San Diego; November 2008–June 2013
- Writer and Editor, SanDiegoRestaurants.com. San Diego; November 2006–November 2008
- Editor, Plural Publishing Inc. San Diego; October 2004-November 2006
- Public Relations Assistant, Cox Communications. San Diego; 2004
Freelance:
- Edible San Diego. San Diego; Spring 2008–Present
- Serious Eats. New York; Winter 2010–Winter 2011
- San Diego Uptown News. San Diego; Spring 2010–Fall 2011
- San Diego News Network. San Diego; Summer 2009–Summer 2010
Education:
- University of San Diego Extension, Copyediting Certficate, 2011-2012
- University of Virginia, B.A., English and Anthropology. Charlottesville, Virginia; 1999-2003
- Center for Educational Exchange, Semester Abroad. Prague, Czech Republic; August-December 2001
- Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Alexandria, Virginia; 1994-1999
About
Potentially more than you wanted to know about my life history
New York born, Jersey raised, Virginia schooled. I went to a science and technology high school only to become an English major in college. I drove cross country in a VW convertible, stopped to play catch on the Field of Dreams and ride a mule into the Grand Canyon, then found a tiny cottage to live in by the sea. After a few months of playing in the surf and pretending to know how to sail, I got serious and launched a career writing and editing, mostly about food, wine, craft beer, cooking, nutrition, and health.
What you won’t find on my resume: I smoke a mean pork shoulder and brew a pretty decent IPA. I’ve traveled to 35 41 states and have my eye on the remaining 15 9. I started a tumblr calling out bogus handmade claims, but stopped because I came across too many. I helped publicize National High Five Day in its early years. I'm an amateur ceramicist, an avid hiker, and a champion light packer. I came close to posting a photo a day in 2014. My not-so-secret goal in life is to get a dish I invent put on a restaurant menu, ideally with a cheezy pun for a name.
I’m married to Conor Lastowka. You might know him for being funny. We live in a really old house with a tiny kitchen that we often cook for way too many people in modern apartment with a slightly larger kitchen that we are afraid to cook for too many people in for fear of setting off overactive smoke alarms. We have a cat with no tail who has flown across the country twice three times (he's a little neurotic these days). And the last name? It’s pronounced Luh-stow-ka.
"Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry."